Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for his question, his comments and his good wishes. I recognise in the presence of Deputies Smith and McConalogue that the previous Government ring-fenced the education spend but we have a growing population, with 500,000 in the primary school sector at present and that figure could increase to 560,000 within a few years. We are running to stand still in terms of resources. I will look at individual cases but I do not want to mislead anyone about the current position.

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