Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: notes that:

— schools have been closed for over 130 days and the new school year is due to start in just over four weeks;

— the closure of school buildings brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic has had a very negative impact on the education of a generation of Irish children, despite the considerable efforts of parents, teachers and school staff;

— this negative impact has been felt particularly severely by vulnerable students, including children with special educational needs, children and young adults who have limited access to technology or high quality Wi-Fi, and young people are at risk of becoming detached from education;

— the delivery of Summer Provision 2020 for children with special educational needs has fallen far short of Government announcements, which callously raised the expectations of parents of children with special educational needs only to dash them; and

— the experience of parents trying to combine home schooling with working from home has been demanding and exhausting, and that the burden of this was particularly heavily felt by women;

agrees that:

— achieving a safe and full return to school has been made particularly challenging in this State due to having among the highest class sizes in the European Union (EU), and due to successive Governments, who have underfunded and understaffed education;

— the shared objective of all involved in education is a full and safe return to schools in line with public health advice, and that this can only be delivered by way of significant and large scale investment in hygiene and personal protective equipment, staffing, funding for schools and significantly increased capacity; and

— already, parents must spend far too much each year on the return to school, and that in the context of high unemployment and uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, any additional costs must be met by the Government and not passed on to parents; and

calls on the Government to:

— immediately begin the process of drastically reducing class sizes, with the objective of achieving a pupil teacher ratio in line with the EU average of 20:1 within the lifetime of the Government, and ensure that class sizes of 30 students and above are abolished and never return;

— develop a dedicated strategy to prioritise those who have lost out most, including additional support for special education, special education teachers, Special Needs Assistants, as well as investment in the Home School Community Liaison Scheme, Guidance Counsellors and the School Completion Programme; and

— develop a well-being strategy for students, and staff, in response to the challenges of the pandemic by the National Educational Psychology Service

The reality is that the planning for the return of schools was made more difficult because we have an education system that is grossly underfunded and understaffed.

Is the Minister present? She was here a minute ago. I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her patience as it would be important to have the Minister present for the debate so I will pause until her arrival.

One in every five children, and one in every four children in the Minister's constituency of Kerry, are in classes of more than 30. Many are in classes much larger than this. There are not enough teachers and there is not enough space. This has made trying to achieve social distancing and a safe return much harder than it is in other jurisdictions. For example, in Denmark they have been able to split classes into groups of ten and in France classes are capped at 15.

There is no doubt that children need to be back in school. All parents and staff worked hard over recent months trying to keep things on the road between projects, art, essays, baking, Zoom classes, exercise with Joe Wicks and all the rest of it. There is no doubt that people made an enormous effort. However, we all know it is not the ideal way to get an education. In spite of everyone's best efforts, there is no question that many children fell behind.

For months, we have been calling for a roadmap for education that is significantly funded and has the package required. I am glad the Government finally responded to the pressure coming from the Opposition, parents and the public as a whole and released the plan yesterday evening. I am concerned, however, that the roadmap fails to deliver in crucial areas and leaves parents and teachers with an incredibly short time frame to bring these plans to fruition.

The new school year is to start in just over four weeks. There are just four weeks for schools to plan, recruit staff, adjust classrooms and, in some instances, build or find additional space. We were given the roadmap and it contains diagrams of classrooms of 60 sq. m and 80 sq. m for primary schools but the Minister and I know there are many primary schools, such as Christian Brothers' primary schools that were built in the 1950s or 1960s, where the classrooms are much smaller than this. They might be in areas of high population and they will struggle to find space, whether through converting corridors, halls or anything at all, and it will be a real challenge for them.

The implementation of the roadmap would clearly have been a lot more realistic if it had been published on 12 June as promised, or even a fortnight afterwards that as was subsequently promised. I am also quite concerned about substitution. Much concern has been raised about this throughout the State. Last year, 500 posts a day were not being replaced. Now, there are 200 additional substitutes. That was not enough to meet what was required last year much less this year in the context of Covid-19.

The roadmap, while welcome, is not a sticking plaster for the fact we have the highest pupil-teacher ratio, PTR, in the EU. I note the Minister's amendment, which is the Government giving itself a great big clap on the back, but it does not address the fundamental point, which is disappointing, especially given that reducing the PTR and investing in schools are meant to be programme for Government commitments. They are not even commented on, which draws into question whether the Government is truly committed to transforming the education system. While no one could have predicted the scale and manner of the pandemic, we have to acknowledge the failure to invest in our schools has put them in a particularly vulnerable position, which meant that ever before Covid they were stretched to breaking point.

I believe the Minister must confront this. It must be an absolute priority. We have left our school system vulnerable, but it does not have to be this way. In fact, tackling the PTR at primary level in the first instance can be cost neutral over the coming years because of the demographic shift. All the Minister needs to do is hold firm against anyone in the Department who wishes to reduce the Department's workforce. If the Minister retains teachers at primary level, she can reduce the pupil-teacher ratio at no additional cost. It is incredible that in the midst of a pandemic, when social distancing is such a crucial issue and given the impact it has had on education, that there is no commitment in the plan to reduce the ratio and the overcrowded classes. That is very disappointing. It was already necessary to begin the process of tackling the oversized classes because it has an enormous impact on education.

The other concern I wish to raise is children with special educational needs. A question has arisen since yesterday and it was brought into further light by the circular supplied today, which seems to suggest that special education teachers can be moved to cover absences and to work on remote teaching. I will return to this in my concluding remarks, but children with special educational needs are among those who have lost most in the past few months. They must be the priority and must not be undermined by their resources being allocated elsewhere.

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