John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

No, I just wish to make a couple of comments.

I thank the delegates for their attendance and answers to questions. I concur with Ms Kelly's comment on tax cuts. I want to comment on the notion that up to €500 million be put into a rainy day fund. There is enough evidence available to prove that every single one of the people mentioned in the pre-budget submissions is experiencing a rainy day. Therefore, there should not be tax cuts; rather than putting money into a rainy day fund, we should invest in critical areas and thus help many people.

I wish to make one comment on back to school costs. I concur with Ms Kelly's recommendation that schools receive an increased capitation grant because schools and the education system are grossly underfunded. Let me give one example of a school that operates a voluntary contribution scheme. At the close of the school year the school issued correspondence to all parents asking them to supply a self-addressed stamped envelope in order that it could post their children's school reports. It is shocking that schools must operate on such small budgets that they cannot afford to spend between €200 and €300 to issue school reports. There is a serious problem when they do not have enough funding to pay for such basic administrative items and that parents must pay again, even though they have already made voluntary contributions. I concur with everything the delegates have said.