Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of my core objectives in the plan and the three-year strategy will be to have continuing professional development at the heart of it. We can do more with it. The 2% reduction is quite possibly down to the increase that had occurred during the junior cycle reform, as the Deputy pointed out. I cannot see how we have a reduction when we are committed to providing more professional training to teachers. We need to do more of this. We need to concentrate our focus.