Mr. Seamus Mulconry:

Senator Ruane hit the nail on the head in the context of this debate. We invariably focus on the cost of schooling to parents or to schools, but the cost to society of failing to invest in schools is far greater. It costs a great deal to keep a person in a lifetime of poverty. In many cases, people are in poverty because they did not have the right foundation in their education. They may have learning difficulties, they may not be able to read or write, or they may not be as articulate as they could be. If we could solve those problems, we would unleash a great deal of talent, which would result in increased taxation and revenue for the State. We need to examine the cost of not investing.

The Constitution indicates that the State should provide for free primary education. That is in de Valera's Constitution. The constitution of the Free State, however, stated that every citizen had the right to a free primary education. Although the earlier version was written in the middle of the Civil War, the State at the time recognised the fundamental importance of investing in early education and the basics of reading and writing. If we fail to do that now, when we are a far wealthier society, it is a damning indictment of our political system and values as a society.

I turn to the use of ICT in education. My background is in the technology sector. There is no robust independent evidence that the use of technological devices in education provides measurably better learning outcomes, although there is also no evidence to the contrary. We just do not know. We do know, however, that if people are taught to read and write and do arithmetic, they will thrive in life. Restoring the capitation grant will stabilise the system but will not deliver the kind of high-quality education we need. Nevertheless, if the overspend in the health service over two years was invested in primary schools, most of their problems would probably be solved. Primary schools are highly efficient. If they receive investment, there will be a measurable return. Fundraising and voluntary contributions are a most inefficient way of funding the primary system. It is not just a question of the pain involved; it is ridiculous that teachers spend their time trying to fundraise, particularly in light of the level of investment versus the return.

I stated earlier that if there is a problem, the principal of the school in question should be approached. Such a conversation is not painless for the principal. Nobody likes having such conversations and nobody should have to have them. We need to invest in the basics. The return from an investment in the basics will be considerable. The CPSMA sees dangerous signs of systematic stresses in the system. Highly-talented principals are retiring because of too much administration, too much funding, too much hassle and not enough time to focus on teaching and learning. More worryingly, we have started to see that people we would expect to apply for a position of principal are deciding it is just not worth the effort and pain. The system ultimately depends on the quality of the people in it. If we do not relieve them of some of the pressure, there will be a negative growth cycle. The system will start to degrade. It will not collapse overnight but it will start to degrade and when it does, it will be very hard to pull it back.