Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will finish up by thanking the schools. I know of some excellent schools. They should not have to be under the pressure they are under.

Again, they are keeping the extent of the problems covered up in one sense because they are so good at managing crisis and making do but the elastic band can only stretch for so long. If it is not resourced properly with respect to teaching time, IT equipment, the maintenance needed for those and of all that, then we are going to fall further behind. That obviously feeds into people not being able to fulfil their individual potential but also in the wider world in the form of productivity and the other things we need in order to be competitive as a nation.

I thank our guests for what they are doing. We must get away from this pilot programme situation. Dr. Gormley mentioned Errigal College there and the other one in the midlands. They are wonderful. We need to get these mainstreamed. We know exactly how to do it, what needs to be done and what it takes to do it. We must get rid of the blocks and ensure all children right across the island - as everyone knows, I am a big advocate of a 32-county approach to education - have the same opportunities. We must get rid of these blocks and we must get quicker.