Ms Sinéad Brett:

In reference to Deputy Daly's point that we are against an ombudsman for education because of a fear factor, that is simply not the case. If we felt that the office of an ombudsman for education would better the education experience for a single child in the country we would support it, but we feel - and the point has been made here - that there are plenty of fora for dealing with issues when they arise.

The resources we have there now would be better for the system than setting up another office for dealing with issues in education. Deputy Daly referred to the cost. We are very sensitive to cost in the primary sector because schools are under-resourced. I am glad to hear the Deputies and Senators acknowledge the lack of resources in the system and that we need to pump more money in.

I am absolutely delighted by Deputy Nolan's point about middle management. It is a live issue. It would be fantastic if the committee could encourage the Minister to pump the resources into middle management because it is where the money is absolutely needed.

Deputy Daly mentioned people in his constituency who want to get on boards of management but cannot. Our experience is the same as Senator Gallagher's; it is very difficult to get people to give up their time to come onto boards of management. The suggestion that there is something underhand about the way people get on boards of management has to be corrected. A governance manual is published by the Department of Education and Skills which sets out clear procedures to be followed when members are elected to boards of management. Deputy Martin mentioned the interview processes and the suggestion only people with political contacts get onto boards of management. I agree with Mr. Michael Moriarty's point that boards of management have people from all walks of life on them. There are procedures in place. I am only speaking from a primary sector perspective. There are procedures set out which are based on best practice. Boards of management and selection panels on boards of management have to follow those procedures.

I am delighted with the points on middle management. If the committee has any sway with the Minister, I strongly urge it to encourage restoring resources and middle management to primary schools.