Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I propose to share time with Deputy Carey.

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"—commends the Government on the significant additional resources provided since 1997 for the educational system generally and for the education of disadvantaged pupils and those with special needs in particular;

—recognises that there are over 4,000 more teachers in our primary schools and over 2,000 more in our post-primary schools than there were in 1997;

—notes the cost of posts already provided;

—acknowledges that these extra teaching resources have been used to reduce class sizes, to tackle educational disadvantage and to provide additional support for children with special needs;

—acknowledges the six-fold increase in the provision for expenditure on school buildings compared to the amount in 1997;

—acknowledges the significant increase in the number of teacher training places provided in the colleges of education and the resultant drop in the numbers of unqualified teachers in our primary schools; and

—notes that the Government is committed to reducing further class sizes with priority given in the first instance to pupils in disadvantaged areas."

I am glad to have the opportunity to outline again to the House the major increase in the number of teachers in our schools, the extra support for children with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas and the major investment in school buildings that this Government has provided.

This Government has prioritised education. The priority we attach to providing quality education at all levels is evident from the fact that my Department's budget has doubled since 1997. Historic under-investment in school staffing, facilities and services for children with special needs has been reversed. Under this Government, schools have benefited from the largest increase in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education and the largest fall in class sizes in the history of the State. Class sizes are now at their lowest level in Irish history. Deputy O'Shea reminded us that not so many years ago he taught a class of 49 pupils. Today the average class size is 24.

We are investing in the largest school building programme in the history of the State and have greatly improved the services provided for children with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas.

With regard to primary class sizes, there have been major improvements in recent years with the hiring of 4,000 additional teachers. In the 1996-97 school year, the average class size was 27 pupils but is now 24. However, most significantly, the number of primary school children taught in classes of more than 30 has almost halved since 1997. While class sizes could be further reduced, we should acknowledge the progress made in recent years.

Our record in this area is one of action. This record stands in stark contrast to that of the rainbow Government, which in its January 1997 budget proposed to cut teacher numbers. Deputies Kenny and Rabbitte were both at the Cabinet table when that very regressive decision was made and many of the Deputies on the Opposition benches today walked through the Tá lobby of this House to support the measure. Unlike Fine Gael and Labour, who say one thing in Opposition and do quite another in Government, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats have put significant staffing resources in place and dramatically improved the supports available to our school children.

The Opposition conveniently likes to gloss over the fact that 190,000 children were in classes of more than 30 when it left office. There is more work to be done in this area and this Government is determined to reduce the average class size for the under-nines to 20. However, it is indisputable that major progress has been made in recent years.

The level of teaching support provided in schools is not restricted to classroom teachers. Resource, learning support and language support teachers play an invaluable role in providing extra help for children who need it. In the 1996-97 school year, there was one teacher for every 22 pupils in our primary schools. By the 2003-04 school year, the ratio was one teacher for every 17 pupils. The pupil teacher ratio at post-primary level also fell from 16 pupils to one teacher to less than 14 pupils in the same period. Students with extra learning needs are getting more individual help than ever before.

Since 1997, more than 4,000 additional teaching posts have been created in primary schools. The annual estimated value of the additional expenditure on these posts is more than €200 million. These posts have been used to provide additional resources for disadvantaged pupils and children with special needs, reduce the pupil teacher ratio and reduce class sizes.

Other initiatives in the period include the reduction in enrolment figures required for the appointment and retention of teachers; the appointment of administrative principals to ordinary schools where there are nine or more teachers including ex-quota posts; the reduction in the enrolment figures required for the appointment of administrative principals to ordinary schools and Gaelscoileanna; the allocation of resource teacher posts to either individual schools or to a cluster of schools where a need has been identified; and the allocation of teaching posts to schools where 14 or more pupils with significant English language deficits are identified.

Over the course of this debate, Deputies will give examples of primary schools in their constituency that have large classes in particular grades and try to claim that these are typical of the situation in our school system as a whole. However, this is not the case. The average class size at national level is now 24 and all schools are staffed on the basis of a maximum class size of 29.

There are a number of different reasons a particular school may have a large class in a given year. These include significant fluctuation in enrolments from one year to the next and-or a decision by the school principal not to have multi-grade classes.

Regardless of the reason there is a large class in a particular school one year, it should be noted that in the majority of cases this is not the situation in the following year. In the main, the same schools do not have large classes year after year and therefore the same children are not in large classes year after year. There is a particular problem in developing areas where enrolment patterns can be very unpredictable and schools may experience a dramatic increase every year. There are areas in some of the counties surrounding Dublin where a school that only had three or four teachers a few years ago now has 16.

Areas such as Counties Meath and Kildare and west Dublin do not just attract young couples whose children will need school places in a few years' time. There is also an influx of families with children of school-going age who need to be immediately accommodated in local schools. This places pressure on schools in areas with rapidly growing populations and I have asked my officials to consider any additional measures the Department can take to assist them.

It is particularly important to prioritise the provision of additional accommodation for these areas to ensure that extra staffing resources are matched by appropriate facilities in which to teach. The Government has made major investment in school buildings in developing areas in recent years to accommodate the increasing number of children going to school there. Some €85 million has been provided for major school building and modernisation projects in County Kildare between 1998 and 2004 and more than €65 million was invested in school buildings in Meath in the same period. We are investing in the largest school building and modernisation programme in the history of the State and I will ensure that developing areas get the priority they deserve in this process.

With regard to the number of large classes in our schools, Deputies should be aware that all schools are staffed on the basis of having a maximum class size of 29 pupils. Where some classes in a school have class sizes of greater than 29, it is often because a decision has been taken at local level to use teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes. I often find that when I look into why a particular school has a class of 35 in a particular grade, the answer is that there is another class in the same school with approximately 15 pupils.

Splitting classes may not always be an option for a school, because, for example, there might be a large group in junior infants and a small group in sixth class. However, where possible, principals should consider the benefits of smaller multi-grade classes rather than large differences in class sizes at different levels in the school.

Multi-grade classes are the norm in the majority of our primary schools, namely small schools with four teachers or less. There is no evidence that being taught in a multi-grade setting is detrimental to the child. In fact, the opposite is true. More principals should consider multi-grade classes where they are in the best interests of pupils who might otherwise find themselves in large classes.

There are a number of reasons a particular school might have a large class group in a given year. The number of children in classes of more than 30 pupils has halved under this Government but there is undoubtedly more work to be done in this area.

While the average class size nationally has been reduced to 24 pupils, in line with Government policy, I am committed to delivering further reductions in class sizes for the under-nines. The Government accepts that smaller class sizes at junior level can make a difference. However, there is no evidence to show that smaller class sizes further up the line can make a real difference to educational achievement. There is considerable evidence that reductions in class size must be accompanied by a change in teaching styles to achieve all of the benefits. Teacher quality and the work the teacher is doing in the classroom are even more significant than the size of the class.

See this speech in context