Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. In my sixth class in the national school in Boherbue we had 43 pupils, 24 boys and 19 girls. That was a while ago and things have improved since. We can all make political points about what has and has not happened. However, we must accept that much has changed in the past ten years in the education system particularly in primary education. I pay tribute to the teachers who have adapted to changes in curriculum, in parents' expectations and in the implementation of the education system. Primary education has changed completely in the past ten or 15 years. Deputy O'Connor mentioned students from 25 nationalities in a small number of schools and I welcome these changes. It is great that Ireland is becoming a multicultural society and the State must provide for such students. I acknowledge the pressure on teachers in those schools. Anybody involved in primary education or any aspect of education would see that.

I could trot out the figures for the additional teachers and special needs assistants employed since 1997. In the past only FÁS provided funding for a special needs assistant and now this is done through mainstream funding from the Department of Education and Science. I am proud of all these changes following lobbying by politicians. We need to continue to ensure that more funding is given to education. In some of her speeches since being appointed to the Department of Education and Science, the Minister has clearly stated that she is seeking further resources to ensure we have the best possible education system. Considering the social deprivation and disadvantage in our society, much remains to be done in the education sector, housing etc. to ensure people do not fall into poverty traps.

We need to maximise our investment in the primary and pre-primary sectors. Many social problems have developed over generations and it will take much more than reducing class sizes to tackle them. We need more resources to reduce class sizes. We must accept that much has changed in recent years and that extra resources have been allocated to the sector. We must continue to ensure that further resources will be allocated to reduce class sizes and to ensure the proper buildings are provided. With the explosion in the population the facilities in all schools are now inadequate. While we have additional teachers, including remedial resource teachers and extra-curricular teachers, the facilities are not in place. As Deputy Nolan has said, it may be time to look for a contribution from some of the developers who are making huge money to fund additional facilities in schools throughout the country. The problem does not just exist in the commuter belt around Dublin but throughout the country. In every small town and village facilities are bulging at the seams and need to be extended. Since 1997, we have put enormous resources into class sizes and into disadvantage in primary education and the education system in general. We have more to achieve and need to put more resources into the system. I know the Minister will endeavour to do that and I wish her well.

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