Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

There was the money spent on the e-voting system, the €150 million we heard about today and the millions of euro referred to in this blue document. This is taxpayers' money — apart from those liable for tax from whom the Government has not collected tax — but this arrogant Government seems to have forgotten that. It is interesting that there are more than 500 social welfare frauds documented but only two tax frauds in the building industry. This is a good example of the Government's priorities. It does not care about big people not paying their taxes but it cares a great deal about the little people who it can catch for breaches under the social welfare system. That is the attitude we have heard from the Government representatives.

I refer to the way in which Exchequer revenue could be well spent in the education system. The Minister, Deputy Cowen, correctly said there is no wastage in the education system. That is true except for the wastage on school projects built under public private partnerships, which was the subject of a separate report by the Comptroller and Auditor General. It showed that such projects cost up to 13% more than if the schools had been built in the normal way. Yet an announcement of further school projects to be built under public private partnerships was made last week. Apart from such wastage, there is not an overspending of Exchequer resources in the Department of Education and Science. That is mainly because the school principals try to spend small amounts of money that are not sufficient to cover insurance and other costs they have to meet. The majority of parents try to cope with the cost of paying for school uniforms and books. We have the second largest classes in Europe and school buildings that are in need of repair. An example of the inadequacy of school accommodation was given on a radio programme today when it was highlighted that the door to a classroom cannot be opened because the teacher has to sit behind it as there is not sufficient space to accommodate the teacher and the pupils.

There are a litany of areas in education where money could be well spent. As a percentage of GDP or GNP among the member states of the EU and members of the OECD, Ireland has one of the lowest levels of expenditure on education, as shown by recent figures. Furthermore, our level of expenditure on education as a percentage of our national wealth is decreasing. Investment in education, if we had the necessary resources, is an area where we could see results. Instead, large amounts of money are being wasted which could be invested at the coalface in areas such as education. That is what is scandalous about such wastage and overspending, which annoys members of the public. That is an example of a bad Government. The Government has considerable Exchequer resources, according to the litany we heard from the Ministers who spoke. Other Ministers will probably tell us about all the money the Government has spent on various projects tomorrow night, but it has not spent such money well. Highlighting expenditure is the purpose of this document. The Government has not spent money in the provision of smaller classes and better school buildings which would make a real difference to people's lives. That is what is shameful about such wastage.

We need to remind the Minister, Deputy Cowen, that when the finances were handed over to this Government by a former Minister for Finance, Deputy Quinn, and his colleagues, they were in good order in terms of the inflation, the national debt and other indicators. The Celtic tiger was well on its way to being established at that stage. What the Government has done with the finances since then is what is covered in this and other such documents. The Government has wasted Exchequer resources and not invested them in areas such as education where such resources could have been properly allocated for the future of this country. That is the real scandal about which we are talking.

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