Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

The Department of Education and Science ruined the summer holidays of many parents and children. Parents in Limerick, Galway, Sligo and other parts of the country now have to drive a child in a car, and chase a bus.

The Minister of State says there is no need to change the system that exists to protect a certain status quo. Between the 1970s and 1990s new education models were introduced, including educate together, Gaelscoileanna, and community colleges, which changed the educational system. Rather than stick plasters here and there, the Minister of State needs to take a holistic approach to the system, then based on the finance available decide who will and will not suffer. The system is patently unfair and does not take cognisance of the society in which we live.

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