Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. Before addressing the details of the legislation, it is important to thank and commend the dedicated and magnificent work done by teachers. I praise the vast majority of INTO, TUI and ASTI members who provide a great service every day in our schools. It is also important to support and value our teachers. It is time to challenge the cynics and teacher-bashers both in this House and outside. The vast majority of these smug individuals would not even last an hour in a classroom, never mind five to six hours every day. It is time for a reality check and it is the responsibility of all Members of the Oireachtas to nurture, support and back our teachers 100%.

Any society that ignores its teachers is doomed to failure. Education is a key element in any state, as it represents a major avenue out of poverty for the weaker sections of society. If we want to end poverty and make it history, education represents the way out and the way forward, which is why we need to invest more in early and pre-school education. This investment should be a priority for any government with a social conscience. We need a Chavez approach to disadvantage. We need to take the money and resources and spend them on the poorest sections of society. The money needs to be spent on housing, education, jobs and investment. A three-pronged attack on poverty is the only way to address this matter once and for all.

I get angry when I hear people talking about the wealth in our economy but forgetting about the sections of society that have been left behind by the Celtic tiger. I am talking about the many areas in this city and particularly on the north side where on some streets 52% of the children are not even ready for primary school. The gap between the average middle-class child and the children in these streets is so big that they are way behind. Some 26% of those children are living in homes with major issues of dampness and serious disadvantage. In some parts of the country 31% of children are showing major dysfunctional behaviour problems before starting school or once they get into the system. These issues also concern the teaching council. I link the debate on the teaching council to respect for teachers, the value of education and the importance of investment in the broader society.

I strongly welcome the Teaching Council (Amendment) Bill, which is progressive. The formation of the teaching council was a positive move, particularly in terms of the equality issue. The purpose of the Bill is to correct a legislative difficulty concerning the teaching council. The issue relates to the Minister's power to make regulations governing the first election of members to the teaching council in circumstances where the relevant applicable provisions of the Teaching Council Act 2001 had not been commenced. The Bill will declare that the requirement in the 2001 Act to commence the relevant sections will not serve to invalidate the regulations made by the Minister on 10 September 2004 in respect of the first election of members to the teaching council or anything done under those regulations. It is important we get that right and that it is done properly.

Section 2 provides that a number of sections of the Teaching Council Act 2001 are deemed to have come into operation on the date they were made, that is, 10 September 2004. The sections relate to the 2001 Act's Short Title and commencement, interpretation, the making of regulation and orders under that Act, the legal status and objects of the council, its membership, and the election and appointment of members.

In dealing with issues concerning the teaching council, it is important that we examine the question of professionalism in teaching. There have been attacks on teachers and education in other countries, and we have seen the dumbing down and the devastation of many schools in other societies. I am concerned that we are going down that road. We must ensure that we attract quality people who are interested in teaching into the profession and then maintain the highest standards in terms of suitability.

It is important to nail on the head the fact that being a good teacher is not just related to the points issue. Some people take the view that if a person gets so many hundred points, that is sufficient to be a good teacher but that is not the reality in the teaching world. I welcome the fact that men and women in their 30s and 40s have gone back to college because they discovered an interest in education. Those people will bring a new insight to education and to working with and understanding children.

The old system — we are often critical of some of the systems that operated in the past — was a progressive one. It was not just a question of getting so many honours; there was also a very sticky interview to be undergone. I recall doing the interview for St. Patrick's College after getting the so-called call to training, which in those days was a major honour. If somebody in a town or village got a call to training, it was like winning the All-Ireland. When someone got the call to training, they went to Dublin and were interviewed by psychologists, teachers and educationalists who decided whether the person was suitable to work in the primary education service. That was a good system because it gave another dimension to ensuring the right people went into teaching. There has been a debate about vetting but that was an important stage in determining people's suitability to work in education. The old system was an important one. I accept people must have basic academic standards but we also need people who value the job and the children with whom they work. The must enjoy the job. The main complaint of those who worked in the job but dropped out of the system was that they did not enjoy the job.

At the same time, tens of thousands of people in the system currently enjoy the job but there are the cynics and the whingers on the ditch who give out about them and talk about long holidays, short working days and so on, which is a load of rubbish when one considers the amount of work done in the school day to provide education. A good teacher is like an actor. They are on stage for five or six hours every day. One can see the exhaustion on the face of an actor who has performed a play for two hours. It is important that we understand the same applies to teachers.

The idea of a teaching council is to be welcomed. We must also welcome the professionalism needed in the job and develop that. I welcome also the Minister's recent proposal to get more males involved in education because there is an imbalance in that regard. We must ensure we achieve the appropriate balance in education. We all have a responsibility to highlight that teaching is an enjoyable profession and reasonably well paid now. It is a job that many men should consider. That is important. I welcome the Teaching Council Bill. There has been great support for it from the various teachers' unions and for dealing with the issue of the quality and professionalism of teachers. We all want to develop the system.

I am aware the Minister is prioritising disadvantage and children with special needs as part of her focus over her term as Minister for Education and Science, and I welcome that, but she cannot fudge the class size issue. She must tackle that problem head on.

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