Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

It is often rightly said that the education system has been the keystone of the Celtic tiger economy and our economic success in the past decade and a half. While that is the case, another characteristic of the economy and society is the remaining high level of educational disadvantage, especially in low income and deprived urban areas.

The Labour Party's policy document of December 2004, Tackling Educational Disadvantage, presented by Deputy O'Sullivan, outlined startling statistics on educational deprivation. These included the suggestion that 800 to 1,000 children per year do not transfer from primary to second level schooling, 4% of students leave school without reaching junior certificate level, 18.5% of students leave school before the leaving certificate and 80% of children from Traveller families do not get a chance to go on to second level. In addition, high levels of literacy problems remain among 30% of children according to the Education Research Centre's report of 2004, and the Department of Education and Science's report on educational disadvantage suggested that while the greatest percentage of disadvantaged children are to be found in rural areas, the greatest concentration is in parts of the cities and urban areas, particularly Dublin. Perhaps of greatest concern is that the statistics highlighted the continued low level of participation in third level education among young people from poor and low income backgrounds, which is perhaps the greatest scandal in our society.

In a famous work from 2003, Power, privilege and points: The choices and challenges of third level access in Dublin, written for the Dublin Employment Pact, of which I used to be a member, Ted Fleming and Anne Gallagher of NUl Maynooth found that Dublin has the second lowest participation rate nationally at 38%. Only County Donegal's rate is lower at 35%. There were major disparities between the highest socioeconomic groups and the six lowest socioeconomic groups which are seriously under-represented at third level. The highest third level participation rates are in Dublin 18, where 77% of children go on to third level, Dublin 6, which has 70% participation, Dublin 4, which has 59% participation, and Dublin 16, which has 56% participation. By contrast, only one north side district had an admission rate for third level greater than 50%. The postal districts with the lowest participation rates in the State were my own area of Dublin 17, which had 8% participation, and Dublin 10, which had 7% participation. The north inner city also had a very low rate of 9% participation, Dublin 22 had 13% participation, Dublin 11 had 14% participation and Dublin 20 had 17% participation. In two postal districts, Dublin 11 and Dublin 22, there has actually been a decline from 1992. These figures are disgraceful and appalling.

There has been much discussion about the celebration of 1916 and the beginning of our move towards the foundation of a republic. One measure we could take to celebrate 1916 would be to cherish all the children of the nation equally by ensuring they all receive a full education in the next decade and can go, if they so choose, all the way through to third and fourth level education.

I wish to focus on the generally disgraceful treatment of the post-leaving certificate sector, to which other Deputies referred. This sector performs a vital function for the high proportion of our citizens who did not have a chance to reach leaving certificate level. The courses have been taught valiantly by hard-working teachers in the 200 institutions referred to by my colleague. These institutions have been given a chance in the past two decades to try to catch up despite often operating in the most difficult of circumstances, with overcrowded buildings and classrooms, and with teachers being required to teach very large classes over a full teaching week although, effectively, they were teaching at third level. The PLC sector has been disgracefully neglected and has been the Cinderella of our education system.

I pay particular tribute to the schools in my constituency. Most educators and teachers — I am a former teacher — will not mind if I single out one college, Coláiste Dhúlaigh in Coolock, which has been a trailblazer in that area. Many of the residents of Coolock and surrounding districts have been enabled by the college to get a professional qualification. Many journalists, including some working in Leinster House, began their journalism and media training in Coláiste Dhúlaigh, and a range of other courses was also provided. I salute the staff who have undertaken this vital work in the past two decades.

As the Minister knows, the McIver report was presented on 15 March 2002 but, unfortunately, it has been virtually ignored since then. We all had great hopes in the lead-up to the 2006 budget that this sector would be provided with additional funding to allow for significant extra teaching resources and ancillary staffing, but nothing happened. Instead, the Minister for Finance dealt with fourth level education. While I accept hard choices must be made given that Ireland has among the lowest spending on social provision of the 15 older European Union member states, there was plenty of scope to deal with PLCs and fourth level education. A choice between the two was not necessary.

The McIver report described the grave difficulties under which the valiant teaching staff operated, including long teaching hours, large class sizes and lack of provision of all kinds, including with regard to canteens, computers and the basic ancillary supports that any teacher would need. Despite grave difficulties, they delivered a wonderful achievement for the 30,000 students.

The key recommendations of the McIver report were that the sector be regarded as a distinct system with its further education courses being fully recognised, and that the separation from second level would be recognised, especially where there were large concentrations of further education students. As all teachers know and many Members have experience of first, second or third level teaching, second and third level are as different from each other as first and second level. It is unfair on adults who have not had a chance to attend second level to be placed in a second level ambience.

This point also applies to all the other benefits that make college so wonderful for those like myself who were fortunate enough — in my case, through the diligence of my parents — to get a chance to attend third level, such as the additional recreational and social pursuits and accomplishments that stay with a person for his or her life. These could perhaps include public speaking or playing hurling or football for the college or otherwise, but these benefits cannot be had given the current situation in the PLC sector.

The report recommends a variety of delivery mechanisms, including modular structures for courses, which even the great universities have begun to recognise is the way to do business and to integrate education into the modern world. Flexibility of location by going out to companies and industrial estates, flexibility of times particularly for hard-working parents, and changes in the timing and number of hours third level teachers need to work could be implemented. It is said that the Minister of State is serving her final year, which I regret, and I congratulate her on her achievements as Minister of State. Perhaps she might advise the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, that we need the recommendations of the report implemented.

On a local level, we have a third level institution which has served this sector very well. Recently The Irish Times, with its usual weasel words, published its league tables and then claimed they were not league tables. It was striking how many students went to a third level college in their own region. Having institutes of technology in Blanchardstown and Tallaght are valuable steps forward. Given that a new city is being built in my constituency and that Swords is to become the fifth largest city in Ireland in the next ten to 15 years and will have a population of 50,000 to 60,000, we should have a new third level institution — perhaps on the Coláiste Dhúlaigh campus — which can become a full third or fourth level institution for the north side.

We have had several Taoisigh from the north side with their distinguished lifestyles and the current incumbent is allegedly going for his three in a row. However, they have never delivered a third level institution for us. While we have our great university, Dublin City University, it is a national high technology university and unfortunately not too many people from the north side have had the opportunity to go there. While the Leas-Cheann Comhairle might advocate the same for his constituency, we should have a senior third or fourth level institution on the north side.

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