Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on this issue. Every Government has priorities, as does every party. Fianna Fáil, since its foundation, has made education one of its key priorities and that is record which nobody can challenge. One only has to look at Mr. Donogh O'Malley and the introduction of free second level education. Equally, the initiatives brought forward by the current Minister, Deputy Hanafin, prove that the Government has given education priority. It has given primary education specific priority and, within that, priority was given to the areas of disadvantage and special needs.

That is why there has been unprecedented expenditure on education. That is why, over the coming weeks, as has been outlined ad nauseam in this House, over 800 schools will be totally transformed under the summer works scheme. That is a scheme which was in its infancy only two or three years ago. I spent 30 years teaching in schools, some of which were not exactly state of the art. The provision of new windows, new heating systems or rewiring is transforming school buildings, which is as it should be. It is only in a quality physical environment that quality education can be delivered.

The issue of prefabricated buildings has been mentioned. Nobody likes teaching long term in prefabricated buildings, although the modern versions are better than the earlier models. My first teaching job was in a prefab and I was freezing in the middle of winter and sweltering in the summer. The Government is addressing that issue and the need for the provision of prefabricated buildings is being reduced.

With the greatest respect to people on all sides of this House who have been members of local authorities, it is long past time when there was real engagement between local authorities and the Department of Education and Science in progressing the planning of education provision. I welcome the fact that we have in the Dublin area, which is the most rapidly expanding area of the country, a mechanism which allows for planning for the future needs of the city and surrounding areas.

I make absolutely no apology for what has been done for those who are disadvantaged by the Minister since she came into office, and by the Government over the past few years. She has increased the number of special needs and classroom assistants, as well as the overall number of teachers. As has been said repeatedly, if all the 4,000 additional teachers employed were deployed in standard classrooms, the pupil-teacher ratio would be reduced to an unprecedented level. However, school management boards and principals, in their wisdom, have taken decisions to deploy their staff in ways they feel best meet their needs. The INTO, of which I am a member, acknowledges that the Government has put unprecedented levels of investment into education.

The Minister's DEIS initiative is one of the most radical and innovative programmes in the area of provision for disadvantaged areas. Up to now, a scattergun approach was taken to providing for disadvantaged areas. Everybody wanted a little bit of the action. I welcome the fact that at primary level, 320 urban and 320 rural schools will benefit from a range of services which will enhance the quality of education and improve the efficiency of educational delivery.

Initiatives such as the school completion programme have proven extraordinarily beneficial and the level of school retention has increased. I recently received a reply from the Minister's office on absenteeism from schools in my area. Already, due to the investment and the commitment of the teachers, strong evidence suggests that the level of absenteeism is being reduced and the levels of transfer from primary to post-primary and retention throughout the system are improving. That shows in the level of participation in further and third level education. I strongly commend the Minister's amendment to the House. Those on the other side of the House would be wise to support the Government amendment.

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