Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

On behalf of the two proposers of the motion, Deputies O'Sullivan and Enright, I thank all the contributors who have made such a contribution to it. I am sure both Deputies are gratified that such a high percentage of Deputies, many on the Government side, agreed with the thrust of the motion.

At a time when two major items, health and education, have been discussed in the House, it is ironic that so many factors are common to both. In the health services there are major problems of overcrowding, lack of facilities and lack of expertise to ensure in particular the health of the dear ones we all love, our senior citizens. This debate is focused on the other end of the spectrum. We are here fighting on behalf of the children — the adults and parents of tomorrow — who suffer a similar lack of facilities and support mechanisms. The general thrust of my argument is that the Government has failed these two most important groups, the senior citizens and the children, the parents of tomorrow.

As a proud race, one of our favourite sayings is "Tús maith is leath an oibre", meaning a good start is half the work. Our primary school children, in particular those in Kildare, are not getting a good start and are being taught in prefabs and overcrowded rooms that do not lend themselves to a good or even a fair start.

The Minister referred to the national average class size. Kildare, one of the most advanced counties in Ireland in terms of its information technology sector which has resulted from commercial and industrial development, is well outside the figures suggested by the Minister. She referred to there being an average of 24 pupils per teacher. In Kildare for the past four years there has been an average of 26.8 pupils per teacher. The last figures I received from the Minister showed that the average class size was on the increase when compared to the national figures. Kildare is going in the opposite direction to that which has been held up as a wonderful achievement by the Government.

In Scoil Mhuire in Ballymore, 75% of the classes exceed 31 pupils and the three senior classes have 35 children in each. The amazing point about this school is that it has two empty classrooms which are insured and heated and cost the board of management resources to maintain. The difficulty is that it is necessary to go through an appeal process to get a teacher to provide classes. With one appointment by the Minister, the class sizes in the school would drop dramatically to the national average. Despite that, the red tape appears, there are appeals and the issue is put on the long finger. The people of Ballymore were expected to make a major contribution when that school was refurbished, which they did without fear or favour. They searched the highways and byways of Ballymore to raise money but now they experience the frustration of having to go through an appeal process to get an extra teacher to make a difference for their children.

Children are the most important resource. This issue is not about red tape or the Minister gloating about figures in the House. We do not seem to realise that the children of today are the parents of tomorrow. We focus on the financial implications that may upset the budget or deny the Government the opportunity to introduce a major budget as it moves into an election year.

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