Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Based on the figures provided by the Deputy, it is three teachers for 210 pupils, which does not come out at 110 each. Second, the Deputy should acknowledge that the provision of 800 teachers whose sole responsibility is teaching English to non-national children is a significant investment. That investment has grown substantially in recent years. I hope the acceptance and approval of the partnership agreement will result in the allocation of 550 extra language support teachers, which will enable us to make even further progress on this issue.

It should be remembered that not every non-national has a language problem. There are serious cultural issues among the various nationalities, not just with regard to language but also with regard to their attitude to education, how involved the parents wish to be and how supportive they are of getting their children to school. Those issues are equally important. I noticed in London that the schools had managed to get some of the non-national parents involved in the school community. That had a major bearing on the success of some of the work they were trying to do. I am not sure the record in the UK in community building is one we would like to emulate, given the problems in many of its towns. We can learn from the mistakes that have been made in various places as well.

Following a visit by departmental officials, the school referred to by the Deputy was granted a third teacher immediately. The problem is not peculiar to this school but the situation is more serious in some areas than in others. I have visited some schools that have a high proportion of non-national pupils. The situation is not as intense in all areas as it is in this school, just in certain geographical areas.

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