Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Tá an-áthas orm a rá that 2007 will be another record year for increased investment in education. With an increase of 10% on last year's Estimates, a net provision of nearly €8.4 billion is being provided to support improvements right across the sector.

Comparable figures in the 1997 Estimates show that €2.8 billion was provided for education. In 2002 the figure was €5.1 billion. The sum of €8.4 billion being provided for 2007 means that the level of investment in education has trebled since 1997. It has risen by 65% since 2002.

See this speech in context