Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

A total of 11,000 more teachers have been hired since 1997; unprecedented levels of extra support have been provided for children with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas, while €3 billion has been provided for school building projects, with 1,300 under way this year.

Improvements have been made in the curriculum at levels underpinned by substantial investment in teacher training. With an additional 45,000 students at third level, bringing the total number to 168,000, third level participation rates have increased dramatically.

The scale of the increased investment in education in recent years is a testament to how central education is to the Government's social and economic agenda. The education Estimate allows for an extra €742 million in 2007.

My priorities have been and continue to be investing in special needs education and children from disadvantaged areas. Investment in special education has increased significantly in recent years. There are now 15,000 adults in schools working solely with children with special needs, compared with a fraction of this number a few years ago. We have much more work to do to bring the services to optimum level. Significant improvements are planned for the coming year. Over €820 million is being provided for special education in 2007, €180 million, or nearly 30%, more than the sum announced this time last year. This will cover, among other matters, the full year cost of the thousands of extra special education staff put in place this year. For example, of the 8,200 special needs assistants now in our schools, nearly 1,500 have been hired since September 2005. Increased investment in special education will also allow me to increase the rates of capitation paid to special schools. They range from a 30% increase in some payments to a near doubling of the rate for children with physical disabilities. These increases are a tangible demonstration of my commitment to supporting an important role for special schools.

The extra payments for children in special classes in mainstream schools will also increase at a total cost of €1.5 million. I recently received a plan from the National Council for Special Education for implementing the rest of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act.

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