Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I am also conscious of the demands for extra support at second level as children move from primary school. These will be major priorities for me in the year ahead.

The significant increase in the provision for special education in the Estimates speaks volumes for the Government's commitment to focusing extra investment on those who need it most. Our commitment in tackling educational disadvantage is just as strong. Since I launched the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, action plan last year extra teachers have been provided to reduce class sizes in the most disadvantaged primary schools; more children have been given access to special intensive programmes to help with literacy problems at an early stage; the school meals programme has been extended; and extra counselling hours have been allocated to second level schools. Recognising the important influence that parents have on their children's education, a few weeks ago I announced an expansion in the number of home-school-community liaison teachers.

Next year overall expenditure on measures to tackle disadvantage at all levels will amount to approximately €730 million, an increase of €95 million or 15% on the 2006 figure announced on Estimates day last year. As well as providing for the full-year cost of initiatives such as the 22% increase in the top-up grant for third level students already announced, this increased investment will also allow further roll-out of the DEIS plan. This will see increased funding for early literacy measures, the development of a new family literacy initiative and more money for school book loan schemes. There will also be an expansion of the school completion programme. In prioritising extra supports for children with special needs and disadvantaged areas the Government is maximising the potential of our education system to help build a fairer society.

Extra support is also essential to enable children whose first language is not English to make the most of their time at school. There are more than 1,100 language support teachers in our schools, at a cost of €67 million. While this represents more than a fourfold increase in recent years, we are committed to going even further. The Estimates provide for another 200 language support teachers. Extra teachers will be assigned to schools with the largest concentration of children with English language needs. A comprehensive strategy is being finalised which will ensure the extra investment is used to best effect and underpinned by the right support and training for teachers.

Taken together, the extra teachers provided in recent years to work with children with special needs, those from disadvantaged areas and those who need help with their English have led to a major expansion in teacher numbers. The number of primary school teachers has increased by 4,000 since 2002, with approximately 1,200 of these posts having been created in the last school year.

I am extremely proud of the progress that the Government has made in increasing teacher numbers. We have reduced the average primary class size to 24. With the unprecedented increases in support staff, there is now one teacher for every 17 primary schoolchildren, down from one for 22. Children who need extra help are getting more support than ever before. We are determined to go even further. The 2007 Estimates include provision for another 800 primary teachers, including the extra language support teachers, approximately 500 of whom will be classroom teachers, to meet our commitment to reduce class sizes. The recent improvements in school staffing are unparalleled. This area will continue to be a priority for us.

I am conscious of the need to ensure a positive atmosphere in all of our second level schools and to have effective procedures in place to deal with negative student behaviour where it occurs. The national behaviour support service has been set up to provide strong targeted support for schools that need its assistance most. I have secured €8 million in total for 2007 which will enable an expansion of both in-school and out-of-school supports. This is in addition to the extra investment in recent years in areas such as guidance counselling, home-school-community liaison and measures to tackle disadvantage that also aim to have a positive effect on student behaviour.

At both primary and second level I am pleased to be able to again provide for increases in capitation funding way beyond the rate of inflation. At primary level the basic rate of capitation will increase by €18 per pupil next year, that is, 50% higher than the increase given last year. This means every primary school will receive €163.58 per pupil from next January to cover expenses such as heating, lighting and insurance. The ancillary services grant will also increase by €6.50 to €145.50 per pupil, giving primary schools more money to cover the cost of secretaries and caretakers. Taken together, these increases mean that primary schools eligible for the full ancillary services grant will receive €24.50 extra per pupil to cover their day-to-day running costs next year, with a primary school of 300 pupils receividng approximately €7,400 extra next year. In fact, this 300 pupil school will receive €93,000 from my Department next year to meet such costs.

At second level the rate of capitation will also increase by €18 to €316 per student, while the support services grant will increase by €5 to €112. In addition, an extra €25 per student will be given to voluntary schools to continue the process towards equalisation of funding measures for that sector. This compares with a €10 increase in the equalisation grant last year. With these increases, a typical 500 student voluntary school will receive €293,000 from my Department in 2007 to meet its day-to-day costs, outside of teacher pay which is also covered by my Department. The substantial increases in capitation and services grants to schools provided for in the Estimates are a clear indication of the Government's commitment to improve our schools' finances.

Other areas that will see significant increases next year include teacher pay and pensions, professional development, schools' ICT and youth work services. Funding for the National Educational Welfare Board will also increase by20%, while provision for the National Educational Psychological Service will increase by 17% in 2007. These increases will allow for some increased staffing in both areas.

In providing increased support for children in primary and second level schools we are equally determined to substantially improve the opportunities available to those who need a second chance at education. Therefore, I am delighted that many of the extra resources promised in this area under Towards 2016 are being front-loaded and will be put in place next year. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, announced last week a 12% increase in the allocation for the further and adult education sector which has increased by 50% since 2002, as well as a 14% increase in the allocation for the youth sector which has increased by 123% since 2002. This will provide 38,000 places in adult literacy services and an extra 1,000 places in the case of the back to education initiative, BTEI, in addition to assisting with child care, as well as 400 extra places on Youthreach programmes.

The funding being provided for universities and institutes of technology in 2007 will allow us to maintain and accelerate this momentum of progress. An extra €147 million for day-to-day spending — an 11% increase over the figure for 2006 — will be provided for our universities and institutes of technology. This includes an increase of €84 million to meet pay increases and other running costs; an extra €6 million to provide for continuing reform and the further expansion of places in medical education, including the commencement of graduate entry programmes, and an extra €45 million under the strategic innovation fund, SIF, bringing the fund to a total of €60 million next year. The fund is aimed at driving transformation of the higher education sector by promoting collaboration, development and change. As implementation of the first round of projects gets under way, we are already focusing on the criteria for the second round of SIF funding.

Next year will also see further major research and development funding increases as we set about implementing the Government's ambitious strategy for science, technology and innovation. An additional €12 million in current funding is being provided for the research programmes under the Education Vote, an increase of 15% over the figure for 2006. This will bring current research funding to €93 million next year. This major commitment to the enhancement of our fourth level research capacity will gather further impetus in 2007 with the allocation of awards under the fourth cycle of the PRTLI and through the implementation of co-ordinated action measures across the higher education system, public research agencies and the enterprise sector in implementing Government strategy. The over-arching objective is for Ireland to become renowned worldwide for the excellence of its research and to secure its position as one of the world's most advanced knowledge societies.

There are many areas which I could cover but these are the main ones I wish to highlight. To conclude, the 10% increase in expenditure in 2007 will allow me, among other matters, to increase expenditure on special education by nearly 30% to over €820 million; to spend €95 million more on supports for young people from disadvantaged areas; to hire 800 extra primary teachers; to promote positive student behaviour at second level; to significantly increase funding to schools; and to increase investment in third level institutions and further boost their research capacity. As has been proven, the Government is committed to education. We believe in education and the power of teachers working with parents and communities to ensure every young person receives an opportunity to reach his or her full potential.

See this speech in context