Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

I wish I had the same amount of time to debate the Estimates as the Minister has for his annual budget speech. Unfortunately we on the Opposition benches do not have that opportunity. I reiterate what my colleagues have said, particularly in regard to education. I have constantly harped on about the need to fund education because it pays in the long term. Borrowing from Progressive Democrats speak and Charlie McCreevy speak, I argue that investing in education and frontloading it will cost the taxpayer less. That has not happened, instead we have had incremental increases, welcome as they may be.

Three weeks ago during Question Time with the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, I dared to table a question about the need for additional teaching places in second level; I had raised a similar need for primary level previously. I asked, notwithstanding the welcome investment in special needs, the reason she was not investing in education given that we ranked 24th or 29th in the OECD league tables depending on which way one looks at them. She stood up and said, "How dare the Deputy criticise me for prioritising special needs." I look forward to the opportunity to discuss this matter further with her next week. It is not a case of either-or, it is a case of funding education.

We have talked about class sizes and the McIver report in the past, I now wish to speak about the National Educational Welfare Board. Since I was elected as a Deputy, the board has consistently called for the full roll-out of educational welfare officers. Time and again we get a measly amount from the Government. This time the increase is 20%, and laudable as that may be it comes nowhere near implementing the full roll-out of the board. The Rochford report which envisaged the funding requirements when the Education (Welfare) Bill came before the House suggested a spend of approximately €25 million. In modern day funding €28 million would be required to roll out the National Educational Welfare Board. It needs 300 people on the group but has fewer than 100. As I said in the committee approximately 1,000 children in classrooms are absent more than 40 days per year. The statutory amount that requires reporting is 20 days per year. Why are those children absent? What is happening to them and their education? That is a central issue from a social justice point of view.

From the Progressive Democrat-Fianna Fáil economic point of view those children who are absent from school for that length of time will end up costing the State money. They will lose out and end up on social welfare, in prison and not paying into the taxation system, all because of a lack of investment in education. To frontload it now will cost the people, the taxpayers and voters. It is short-sighted voodoo economics.

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