Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

I thank the Minister of State for clarifying the Government position on the Rochford report. My party has already stated it will implement the recommendations in full. I am glad the Minister of State says he is not interested in implementing it under current policy because what the Government is implementing is so far removed from the recommendations of the report that there is no comparison. The Minister of State mentioned value for money in terms of what is currently being spent. The Government is delivering value for money because, for example, the ratio of welfare officer to student is 1:12,000, compared to 1:3,000 in Britain. Approximately 84,000 students aged under 16 are missing more than 20 days per year while approximately 28,000 are missing more than 40 days per year. The latter figure equates to approximately 1,000 classrooms full of children. While current expenditure may represent value for money, will the Department invest more money so that we can put more value into the system and ensure that children actually go to school and get an education?

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