Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I understand, following my receipt of notice to speak in this Adjournment Debate, that the Minister's office has phoned various principals in Dublin West to say that the cap on English language support teachers has been lifted, from next week, and extra teaching personnel are being supplied to several schools. I welcome the announcement, if it is true, and I would like to see the details even if the addition comes more than halfway though the school year.

Dublin West has seen an unprecedented population growth over the past five years. The recent census confirmed that it is the fastest growing area in the country. Consequently, the demand for new schools, school places and specialist resources for children with specific learning support needs is at an all time high.

Parents worry constantly in Dublin 15, whether it is Blanchardstown, Castleknock, Mulhuddart, Clonee or Tyrellstown about whether their child will get a place in primary school. Once the coveted primary school place is acquired, another set of worries arises — large class sizes, temporary school buildings, prefabs and wide scale under-resourcing for the specific needs of pupils, both Irish and newcomer children.

Three primary schools in Dublin West have more than 80% international children in class enrolments. Long-established primary establishments, some more than 100 years old such as village primary schools in Blanchardstown, Clonsilla and Castleknock have 40% plus international children, particularly at junior infants to first class level. There are schools in Dublin West with 42 nationalities attending. The level of English among pupils attending these schools is limited and in some cases non-existent. We have been lucky in Dublin West to have outstanding principals and teachers who together with parents, boards of management and patrons have done their best to cope in an extremely challenging situation.

Although additional support was promised long before Christmas to me by the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science at the Committee of Public Accounts, this week's announcement will, I hope, ease the pressure. Extra teachers will allow language support, provide for language enrichment and team teaching for mixed classes. It will allow classes to be split into smaller groups. The smaller groups will significantly help Irish children and those from an English language environment to proceed at their level of skill. Obviously, it will also allow non-national children without English specific language coaching. Reduced class numbers with increased language support are the key requirements for ensuring success in education. It takes more than two years to acquire fluency in English and I hope the Minister will clarify whether the two-year year cap on English language support is also being lifted.

I am particularly anxious that Irish born children who have special needs in respect of teaching support for factors such as dyslexia and speech therapy requirements are not overlooked. The Minister should publish the figures on the additional teachers being appointed to each school and what the class sizes and enrolments are. I have already asked for this but I have been told that the Department of Education and Science — the management — will not have the information available for some time. There is a crying need for early-start and pre-school education in schools in Dublin West which are experiencing such phenomenal growth and expansion. This is needed for Irish and international children.

The Minister has had her head in the sand about what has been happening in Dublin West and developing areas with the explosion in educational requirements. It is not good enough for this Government to have a policy of encouraging immigrant labour for low wage jobs and then to ignore the additional educational, health and other requirements that such newcomers and their children will require — and to shelve the requirements of Irish people in the locality, also. This is not fair to local people and their children. It is also deeply dishonest towards the newcomers, most of whom, as Ministers keep telling us, work for low wages and are making a great contribution, but without the resource support they need to be able to give their children educational attainment to integrate successfully.

English language is the key to integration for both children and parents. Unfortunately, the Government has had its head in the sand as regards this important area. To ignore the problem is to allow dissension, misunderstanding and mistrust to grow and fester, unlike the type of integration most of us hope to see.

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