Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I have been teaching since 1967. I moved into a so-called new school in 1974, which was hardly more than a hovel. Its roof has had to be replaced three times in the intervening period and it has had a major revamp. If Governments comprising the main Opposition parties had made the necessary investment in those years, such a revamp would not have been required. I have heard that parents cannot find school places for their children, but the vast majority of school students where I taught were bussed to schools in the inner city. There was no planning either, but I will not dwell on the past. I wish to talk about what this Government's record demonstrates. When we came into office in 1997, ground-breaking legislation was introduced, which now underpins education. Ministers, including Deputies Martin, Woods and Hanafin, have been responsible for the body of legislation covering primary and secondary education.

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