Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I congratulate the Labour Party and Deputy O'Sullivan on tabling this important motion. I distinctly recall that the Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrats parties announced with great fanfare a definitive programme to dramatically reduce class sizes before the previous general election. This programme did not materialise.

Parents, teachers and boards of management in every school will not allow the Celtic tiger to come and go without having the issue of class size addressed. I have not seen anything like the crowds who attended recent public meetings on this issue. Last week, 1,000 people turned up for one such meeting in Loughrea. They did not come for fun but because they believe the Government has not delivered on certain promises and want to know if Fine Gael and the Labour Party would be better. I sincerely hope we will do certain things better than the Government when we get the chance.

Addressing the problem of class sizes will mean recruiting extra teachers and rejuvenating the schools building programme in parallel. I am a long time dealing with this issue and I have never seen such trouble as that experienced in having a small extension made to a school, whether the smallest school in County Galway or the biggest school in the largest urban town. Why are ten specific steps necessary, usually over a ten-year period, to bring a school building project from conception to completion? Given that we can build 90,000 houses in one year without any trouble, why can we not build a few additional school classrooms without such a rigmarole? Where is the featherbedding? Is the number of people and agencies involved such that the Department cannot cut to the chase to ensure works are completed quickly? How can a Government stand over the current position? Most young parents are asking these questions. Following the forthcoming general election, the new Minister for Education and Science will be able to take immediate steps to overcome the current bottleneck.

In County Galway alone, 2,600 children are in classes of between 36 and 40 pupils. Can Deputies imagine a teacher trying to do his or her best in an overcrowded room? I have had no involvement in the education sector other than in my capacity as a parent. Some of my children have been through the system and become teachers.

In large classes teachers control rather than teach. They are barely able to control their classes and are unable to teach, facilitate interaction between pupil and teacher and bring out the best in their students, as they have been trained to do. How can one expect a teacher to be able to achieve these objectives in a classroom in which there is no room to swing a cat?

In fairness to Deputy Carey it is evident he has served as a dedicated teacher. Unfortunately, I must conclude.

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