Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak to this important motion and thank the Labour Party and its spokesperson on education, Deputy O'Sullivan, for tabling it. During the most recent general election campaign, the then Minister for Education and Science gave a commitment to reduce class sizes. When the current Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, was appointed she did not row back on the promise. The Government should be ashamed of its failure to meet its commitment.

I and Deputies from both sides of the House have attended meetings organised by the Irish National Teachers Organisation. Last week, more than 400 parents, teachers and others attended one such meeting in County Wexford, which was bursting at the seams with people who have a genuine interest in class sizes. I was struck by how members of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats spoke out of both sides of their mouths. A Fianna Fáil councillor said she could not understand the reason the problem of class sizes had not been raised in Dáil Éireann. She forgot to check the facts beforehand as she would have discovered that Fine Gael and the Labour Party have tabled several Private Members' motions on this issue and Government Deputies voted against them, as they will do tomorrow night.

Deputy Connaughton referred to the schools building programme. The Department must undertake an internal review of the programme. I have made so many telephone calls, written so many letters and tabled so many parliamentary questions to an official named Alan McIntyre that I could be forgiven for mistaking him for my brother. The school building section of the Department in Tullamore is a scandal. I apologise to Deputy Enright in whose constituency the office is located. An internal review must be carried out quickly to sort out the problems in the schools building programme. This review must be given priority if class sizes are to be reduced. While I accept it is not as simple as recruiting additional teachers, the Government has not made any major proposals to simplify procedures for completing schools building projects.

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