Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

Through our participation in Government, €350 million per year was earmarked for new service developments in education. The Green Party also ensured the programme for Government's commitment to long-term funding for the 12 centres in the ABA pilot scheme.

While nobody could have predicted the recent economic turbulence resulting from worldwide credit crunches and the sub-prime mortgage crises and the implications such faraway events would have on our Exchequer, €100 million extra will be spent this year over last year's levels on service developments in education. While Fine Gael and the Labour Party may berate the Government because not every school in the country has every resource and capacity it ought to have, I remind Deputy Brian Hayes that in Fine Gael's promises made last year, it apportioned €300 million extra to new service developments based, I presume, on its forecast for economic growth and revenue figures. The level Fine Gael wanted to spend was less than that demanded by the Green Party.

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