Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

Class sizes must improve, but for parties to single out the loss of a teacher in some schools, blatantly overlooking the nuances of teacher allocation decisions and the substantial number of new teachers being provided by the Government, is shallow and disingenuous. The Opposition will also fail to mention the fact that the Minister told the House last night that the Government is well on target to provide 4,000 new primary teachers during its lifetime.

One of the schools listed in the Opposition's motion is close to my own heart and perhaps to Deputy Burton, that of Ballymurphy national school underneath the Blackstairs Mountains in County Carlow, a most beautiful rural school.

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