Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an tAire nua, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, agus an Aire Stáit, Deputy Séan Haughey. Go n-éirí leo san obair thábhachtach.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this issue, which is close to my heart. I represent Dublin North, one of the fastest growing constituencies in Ireland if not in Europe. No one can deny there is always room for improvement in the education system. It will never be perfect and we will always need to work on it to ensure progress and advancement. The Government and its predecessors have tried to commit themselves to the best education system, which is best illustrated by the aggressive building programme undertaken since 2002 with massive spending in this area over that period, which has resulted in a reduction in class sizes. The Minister outlined the Government's achievements last night.

This year more than €9.3 billion will be spent on education, with €600 million allocated to the schools building programme. The allocation for teachers' pay and pension is €4.6 billion, not an insignificant amount. Staff numbers have reduced in a number of the schools listed in the motion. I was surprised St. Patrick's junior school, Skerries, in my constituency lost a teacher but when I investigated this, I discovered the school enrolment had reduced from 360 in 2004 to 339 in September 2007. On the basis of the 27:1 ratio, this resulted in the reduction in staff numbers. However, the ratio works both ways. When enrolments have increased, teachers have been appointed and the statistics back this up.

I was surprised the enrolment in St. Patrick's had reduced because over the past year my colleagues and myself fought for a new school in the northern end of Skerries and, thankfully, the Government approved a new Educate Together school in the Kelly's Bay area. In my region, six new schools will come on stream next September.

See this speech in context