Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Brian Hayes, on bringing this motion before the Dáil this evening and thank all those in Gallery who have come along to support tonight's motion for debate. Fine Gael has been forced to bring this motion to the House to prevent 28 primary schools from losing teachers.

In the programme for Government in 2002, it was stated that within five years, the Government would introduce maximum class guidelines which would ensure that the average size of classes for children under nine would be below the international best practice guideline of 20:1. In the programme for Government, the Government set out its pledge to reduce class sizes to one teacher for 26 children by September 2008. The Government has broken this promise and, instead, the Minister for Education and Science has instructed 28 primary schools to sack a teacher. As a result, 28 primary schools around the country will suffer. In my constituency of Dublin North-East, two schools are affected — St. Peter and Paul's boys' national school in Baldoyle and St. Kevin's junior national school in Donaghmede.

St. Kevin's junior national school will lose a teacher in the upcoming school year. The school will now consist of four classes which will mean the amalgamation of the present junior infants to make a class of 35. This class includes six children for whom English is not their first language, one child with diagnosed special needs and children with mixed abilities.

This is an unworkable situation and a complete fiasco. To have 35 students in one class is outrageous and totally unacceptable. How can these students achieve their full potential in a class of 35 pupils? This Government is actually increasing class sizes in some schools instead of the promised reduction. A fully equipped classroom is available in St. Kevin's junior national school which will now sadly lie idle because of the latest round of cutbacks. The pupils are present; all that is needed now is a teacher.

The loss of a teacher at St. Peter and Paul's boys' national school in Baldoyle will leave 29 junior infants in one class and 38 boys in another class. Having an extra teacher would have facilitated an extra junior infants' class, a situation which had previously been enacted. This would enable the younger children to obtain a proper introduction into school life in a smaller classroom setting. How can these pupils now get a decent start when their progress is to be hindered in a class of 38? In October 2007, the school predicted that a slight decrease in pupil enrolment would occur in the next school year. However, since then, there has been a vast increase in school numbers and there will now be even more students in the school next year. I ask the Minister for Education and Science to re-examine the change in enrolment numbers with a view to reinstating the teacher at St. Peter and Paul's boys' national school.

A good education is a vital requirement in society today. Primary school students need individual attention and small class sizes in order to develop. Large class sizes, which are the norm in this country, are leading to students losing out and are placing enormous pressure on all teachers affected. The average class size across OECD countries is 22 students per teacher, while the average class size in the EU is 20.3 students per teacher. In Ireland, the average class size is 24.3 students per teacher, which is certainly not good enough. Ireland only spends 4.6% of its GDP on education compared to the OECD average of 5.5%. If we are serious about education, according to a professor of education at NUI Maynooth, the Government needs to spend 7% of our GDP on education; an increase in funding would certainly enable the deficiencies in education to be addressed.

The Government has underfunded education in this country. In recent times, the plight suffered by many schools has been highlighted in the media. Springdale national school in Raheny is just one of a number of schools that has been on a waiting list for a new school building for nearly ten years. Pupils and teachers are working in Third World conditions and still have not received a date for the new school building.

The Minister for Education and Science has stated that these latest cutbacks are due to the current economic and budgetary environment. I refuse to accept this. Two days ago, the Government announced it will plough €400 million into research funding for universities. I ask the Minister to get his priorities right and to hold back the necessary funding to allow the 28 primary schools affected to retain their teachers. Fine Gael has tabled this motion to put the Government under pressure to ensure that these 28 schools do not lose a teacher. I call on the new Minister for Education and Science to urgently revisit this decision and to reinstate the teachers. I also ask all Members of the House to support this motion.

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