Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the opportunity to address the motion. I join my colleagues in complimenting Deputy Brian Hayes and the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party on proposing this motion and the Labour Party on supporting it.

I speak on behalf of the 28 schools that stand to lose a teacher, in particular St. Francis Xavier national school in my constituency. It is the school I attended and am grateful for the education I got there. It stands to lose two teachers, at least one of whom could be saved if this motion were adopted.

One or two of the many commitments in the programme for Government are clearly set out. The commitment in this respect is clearly stated. Not only did the Government commit to reducing the pupil-teacher ratio from 27:1 to 24:1 by 2010, it committed specifically to do so by one point every year.

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