Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

All programme for Government commitments to improve public services, including those relating to class size, are contingent on the economic and budgetary environment and on the need for prudent expenditure and fiscal management. This was pointed out at the time of the general election.

Any discussions on serious issues are devalued if inaccurate statements are made in an attempt to be sensational. I accept that representative groups such as the INTO can legitimately hold a view that even more teachers should have been allocated this year to enable progress on reducing class size. For cynical reasons, and in an obvious attempt to sensationalise the issue, Fine Gael has gone further and even attacked the mechanism of the staffing schedule. The schedule remains a transparent and clear way of ensuring that all schools are treated consistently and fairly and that they know where they stand. It is, also, agreed by the social partners.

See this speech in context