Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)

The Government has failed time and again to look after young people by failing to put adequate funding in place for their education. We have witnessed the cancellation of the summer works scheme and have seen the Government take parents to court in order to deny them education for children with special needs. We have witnessed parents and students subsidising schools in order to pay water, heat and electricity charges. What can the Opposition do about it?

This is not good enough. Parents, students, and teachers deserve better. Our economic and social future depends on our children receiving a good educational foundation and improved literacy skills to ensure they get the best start in life. The children at the Christian Brothers primary school, the Monastery school, in Tipperary town will not be getting the best start in life due to this broken promise.

This school had nine classroom teachers but will only have eight next September. Where is the promise that the Government made in 2002, when it committed to children up to nine years having class sizes of 20? Why does the Government persist in recognising how important class size is and committing to improving it, particularly in more socially deprived areas, and then withholding this essential resource? How can the Government ignore the disruption this causes to schools, students and teachers, disturbing established work practices and relationships and tampering with literacy skills at a crucial period of development?

The required number of students at the Monastery school on 30 September 2007 was 232 but the actual number was 231. Due to the Government's pledges at election time, there was no need for concern. As the promise was not kept, this school now loses a teacher.

This commitment was signed into the programme for Government by Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats, the Green Party and others. I have known the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, for a long time. I challenge him to listen to the argument made by the Monastery school in Tipperary town. Two weeks ago I heard the case put forward by the school's principal and the committed young teacher who will lose her job in September. Across from the school is the headquarters of Muintir na Tíre. I was reminded of when Canon John Hayes made the case for rural Ireland:

There is a need for leadership and action from those in high office in order to safeguard the future needs of our people, our children and our communities.

I put it to the Minister to take his lead from Canon John Hayes.

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