Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

A supplementary budget will be introduced in the spring and this time next year the budget deficit will be much more significant. The Government parties have created that deficit and I wonder whether they will be able to address it. If the Government parties address it in a meaningful, constructive and responsible manner, we will support them but if they continue to attack the elderly, the youth and the sick, we will not jump on the train with them.

Like Deputy Fahey, I am a former teacher. The budget is a full frontal attack on the education of young people. The programme for Government stated the pupil-teacher ratio would reduce from 27:1 to 24:1 during its first three years in office.

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