Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann deplores the series of educational cuts announced in the budget and subsequently by the Minister for Education and Science; expresses its serious concern at the damage these cuts will cause to the education system and to the future prospects of our children; and calls on the Government, in particular, to reverse the decision to increase class sizes at first and second level.

With the agreement of the House, I wish to share time with Deputies McManus, Sherlock, Tuffy and Ó Caoláin.

On 14 October this year, I sat in this Chamber ready to hear the Minister for Finance deliver his first budget speech. I was anxious for him and for the country. I remembered how I felt in February 1995, when I delivered the first of three budgets as we launched the Celtic tiger.

Making the budget is a complex and demanding task. I feared for a man, manifestly clever but with so little ministerial experience and no business background. My heart sank as I heard the Civil Service-leaden prose being intoned to raise the nation to confront the new difficult economic circumstances in which we found ourselves. This was no personal manifesto, political script or even plan of action that might lead us back to a productive and healthy economy. My very worst fears were confirmed when I heard the cynicism and cowardice behind the call to "patriotic action". This is the last refuge of a worn-out Government, too long in office and long out of creative solutions.

It was difficult on budget day to fully grasp the budget's impact on our education system from junior infants to postgraduate students, but not now. The details have been revealed, the impacts have been measured and the results have been assessed. This budget is an act of social vandalism.

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