Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

On 10 July last, the Minister told me that I have "never been in Government". He pointed out that "these things" are agreed with the Department of Finance on an annual basis. I responded by arguing, "We had better get ready for next year because we are going to see a loss of teachers in our primary and post-primary sectors, despite the bleatings and commitments of the Minister". The Minister's response was to say, "Not at all". Who got his figures wrong?

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