Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it provides me with an opportunity to outline the position to the House. The priority this Government and previous Fianna Fáil-led Governments attach to providing for quality education is evident in the budget allocations to my Department since 1997. This year alone, the Government allocated more than €9.3 billion. The continued prioritisation of education over the past 11 years has reversed the historic under-investment in areas such as school facilities, services for children with special needs and those in disadvantaged areas.

The 2009 budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. These decisions were made to control public expenditure and ensure sustainability in the long run. In this respect education could not be totally spared, while it is protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure. The various impacts at school level were included in the budget day announcements. Even with the budget measures in place, there will still be a significantly increased borrowing requirement in 2009.

When the country was able to afford it, the Government reduced the basis on which primary teachers were allocated to schools, based on an average number of pupils per teacher, from 35 to 27 pupils. The change to a new average of 28 pupils per teacher must be viewed in that context. Significant additional support went into schools, particularly in the area of special education.

The Government also reduced class sizes for the most disadvantaged in our DEIS schools to an average of one teacher for every 20 pupils in junior classes and an average of one teacher for every 24 pupils in senior classes. These will not change in 2009. When one adds up all the teachers in the system, there is one teacher for every 16 pupils in our primary schools.

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