Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 2:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"notes that:

— Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that education is a basic and fundamental human right; and

— education should be free and universally available as of right and should assist everyone without exception to develop her or his full potential;

further notes that:

— instead of guaranteeing everyone equal access to the highest standard of education, previous Government policy has entrenched educational inequalities and a two tier system;

— current Government policy will perpetuate this same system of educational inequality and disadvantage;

— investment in education in this State has never been at the appropriate level, even during times of economic growth and that the previous Government's agenda of cuts has eroded the education sector;

— the areas of primary education, special educational needs and third level have been particularly hard hit with cuts and charges; and

— the lack of investment in education has a huge impact on low and middle income families;

calls on the Government to:

— reverse the cuts to education and ensure that at least 6% of GDP is ring-fenced for education;

— lift the cap on special needs assistants;

— reject the introduction of third level fees in any guise;

— reverse the recent changes to the qualifying criteria for the non-adjacent rates of the maintenance grants; and

— make education a central tool of economic recovery."

I propose to share my time with Deputies Colreavy and McLellan, with the permission of the House. I have listened to the previous speakers and we in Sinn Féin have moved an amendment to the motion. We believe our amendment is much more comprehensive and reflects the reality of the education system, both past and present. It is visionary in its outlook in that regard. It calls on the Government to reverse the cuts to education and ensure that at least 6% of GDP is ring-fenced for education. The cap should be lifted on special needs assistance and the introduction of third level fees under any guise should be rejected. The amendment calls for a reversal in the recent changes for the qualifying criteria for the non-adjacent rates of maintenance grants and seeks to have education made a central tool of economic recovery.

I listened carefully to some of the speakers. The proposers of the motion talked in terms of the positive things that have emerged from the education system. Many of the positive gains in resources came at a time when the country was supposed to be awash with money. However, it was also a time when the gap between rich and poor in society widened considerably and when many schools and parents had to scrimp and save. Many schools are still in that difficult position.

I listened to the Minister speak about some of the positive aspects of our education system. He said education should be at the heart of a more cohesive and equal society and be the engine of sustainable economic growth. That is a sound principle. However, he also said we needed to shift the debate from being about inputs to being about outcomes. That is grand and while outcomes are important, education is also about inputs. Education should be about outcomes and not incomes, and that is where the difficulty lies. It is about people's income, and this attitude has been perpetuated down the years. If people have a higher income, the chances their children will go on to further education is greater. The difficulty for many parents currently is that if they have more than one child, they must make the choice as to which child will benefit from going on with their education. No family should be put in that position.

The Fianna Fáil motion mentions the significant increases in resources allocated to training over the years. Let us look back at the measures included in last year's budget with regard to education, leaving aside those introduced the previous years which were equally appalling. Last year there was a reduction of 5% in the capitation grants available to schools. This grant covers day to day running costs such as electricity and heat. There was a withdrawal of resource teachers for Travellers and the proposed withdrawal of 500 language support teachers over four years. There was also a hike in the school transport fee and a new fee introduced for primary school students. Rural co-ordinator posts allocated to disadvantaged rural schools were removed and a cap was imposed on the number of special needs assistants. Student registration charges were increased to €2,000 per year, a new €200 charge was imposed for PLC courses and there was a reduction in grant payments of 4%. Inservice budgets were slashed from 2008 onwards and cuts were made to education centre budgets. ICT support teachers were removed and no book grant was provided in 2009. The motion mentions special needs education and gives Fianna Fáil another pat on the back in this regard, but let us take a look at Fianna Fáil's miserable record on special needs education. In 2000, we had the closure of more than 100 special classes in primary schools. Since then, pupils throughout the State have lost special needs assistants, schools have had resources cut and most recently, a cap has been imposed on the recruitment of SNAs.

In response to a recent parliamentary question, the Minister, Deputy Quinn, mentioned special needs. I welcome his commitment to review the arbitrary deadline for awarding SNAs. This deadline makes no sense to schools considering there is no way of knowing how many new entrants will have special needs or how many newly diagnosed children there will be. The Minister must ensure that children with special education needs have access to an SNA based on educational need alone, rather than on how many SNAs the Government is willing to pay.

The Fianna Fáil motion also mentions participation in third level education and notes that this has expanded. That is all very well, but the motion does not mention the total hames the previous Government made of the third level sector. The student registration fee has increased year on year since its inception and has now reached a staggering €2,000 per student per year. This is a scandal. What is even more of a scandal is that the Labour Party, which seemed to be to the fore in voicing its opposition to tuition fees, has been completely silent on the issue since elected to Government. Fees by stealth are still fees. By increasing the registration fee, the Minister is implementing fees through the back door. I urge the Minister to stand by his commitment to oppose the introduction of student fees in any guise.

In recent years those from disadvantaged areas and those on low and middle incomes have been the worst hit by draconian education budgets. Cuts to Traveller education administered by the previous Government and upheld by the current Government are disgraceful. The withdrawal of resource teachers for Travellers will see disadvantaged children further marginalised in the education context. These are the types of issues the new Government and the Minister need to prioritise. They are also examples which demonstrate how austerity measures dictated by the EU and IMF affect people on the ground. We need to make education a tool for recovery and change.

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