Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

As I have already stated, I will not comment at this stage on any changes to the pupil-teacher ratio and the impact it could have. I assure the Deputy that the Government in its budget discussions will endeavour to protect front-line education services as far as possible. However, this must be done within the context of bringing our overall public expenditure back into line with what we can afford as a country.

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