Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

There is nothing wrong with the notion of giving more responsibility to the schools themselves but I have spoken to teachers from two different schools who feel they are under more pressure to deal with the children's problems. I do not know whether that is down to the principal not allocating the resources in the most efficient manner. I accept there have been cutbacks and everything is more difficult. I also understand there is not as much money around as we would like but I am glad the Minister will communicate with the schools in January. The feedback from schools is that they are under severe pressure. Children are under more pressure than they ever were and the classroom is a more difficult place to be than it ever was because children are so insecure and there are more issues at home. They are bringing more problems to school and teachers have fewer resources to deal with these additional problems.

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