Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

In the context of expenditure on education, the budget for the Department last year was €8 billion, 80% of which went on pay and pensions. This leaves the Minister with little room to manoeuvre when trying to achieve savings without the axe falling somewhere. While this undoubtedly will cause difficulty, what matters most is how one administers this difficulty in the decision-making process. I will make a number of points in the brief time available. First, it is important that those schools which are not in the DEIS scheme but which had legacy posts because they were considered to be disadvantaged by the Department also should be included in the review announced by the Minister and which I welcome. Second, when trying to achieve savings, an important role exists for the teacher organisations such as, for example in primary schools, the INTO and the Irish Primary Principals Network, IPPN. It will be important to engage, consult and communicate with such people. Deputy Jim Daly and I visited a DEIS school in our constituency last Monday and this point emerged from that visit. Direct communication is needed between principals and the Department to achieve these savings and the former are best equipped to do this because they are on the ground.

As for what has been said in this Chamber about cutbacks, I will make two points. First, I served in Seanad Éireann with Deputy Ross and remember him cheerleading Mr. Seanie FitzPatrick and the business model of Anglo Irish Bank, which is part of the reason for the economic mess in which the country finds itself. Another reason the Government must make these difficult decisions was the provision of the blanket guarantee, which was ably supported by Sinn Féin. Moreover, I note the Sinn Féin Minister of Education in the North last week announced the closure of two rural schools there. It is rank hypocrisy for any member of that party to criticise and complain in this Chamber while it is guilty of closing rural schools in the North of Ireland. It also is convenient for any Member suffering from amnesia to forget he or she cheerled the Anglo Irish Bank business model, which brought Ireland into the difficulty it now faces. It has been left to the new Government to clean up the mess that was left behind by the outgoing Administration. The country is being run on money borrowed from the troika. That is where the money is coming from and the Government must be wise and provident in respect of how it spends that money and must ensure it protects the most disadvantaged.

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