Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

Deputy Finian McGrath is a teacher and I will respond to him by saying that the logic of applying additional resources to any endeavour, particularly in the area of education, is that in order to justify the application of those additional resources, one must measure the consequences of those inputs to see the benefit. The three reports being published today, one by the Educational Research Centre in St. Patrick's College and two by the inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills, show there are measurable outcomes in the DEIS schools proper and these are positive outcomes in the main. In the areas where schools are not able to implement an agreed programme or plan - As I am not a professional educationist, I do not wish to sound like one - where the burden on such schools is such that it is not possible, for whatever reason - these reasons are multi-factorial - to follow a plan of improvement over a period of time, then the results are not that great.

I refer to one of the difficulties with some of the earlier schemes such as Breaking the Cycle and Giving Children an Even Break. There was not the same rigorous level of measurement of outcomes as with DEIS and this will need to be examined. There is no point in putting in additional resources if 60% of disadvantaged children are in mainstream regular schools. In my view, as Minister for Education and Skills, there is no point putting in additional resources if there is no mechanism for measuring the outcome of those additional resources.

I refer to the rhetoric used by Deputy McGrath although I do not suspect he intended it. However, heightened rhetoric such as, "I warn you there will be serious consequences", which was used on 12 January about events that will not take effect until next September, this is not the tone of debate we wish to hear when discussing the future of five, six and seven year olds or their parents-----

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