Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I agree with the Deputy Crowe analysis of the perception out there.

An existing DEIS school that does not have any legacy posts could be scheduled to lose a post because numbers have fallen under the general allocation model. That number projected to possibly come out of the system was presented by some of the schools' advocates to Members of the Oireachtas as part and parcel of the specific reduction of this measure. That is confusing. I was confronted with a serious of calculations presented to Members such as Deputy Crowe and his constituency colleagues that was totally at variance with what I understood to be the impact of the measure.

What I have done is say: "Hold on, let us compare the figures that are coming from the schools themselves with what we had intended to propose". This measure was supposed to be implemented over a period of three years and it is conceivable, and for reasons that we all understand, that somebody stated that the net impact of this decision, knowing that maybe their school had lost numbers, was their school would lose X number of teachers whereas the information that the Department had was that it would be a different number. I decided that we get clarity on the facts, agree them and then decide what action must be taken.

As I have stated elsewhere, whatever savings I must find will have to come from within the primary school section of the overall budget because of the totality of the sums that I have to achieve. The budget is over and it has been voted on. I have to find alternative savings within that framework.

See this speech in context