Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I welcome that. Things have moved on in regard to the economic situation of the country. While this might frighten the life out of some schools, it needs to be considered.

With regard to the review of DEIS, particularly in regard to Breaking the Cycle, the Minister originally talked in terms of a pupil-teacher ratio of 15:1 and then 18:1, whereas the Department's website refers to 20:1. While I may have taken it up wrong, has the ratio increased from 18:1 to 20:1? There is a great deal of confusion about this.

Some strange issues have come out of the review and there is a question of fairness. People talk in terms of a drop in the number on school rolls. This might be on the basis that the school is full to capacity. I know of some schools in that situation where the Department will not provide funding for an extension so they are being penalised because they cannot expand or take in more children. I am not sure if progress can be made by simply moving the pieces around the board.

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