Michael McCarthy (Cork South West, Labour)

Let us contextualise. The budget for the Department of Education and Skills is approximately €8 billion, four fifths of which is spent on pay and pensions. We should not lose sight of this fact. Many fine contributions have been made on all sides of the House. Some members of the Opposition hold genuine opinions regarding this matter and a number of them have made good proposals on what should and, in particular, should not be done. This is welcome, but we must bear in mind the Minister for Education and Skills has at least one hand tied behind his back.

There has been a great deal of hyperbole regarding this issue. Despite the fact we all knew the extent of the economic crisis in February 2011, there are some who choose to ignore it for their own reasons and engage in a debate that, by and large, is a sham. The factual situation is different from what could have obtained had there been a continuation of the political chaos of late 2010 and early 2011. We have stabilised the economy and the public finances. There has been good news in recent weeks, not least of these being the result of the European summit talks last Friday, the Personal Insolvency Bill 2012 and the renegotiation of the EU-IMF bailout agreement. All of these were unimaginable a few short months ago. None of the detractors has clarified the fundamental misunderstanding of and erroneous predictions about whether the Government could achieve these improvements. While I say this in deference to people who are in trouble, let us concentrate on the task in hand and bear in mind the Government's dedication to this matter.

I have a number of issues with Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan's Bill, but I do not want to take away from his good intentions. Section 2 seeks to include the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in the Education Act, but the section is poorly drafted, given that Ireland ratified the convention, without reservation, in 1992. There is no doubting the Government's commitment to children's rights, not least because the referendum on same will be held later this year. The scope and relevance of the new initiatives under way across a wide variety of Departments render this section redundant.

Several months ago, the House debated a robust appeals process. As a result of a slight increase in the enrolment threshold, 73 small schools were due to lose one teacher each next September. When the Department of Education and Skills gave them the opportunity to appeal the decision, 62 schools did so. The primary staffing appeals board assessed their applications and decided provisionally to approve the appeals of 41 schools. As such, a total of 32 small schools out of a total of 3,100 primary schools will lose one teacher each next September as a result of the budget measure. It gives me no satisfaction to point out that they only equate to 1%, but we need to put the situation in context. While the loss of the posts will undoubtedly cause difficulties, it is a far cry from the decimation of rural Ireland as predicted inside and outside the Chamber at budget time.

Section 4 ignores the fact that small schools benefit from significantly enhanced funding arrangements. All schools are provided with minimum capitation payments based on 60 pupils, regardless of actual numbers. Any sensible person would acknowledge this. Small schools incur fixed costs, which are reflected in the arrangement, and the section has no basis in reality.

Five schools have indicated their intention to close in the coming school year. Three schools closed last year and four closed the previous year. The idea that the Government is singling out small schools is mistaken.

I began my contribution by referring to the four fifths of the Minister's budget. We must bear in mind that they are protecting the jobs and salaries of the people working in the sector. The budget is not intended to serve the needs of wage militants. Let us focus the debate on what is right for the children.

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