Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I had not wanted to be a teacher up to five minutes ago because, with respect to my colleague, the chairman of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, there is a lack of understanding of the actual impact of what will happen. I thank Deputy Charlie McConalogue for giving us the opportunity to discuss the issue. This is not about putting 19 people into a classroom where there were previously 17; this is about 500 jobs that will be gone because of the change. It is about the cancellation of courses providing the skills to which the Deputy referred, of which there is a shortage.

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