Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Since Donogh O'Malley introduced the free secondary schools scheme back in the 1960s it has been the overarching policy of the State to provide free secondary school education to all students. My view, shared by the Minister, is that the scarce resources available should be deployed in a manner that ensures we have the broadest possible level of provision across the board for all students and that we should try to ensure as best we can equality of input and opportunity for all students across the country irrespective of where they are or what the income of their families may be. There is a cost to the State in providing fee-charging schools entering the free scheme, and this has come up in a study mentioned by Deputy Mathews. I do not know if there is any question of schools closing as the Deputy suggested. Where fee-charging schools enter into the free scheme I respectfully suggest to the House that the cost that has been suggested as being associated with such a move has been greatly exaggerated in some reports.

At a time of reduced resources we must prioritise where valuable State resources would be focused and the Minister for Education and Skills has signalled, through these budget measures, that his focus must be on schools that do not have an income stream available to them, as the fee-charging schools do.

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