John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak about a couple of issues. In fairness, the Sinn Féin motion is rather detailed and I agree with a couple of points made in it. At the end of his comments the Minister touched on the efforts he had made in respect of book rental schemes. Certainly, I agree that the cost of texts at all levels of education is very significant and the introduction of such schemes is more than desirable.

I concur with the sentiments expressed about school uniforms. Recently, I was in a house where the subject raised was education. The occupants were not especially well-off. It was pointed out to me that crested uniforms tended to be produced in Ireland, whereas universally generic ones were not. This means that the additional cost is at least being spent within the economy. However, I believe people should have the option. For families on lower incomes, a relatively small reduction in the cost of a uniform could have a very significant impact.

I wish to speak about the series of public meetings that have taken place throughout the country on the pupil-teacher ratio. I was at one such meeting in Kilkenny yesterday evening and it was well attended. As someone who was a teacher in a previous life, albeit a secondary school teacher, I am only too familiar with the importance of trying to keep classes as small as possible. There are significant benefits for children, particularly younger children who are new to the system and may have educational difficulties which have not been identified. It is also best in giving them the best start. I urge the Minister to ensure, if he can, that the ratios will not be affected in the upcoming budget. I was amused when Deputy Michael Healy-Rae spoke about the importance of Deputies doing what they said they would at these meetings. He spoke about schools in Ireland 40 years ago, but 40 years ago there were 50 or 60 children in classrooms in which there might only have been one teacher. Thankfully, the Government will ensure we will not go anywhere near what was happening in the glorious years of education 40 or 50 year ago to which the Deputy referred.

I wish to comment on the general point made by Deputy Pearse Doherty on Irish language education. It is not something on which I am particularly expert, but I consider myself to have been a relatively good student in school. It is a system of education in which we invest millions of euro every year. However, children can attend primary and secondary school for 13 or 14 years and remain unable to speak the language when they leave. That is simply unsustainable. The notion that extra funding should be provided for a system that simply does not work in a great many cases makes no sense. The proof lies in the fact that the uptake in terms of speaking the language is poor in most parts of the country. We must change the way we teach Irish.

The aim of final point is to reaffirm and request once more that the Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, do all he can in his discussions with the Minister to ensure class sizes are retained at existing levels. I realise it will be difficult to do, but it is significant and important, especially for children in their early years in education.

See this speech in context