Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join the various Deputies on both sides of the House and commend Sinn Féin, in particular its spokesperson on education, Deputy Jonathan O'Brien, for bringing forward and putting this comprehensive motion before the House. The motion covers the entirety of the education spectrum from preschool to third level.

Let us consider the experience of the various sectors of education since the Government came to office. A serious strain has been put on educational services as a result of decisions taken by the Government in its various budgets. Let us consider the primary education sector. Schools are struggling on a daily basis to make ends meet. I refer, in particular, to the minor works grant which was worth a minimum of approximately €5,000 to each school, regardless of size. This was a significant blow and has put schools in a difficult position, especially smaller schools because the payment made up a significant part of their income.

Other Deputies on the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection will have heard from the CPMSA, the management body for 90% of primary schools nationally. The body presented recently, before the Dáil went into recess for the summer, and its representatives indicated that the evidence was that half of primary schools nationally were operating with a deficit. Let us consider where the burden is falling. Once again, it is falling on that section of society which is most stretched, which is feeling the most pain and which is finding it most difficult to make ends meet.

Let us consider the minor works grant. If it was worth approximately €5,000 to a school with 50 students, that works out at approximately €100 per student which must be found by that school to replace the funding lost.

This then falls back on the family, who already are in a difficult position. At secondary level, the decision to remove the ex quotacareer guidance provision in last year's budget has had a significant impact in secondary schools. It constituted a de factoworsening of the pupil-teacher ratio because in an effort to retain some careers guidance hours, many schools were obliged to squeeze their subject areas as a result. The end product has been pressure on subjects, larger class sizes and significant pressure on the provision of careers guidance hours with a significant reduction in one-to-one meetings in particular. One survey showed how the number of one-to-one hours between students and careers guidance counsellors has been reduced by 50%. Moreover, this measure is having a greater impact this year and if one talks to school management bodies, they will outline how difficult this has been. At third level, the Government has piled the pressure on students to meet the increased costs of going to college by increasing the registration fee year on year by €250 euro per year. At the same time, it actually is reducing the level of funding to colleges, thereby putting significant pressure on them. Overall, a recent survey from the Central Statistics Office revealed that education inflation increased by 5% last year and was one of the leading factors in the national inflation rate. Again, this increase must be borne by parents, who find it extremely difficult to equip the students in their families to go to school.

Another pressure point to emerge from Government action has been the impact of its policy on small schools. Nationally, 47% of primary schools have five teachers or fewer and this is the same school size that has been targeted by the Government with regard to the increases in the pupil-teacher ratio. In this context, there have been yearly increases for one, two, three and four-teacher schools. This also has a particular impact on the plurality of patronage within the education system. Last night, I attended a meeting organised by the INTO in Letterkenny that was similar to those attended by many other Members in various venues nationwide. A particular theme to emerge from that meeting was a concern expressed by the Protestant community regarding the pressure that increases in the pupil-teacher ratio is exerting on their schools, as well as the impact of changes to the minor works grant. The Protestant community is particularly concerned by what may be contained in the Government's value for money report on schools, which recent media reports indicate will set a threshold for sustainable schools of 85 pupils. A Protestant minister who attended the aforementioned meeting indicated that of the 33 Protestant schools in County Donegal, just three would remain following the implementation of such a threshold. Moreover, of 200 Protestant schools nationwide, one quarter have 30 pupils or fewer. This demonstrates the impact such pressure on small schools is having on their ability to continue as viable entities. This also flies in the face of the rhetoric one hears from the Minister for Education and Skills about increasing the plurality of patronage within the education system. On the one hand, the Minister advocates the need to bring greater diversity to patronage bodies. On the other hand, however, his policies regarding small schools, a category into which most existing Protestant schools fall, is putting them under massive pressure and this is threatening diversity and plurality of patronage within the education system in an unprecedented fashion.

Another area in which budget 2013 has had a significant impact both last year and this year has been the pressure on special needs and resource teaching hours. While the Government rowed back on its plans not to meet the increased demand for resource teaching hours, it did not do so with regard to the increased demand for special needs assistants, SNAs. While Members continually hear the Government state the number of special needs assistants and resource teachers remains constant, they do not hear it acknowledge the demand for the time of such teachers and SNAs has increased significantly. The Government was forced to admit this point following much public pressure and a Private Members' motion tabled in this Chamber after which the Government decided to increase the number of resource teachers being hired to meet the existing demand and to avoid cuts to the resource teaching hours being provided to individual children. However, as far as the special needs assistant posts were concerned, the Government continued with the fallacy that there has been no cut to the students on the ground by virtue of the its keeping constant of the overall number of SNAs. This ignores the increase in demand that is feeding through in schools nationwide at present and every Member of this House will have heard of the pressure under which classrooms are operating and of the additional pressure being exerted for SNAs to be shared among a large number of pupils where a greater number of hours are now required. This also is in direct contrast to the approach the Minister has taken regarding the hiring of additional teachers to ensure the general pupil-teacher ratio has remained constant. The principle that as demand for a service increases, so too must the numbers of those who provide it in order for it not to be diluted, must be remembered. However, the Minister has not been consistent in his application of that principle.

Overall, Members need to discern from the Government a recognition of the need to prioritise education and to ring-fence the funding for it. They are aware of the existing budgetary position and of the requirement to make income meet expenditure. However, one must consider the impact this is having and the impact the cuts already have had on education. Fianna Fáil, will be advocating, as it has done in its last two pre-budget submissions, that the Government should ring-fence education spending. It has identified it as one of three areas for which spending should be ring-fenced, together with expenditure on mental health services and disability services. While this obviously will require additional funds and finances to be found elsewhere to ensure that education funding is not cut, Members require and should expect from the Minister that in government, he also should follow this policy.

Another point I wish to bring to the Minister's attention concerns the impact of the increases of the pupil-teacher ratio in the further education sector that took effect after the last budget. Last year, the Minister increased the pupil-teacher ratio from 17:1 to 19:1 in the post-leaving certificate, PLC, and further education sectors. This is an area which could ill afford such cuts and while I acknowledge the Minister reversed them to an extent by providing some remediation following an appeal process, the cut has had a significant impact on the ability of VECs and PLCs to provide the diversity of courses that is their hallmark. I ask the Minister for Education and Skills to re-examine this issue and to reverse that particular measure in the forthcoming budget. Another issue on which I wish to focus is the impact on schools of the career guidance cuts. An unprecedented situation has arisen among young people with regard to mental health.

In the last couple of weeks there have been further soundings from the Labour Party backbenchers regarding the chaplaincy services in secondary schools, identifying them as a potential source of further cuts in the forthcoming budget. The Minister must look at the impact this has had and listen to the career guidance counsellors who have made it clear that they are unable to cope with the stresses that have been imposed on them. Many students who need to avail of one-to-one contact simply cannot get it. This is a crisis in many parts of the country. Unless an ex quotaallocation is reinstated to ensure there is a minimum service and threshold for careers guidance service, these staff will continue to be unable to meet the demand.

Since this Government took office there have been repeated cuts in the education budget. It has been indicated that the cut will be up to €100 million this year, although there has been talk recently that there might be an amelioration in that regard. I urge the Minister to ring-fence the budget to ensure we protect what is there and, in time, try to develop it further. I urge the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to find a way to ensure that the policy the Minister has followed in his first two budgets is not replicated in the path he chooses for this budget.

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