Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In order that decisions such as those to which I refer will not continue to be made, impact analyses will have to be carried out in respect of every budgetary decision.

When referring to the higher education sector the Minister stated:

The Department supports a range of measures which facilitate greater levels of participation by disadvantaged students, mature students and students with disabilities. The principal support in financial terms is provided under the student grant scheme. Approximately 42% of students in full-time higher education in the 2011-12 academic year were in receipt of a student grant.

Those are noble words but to echo the Minister's other comment to which I referred earlier, let us inject some realism into the debate. Representatives from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul addressed the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection earlier today and they indicated that even those students who are receiving the full maintenance grant are finding it increasingly difficult to remain in college. The Government took a decision to cut the maintenance grant and this placed more pressure on students in the context of their trying to remain in college. It is estimated that one in 12 students from disadvantaged backgrounds are being forced to drop out of higher education because they just cannot afford to continue. I reiterate that even those students who have been awarded full grants are being forced to drop out as a result of the financial pressures which obtain. The Minister must recognise that cutting the maintenance grant will only entrench the educational inequalities that exist in the State.

In the context of the PTR, the Government amendment refers to "the protection by this Government of the standard pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools and free post-primary schools since taking office". In theory, that is correct. However, let us again inject some realism into the debate. The reality is that class sizes are increasing as a result of the fact that the student population is increasing. One in four students at primary level are in classes of more than 30. During my initial contribution I referred to the fact that there is a class of 41 students at one primary school in Cork. A great amount of effort has been devoted to changing the primary school curriculum to an activity-based model. The difficulty is that when there are so many students in small classrooms, teachers find themselves under extreme pressure in the context of their ability to teach that curriculum. That is the reality which exists.

The change from an ex-quota model of career guidance counselling to an in-quota one led to an increase in the PTR in many post-primary schools. Again, that is the reality. It is all well and good to state that the PTRs which exist at primary and post-primary level have not been touched but the actual position is different. Reports relating to the changes in the career guidance system indicate that the level of one-on-one interaction between counsellors and students has decreased by almost 50%. That is a significant loss because students are being hampered in terms of their ability to access the services they require.

Successive reports from Barnardos and various other groups have highlighted the increase in the costs relating to children returning to school. I accept that it is not proper to the Minister's Department but the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance has been cut. This has placed even more pressure on parents and the situation is quickly getting out of hand for many of them. The Minister has adopted a very hands-off approach to this matter. I say that for a number of reasons. Instead of using the power he has under the relevant legislation to direct schools to introduce generic school uniforms, he has decided to go down the road of encouraging parents' associations and councils to work with school boards of management and patron groups in order to try to address the matter. That is all well and good but if a solution cannot be found, then I would encourage the Minister to intervene and use the power available to him under the Education (Welfare) Act.

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