Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would like to tell the Deputies more information if I could be sure what I told them would be what happens on budget day, but I cannot be sure about that until final figures are agreed on the overall macroeconomic framework, a matter that was discussed at Cabinet today. Each Department is focused on what it wants to do or avoid in the spheres of education, justice or wherever. Other Departments may have difficulties which may not be confined just to their own Department. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Public Reform, Deputy Howlin may have to come back and look at all the Departments. Although I am aware of the broad I stress that there are seven days until next week and, as Harold Wilson once said, "A week is a long time in politics".

I am conscious of the impact of large classes. There are disputes about what the full impact is, but the DEIS schools would not in any way be affected by PTR changes for reasons that the Deputy might share, and we are looking at the other schools. It is more difficult to teach a larger class. We could start looking at the reasons why some classes are so exceptionally large, but the PTR has not been changed since this Government came into office.

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