Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is an honour to speak on the budget for the Department of Education and Skills for 2015. I believe my current role - this also holds true for whoever holds the post after me - is one of the most important portfolios in Government. The actions taken in education leave an indelible mark on society for generations. Education will play a vital role in the growing economic recovery that is evident. Having a highly educated and skilled workforce is a vital competitive advantage for Ireland. It is paying dividends at present as a key pull factor for both foreign and domestic investment. That will become even more important over the coming years. However, our vision of education has to be wider than the economic sphere. Education at all levels, from pre-school to adult education, imparts values of community, co-operation and citizenship. Through our experience of education we learn that as a society and a community we are stronger when we are together. In my relatively short time as Minister I have seen this philosophy in action in schools across the country. Innovation, teamwork and volunteering are an essential part of the fabric of each and every school. It is inspiring to see the dedication of students and teachers in creating and enhancing the school community. In all our actions in this House, and more importantly in my Department, we need to support this philosophy because it produces not just the next generation of workers or taxpayers, but the next generation of citizens.

Budget 2015 is a first step in that process. The budget has seen an €88 million investment in teachers, special needs assistants and expanded capitation contributions to ensure the 13,000 additional children who will enter the school system next year get the education they deserve. The budget will also fund important capital investment at third level, the first such development in recent years. The budget also supports the reform agenda with additional funding for the literacy and numeracy strategy and junior cycle reform. New funding streams have also been established to support music in schools, free high-speed broadband and a new initiative that will enhance the quality of education at pre-school level. These are positive, progressive reforms and they are backed by additional finance. They represent a new start in education investment after years of necessary but difficult funding reductions. I am determined to ensure that investment increases in the coming years.

This budget is set against the background of an improving economic situation. I fully appreciate the sacrifices that all education partners have made in recent years, as well as their commitment to providing quality education against a very difficult financial backdrop and continuing upward demographic pressures. With the assistance of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have more than reversed the planned situation which would have resulted in a reduction of €39 million on current spending. For the first time in recent years, budget 2015 includes a net increase of €60 million to the overall level of spending on education compared to the budget that was available in 2014. It is my intention that the improving economic situation will pay a very real dividend to education through an investment that has enormous economic and social benefits. Budget 2015 is a start in that process. Over the last three months since I was appointed Minister for Education and Skills, I have had a series of conversations with the education partners about where additional investment should be targeted as our economic recovery takes hold. At these meetings the partners have been setting out their views on priorities for future investment. I plan to continue this dialogue with partners to assist me in establishing a framework of priorities in the sector.

My priority in this budget was to secure additional funding to maintain class sizes and ensure that the education system can recruit more permanent teachers. Some 1,700 new classroom teachers, resource teachers and SNAs are provided for in 2015. These additional posts will provide the expanding numbers of children at school with the education they deserve. The investment in classroom teachers, resource teachers and SNAs to meet demographic growth will amount to an additional €88 million next year. This should not be taken for granted because the number of children in our schools will rise by 40,000 over the next three years, with about 13,000 of those enrolling next year. It has been my priority during this budget process, to secure the funding necessary to provide those children with a high quality education.

Although they are not here, I advise the spokespersons for Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil to take a note of those figures. In framing their pre-budget documents neither party realised that our school population was increasing and that public investment needs to accommodate that priority before other areas of investment are considered. Many Members on the other side are very good at rhetoric but they do not appear to be as good at sums and they have failed to show any credible approach to the 2015 education budget.

To address this growing demographic demand 900 additional mainstream teachers are being provided to preserve pupil-teacher ratios at existing levels. Some 480 additional resource teachers will also be provided in 2015 to meet the growth in demographics and diagnoses which continue to impact in this area. This will represent a 27% increase in the number of resource teachers in our schools over a three year period. The recruitment of these teachers comes at a time when I have committed to reforming the system of teacher recruitment. I recently received a report and recommendations from Mr. Peter Ward, SC, on behalf of the expert group on fixed term and part-time employment in teaching. The group’s recommendations will address the worrying level of casualisation, particularly at second level, that young teachers currently endure. I have committed to accepting the recommendation and detailed work will proceed over the coming months. These reforms will be good for teachers and good for our education system.

We are currently surveying schools to examine how a new model for allocating resource teachers could be implemented. While not all schools have returned their surveys, I am confident they will do so over the coming weeks. This will provide me with the information I need to assess the impact of a new model on individual schools. I am also announcing further increases in SNA numbers as part of the budget. Between now and the end of 2014, a further 145 SNAs will be available to the National Council for Special Education to allocate to schools. In 2015, a further 220 SNA posts will be made available to schools. In total, there will be an increase of 365 to the existing cap on SNA numbers, bringing the total number of SNAs in schools to 11,330.

My predecessor as Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, introduced a range of reforms to the education system over recent years. Some of those, including the creation of SOLAS, the amalgamation of 33 VECs to create 16 education and training boards and the implementation of the action plan on bullying, are complete or well under way. There are other reforms, however, which require continuing investment. I am delighted to have secured sufficient funding to implement them. This year, I am increasing the budget for the implementation of the national literacy and numeracy strategy by €6 million more than was available in 2014, bringing the annual budget to €13.8 million. I am fully funding the important reform of the junior cycle by increasing the budget by €5 million in 2015 over what was available this year to bring the annual budget to €9.3 million. We are providing €1 million in funding in 2015 to begin matching the philanthropic funding that has been given to promote music to our children through Music Generation. A total of €3 million is being made available to ensure that high-speed broadband, which has been installed in all post-primary schools, is available to them free of charge. I am also providing the second tranche of €5 million in a three-year additional investment in school book funding for our primary schools on top of the €15 million already invested each year.

I record in the House my respect and admiration for the work that Deputy Ruairí Quinn achieved in the Department between 2011 and 2014. The former Minister faced into the most challenging funding position that any Minister for Education has had to face. Despite this, he managed to radically reform the school building system, securing finance and bringing an unprecedented level of transparency to a system that was mired in secrecy. Deputy Ruairí Quinn had the vision to tackle new and emerging issues in education. He supported parents in tackling bullying and cyberbullying, brought forward a long overdue recognition of the challenges facing young gay people in our school system and took action to improve literacy. Deputy Quinn will be recognised as one of the finest Ministers for Education and Skills in the history of the State. Many of the opportunities I have to reform and renew our education system in the coming years rely on the work that my predecessor laid down despite the financial challenges he faced.

Since becoming Minister, I have emphasised the importance of improving the quality of early years education in Ireland. I am delighted to announce funding for next year to underpin that emphasis. In 2015, we will spend €600,000 on the immediate recruitment of the first ever team of early childhood education inspectors. This team will work with the early childhood sector to promote good educational practice. This initiative is being launched in partnership with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy James Reilly, and further details will be released later today.

In budget 2013 and budget 2014, the allocations to third-level institutions were reduced by €25 million. This was done on the basis that the institutions had some capacity to deal with reduced allocations on the basis of the cash balances available to them. Funding has been secured to restore €25 million to the allocations to universities and institutes of technology in 2015. Three major capital projects will be advanced in our universities next year. At NUI Galway, €7 million will be provided during 2015 to begin construction of a new human biology building. At the University of Limerick, €10 million will be made available for a major library project next year. Finally, in UCD, €3 million will be provided towards the construction of the Confucius Institute during 2015. A €10 million fund is also being provided to institutes of technology during 2015 to improve the equipment and facilities available to students.

The 2015 capital budget will also see €450 million spent on the school sector and €18 million on PPP projects. The school building programme will create an additional 16,000 permanent school places for primary students and 3,000 permanent school places for second level students during 2015. It will also see improved or replaced facilities for 2,000 primary school students and 4,000 second level students. The full details of the 2015 school building programme will be announced later this year. I am also closely monitoring the 2014 projected capital outturn. A minor works grant was paid to schools in November of last year, funded through savings and efficiencies in that year's capital budget. The same will apply this year, and in the coming weeks I will assess whether resources are available from the 2014 budget to provide a cash injection for minor works in primary and special schools. That money is always used well.

Budget 2015 sees an increase to the current funding of education for the first time in recent years. However, there were a number of measures introduced in previous budgets which have been phased in over a number of years. Next year is the final year in which these measures will have an impact. Further savings of €16 million will be realised as a result of the Haddington Road agreement, and those sums are being invested back into the education sector. The sum of €156 million is paid on behalf of grant holders to universities and institutes of technology by SUSI each year. Since the advent of greater efficiencies brought about by SUSI, this is paid in most cases before the end of December. With effect from the 2015-2016 academic year, this will be split into two instalments, with the second instalment being paid after Christmas. This arrangement will mirror the arrangement for payment to the higher education institutions under the free fees initiative and will provide one-off savings of €61 million in 2015. I stress, however, that there will be no change in the total amount of student contribution payments made in respect of that academic year, nor in any subsequent year.

From 2015, students will also receive four months' maintenance before the end of December and the balance of five months' payments in the following year. It was three up to now, which means students will get an extra month's payment in 2015. This should help to alleviate the pressures on these students earlier in the academic year. A further benefit of this proposal is that new students receiving student grants who discontinue their courses early will now have a chance to pick up on part of the student contribution if they register for another undergraduate course. Unfortunately, we all encounter students who drop out. This is an important access measure for students who decide to change courses.

This is my first budget as Minister for Education and Skills. It is not possible to accommodate all funding demands from the education sector in one budget, but this is a positive start. It has been possible, with the support of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, to fully fund the growth of student numbers, which will rise by over 13,000 next year alone. I look forward to continuing a dialogue with education partners to assist me in establishing a framework of funding priorities for the education sector. It is my firm intention to see a growing economy return an educational dividend. It is the wisest investment a society can make.

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