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

I wish to share time with Deputy Ó Caoláin.

I will touch on the education aspect, as that is my own portfolio. I will acknowledge that there is significant funding going in between now and 2021 of €3.8 billion. Unfortunately, that will only be able to match the growth in demographics. We will cater for the peak in students which are coming on line. At primary school, we are looking at a peak in 2018 and for post-primary, I think it is 2020. Yesterday when I discussed this issue with the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, I said we need to be looking at education in longer planning terms than merely five and six-year capital programmes. The reason is because everything we are putting into the capital programme currently for education, as I stated, is only meeting the demographics.

We have one of the highest pupil-teacher ratios, PTRs, in Europe. All of the evidence would suggest that the smaller the classrooms, the better the educational outcomes and something we need to strive for as a policy is to reduce the PTR, particularly at primary level, and at post-primary level. One of the issues, which the Minister for Education and Skills admitted yesterday, is if we were to plan to reduce the PTR, the Department does not know how many additional spaces it would need and it cannot plan for that eventuality. If one reduces the PTR, coupled with increased demographics, capacity will become an issue. What the Minister is doing in the education capital programme is only standing still. We are only meeting the rise in the number of places that will be demanded.

The other area I want to touch on - I only have two minutes - is the flood defences for Cork. I very much welcome the fact that we will see the flood defences for Cork city, particularly Blackpool, commence in 2016 - that is the aim - and the commencing of the phased construction of the flood defences in Cork city in 2017. I am a little concerned at the amount of capital funding we are allocating for it. Much discussion has taken place between the Department, the OPW and Cork City Council and Cork County Council in relation to what is needed as part of the flood defences in Cork. Some of the conservative estimates suggest it will cost between €100 million to €115 million, and yet we are only allocating in total, between now and 2021, €430 million. We are allocating €45 million next year and €45 million the following year, and that is to cover all of the State. Therefore, I have some concerns that we will not have enough funding in place to carry out the necessary works. Having said that, the scheme will take four to five years to complete for Cork city.

However, the pressing issue in Cork is really the area of Blackpool, which has flooded several times. There is very little work needed to be done on it. It is in relation to one particular culvert, which needs to be dug up and replaced. That design, I believe, is going to tender shortly.

The last area I will touch on is the housing capital budget, which we all have recognised is a significant issue. I am aware that the funds from the sale of Bord Gáis Éireann of in the region of €500 million will be earmarked for voluntary housing schemes but the actual capital investment in housing will not be enough to meet the demand.

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