Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In terms of the two schools to which the Deputy refers, the concerns and issues with the Department are well rehearsed. The Deputy is right - the conditions in which the pupils are being educated are not acceptable. It is the aim of the Department to reform the system to be able to maximise the use of public finances to provide accommodation where it is required in the first instance, that is, to be able to give all students enrolling for the first time in primary or secondary school a place to go to school. That is the key priority. Our second priority is to make sure that such accommodation is suitable.

I am glad that Deputy Coppinger is now admitting that this country is in recovery. Thankfully, that jobs-based recovery means that we are in a position to announce in the coming weeks a major capital investment plan in our schools, both new and existing. That is important and could not be achieved if we did not have a jobs-based recovery, which gives us the finances to do that. I hope we can stretch those finances as far as possible. The extra money that is now available will mean that additional schools will be built and extra accommodation provided. Hopefully those additional resources will allow us to resolve some of the problems the Deputy has raised. I am sure Deputy Coppinger will agree with that. A key part of investing in education is that it will gives us jobs for the future and allow us to continue investing in education down the line. I am glad the Deputy has finally admitted that the Government is doing something right with the recovery, which leaves us in a position-----

See this speech in context