Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish the Minister well in his new role. He has assumed a responsibility which carries the hopes of many of the various and numerous stakeholders in education. Guím gach beannacht ar an Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna ar bhonn proifisiúnta agus go pearsanta sa Dáil seo.

I echo the words of other elected Members and express my frustration that Deputies were not afforded the requisite time to consider thoroughly and interrogate properly these Estimates and their impact on our education system which is one of the most important influencers on the success of the country, the economy and, more important, society. Not only is the receipt of such figures at the 11th hour disrespectful to us, as parliamentarians, but laying them before the House in this way without a proper briefing is disrespectful to all the educators working in the sector and the young people who will ultimately be impacted by the quality of our engagement in education strategy.

While I have had only a few hours to review the Estimates, I have a few comments to make. I recognise and welcome the Government’s commitment to the delivery of a strategy for education in its first 100 days and look forward to contributing positively and constructively to this strategy. However, I am not heartened by what I have read in the Estimates. While there are a few moves, small though they may be, towards trying to put right some of the deeper and more painful cuts implemented in recent years, for example, the reduction in pupil-teacher ratios and the increase of 7% in the number of special needs assistants, what I have not heard is any indication from the Minister that he intends to address the serious inequality in the teaching profession. We do not have a two-tier system but a three-tier system in which newly-qualified teachers earn in excess of 20% less than their colleagues, despite doing exactly the same job with exactly the same responsibilities as colleagues.

A recent OECD report, Education at a Glance, found a direct correlation between teachers’ pay and quality of education. The teaching profession in this country has been devalued and demoralised and this will have a detrimental effect on the future quality of education. Put simply, how can the Minister justify a position that is contrary to the principle of equal pay for equal work?

The programme for Government refers to principles of access, excellence, transparency and innovation and to tackling disadvantage in the education system, yet I do not see anything in the Estimates on restoring the ex quotaguidance allocation to second level schools. Cuts to these services reduced the opportunity for young people to have crucial easy access to professionally trained counsellors. The removal of a dedicated guidance counselling service has widened the gap between those who have and those who have not. In some schools parents have the financial resources to ensure their children's school has access to guidance counsellors, while in other schools access to the educational, vocational and support service provided by counsellors has been radically reduced. Surely all children should have equal access to this service, irrespective of which school they attend. To ensure equal access, a financial commitment must be made to ensure the full restoration of the ex quotaguidance allocation in schools and ring-fenced guidance counsellors hours to the position that obtained prior to budget 2012. This will ensure we have a dedicated fit-for-purpose guidance counsellor services in all our schools for all our children.

Where in these Estimates is the statement of intent, the appetite to deliver something truly radical and innovative? The extra special needs assistants provision is of course welcome news for children and parents of children who have special educational needs. Extra psychologists for the under-resourced National Educational Psychological Service, as indicated in the programme for Government, should help to ease the waiting time for education assessments and should be welcomed too. All of this is good news, but we have nothing new here. There is no innovation. A stopgap approach to education is disappointing, to say the least. We need more than filling in the holes or easing the pressure points within the system. The programme for Government states: "We now have an opportunity to change our approach in some aspects of education". These Estimates do not indicate that such an opportunity is being taken. The opportunity to place our children's well-being centre stage is being overlooked. The Department should look at establishing a task force to design and deliver evidence-based strategies to promote resilience within our schools, utilising the top experts in the field. We need to be evidence-based and standardised in our approach. Funding should be provided for initiating research into what strategies and interventions can be harnessed within school communities to reduce children's vulnerability to depression and anxiety.

In many countries all schools, primary and secondary, have a full-time school-based counsellor. In Britain, schools are piloting mindfulness-based programmes where leader schools provide other schools with education and resources. I am not suggesting for one minute that we increase the pressure on our under-resourced, overstretched and demoralised teachers. However, there is an opportunity to try something new and initiate a pilot project on building resilience and teaching mindfulness to our children. There needs to be a formal link, a new conversation, between the Departments of Health and Education and Skills to promote mental wellness among our children, provide them with pathways to inner happiness, allow them to discover and develop their inner strengths and provide them with the tools for coping with challenges. Too often, our children can attain wonderful results in the leaving certificate but crumble to pieces when confronted with their first crisis in college or the workplace.

If this new politics is to present an opportunity to shape collectively the future of education in our country, as the Minister said tonight, then I respectfully request that members of the education committee hear from the Minister next month on his specific spending proposals for 2017. Members of the committee should be informed of what the Department has been negotiating with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of same.

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