Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am afraid I must disagree with the Minister when he says that the reductions in capitation grants were necessary over recent years. There is a hell of a long way to go in terms of the Government's so-called ambition to make the Irish education system the best in Europe, and it will need to do a lot more than hundreds of actions and tick boxes to make sure it delivers that. The reality is that the capitation grant for primary schools works out at something like 92 cent per student per day, which is not nearly enough.

There was talk earlier about pay restoration, but the Government could do a lot for families if it ensured they do not have to fund-raise for schools. Increasing the capitation rates would have the effect of giving all families a pay rise as well because they would not have to put their hard-earned money into supporting schools to pay electricity bills and heating costs. I have seen figures whereby the Government could provide completely free primary education for €103 million per year. Surely that would be a good step along the road to making our education system the best in Europe.

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