Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree. The reason I answered the question in the way I did was just to show we are putting teachers into the schools. Most Deputies are aware of the importance of the 1,500 additional resource teachers we have put in over the past two years. Deputy Carol Nolan just emphasised it. People recognise the importance of leadership and guidance, which Deputy Byrne has emphasised very often, and also the importance of resourcing junior cycle reform. I recognise exactly what the Deputy is saying, but I am trying to balance all these other needs within the school system. As I said, I recognise this is not only a very important issue, but also an issue within the confidence and supply agreement. We are seeing progressive improvement on all fronts and I hope we can sustain this in the coming years.

See this speech in context