Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy's sentiments. Education is the great leveller and opportunity giver. Therefore, it is right we invest in it. The budget for education this year is €11 billion, the biggest ever budget for education since the foundation of the State. I am confident that the budget for next year will be bigger again. However, whether it gets allocated to the particular priorities the Deputy mentioned is a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills to decide on when he gets the budget for his Department, which he not yet got. Hopefully, we can give the Deputy a better answer in a few weeks.

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