Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Nílim chun an t-am ar fad a úsáid ach tá mo chomhghleacaithe nua ag iarraidh labhairt freisin, mar sin roinnfidh mé mo chuid ama leosan.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an tuarascáil seo. Rinne an coiste oideachais a lán oibre maidir leis. Chualamar ó a lán daoine agus bhí díospóireachtaí maithe againn sa choiste. Tá súil agam go gcuirfidh an Rialtas agus an Aire moltaí na tuarascála i bhfeidhm go luath mar go bhfuil sé an-tábhachtach don chóras oideachais go dtéann an Roinn i ngleic leis na moltaí sin. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Uasal Alan Guidon, iar-chléireach an choiste, as ucht an obair ar fad a rinne sé fad is a bhí sé mar chléireach ann. I thank Alan Guidon, the former clerk to the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, who is here in the Chamber. I thank him for all his help not only with this report but throughout our sittings. I also thank all those who appeared before the committee.

I am delighted that my two colleagues who were elected last week, Deputies Malcom Byrne and Pádraig O'Sullivan, are here because they both have a background in education. It is great that Fianna Fáil, the republican party but also the party of education, has these two new Deputies going forward.

Notwithstanding the general success the Irish education system recorded in the PISA results earlier this week, it faces major challenges, none more so than in the school building area. In the tender published by the Department this week the Minister proposes to build between 20 and 30 new schools, although we do not know the exact number. All the schools listed are in the greater Dublin area.

They are all badly needed. While they are needed, the Minister, in the tender, stated that they may happen and that they may comprise temporary or permanent accommodation. The difficulty he faces is that there are not 20 to 30 schools around the country crying out for accommodation. There are approximately 1,000 that we know of on the lists. This is a significant issue for him and no plan has been put in place to get these schools built all around the country.

The schools building programme is related to the issue of places. Deputy Malcolm Byrne, my colleague, raised the issue of Gorey and Wexford, which I had done on his behalf before he was elected. Now the Deputy can paddle his own canoe - I am delighted to be able to say that. Of course, I will continue fighting with the Deputy in respect of Gorey. The situation in Gorey is mirrored in Skerries, Malahide, Wicklow, Kildare, and particularly, in my own constituency, Meath East, where there is a severe shortage of places now in the Dunshaughlin area. Despite the Minister announcing a new school in the Drogheda-east Meath area, there is a shortage of places there as well. The lack of demographic planning is worrying. Given a series of new primary schools has opened in these areas, it is worrying that the relevant provision for second level has not been put in place.

This may well be one of the last set-piece education debates before the general election. There will be questions to the Minister on one or two occasions prior to that and perhaps a Private Members' debate as well. It is important to reflect on what we have achieved over the past number of years. I am delighted to have been my party's spokesperson when it insisted on a reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio in schools to the lowest level in history, and we must make further progress on that. I am also delighted that the guidance counsellor service was restored at second level. That was crucially important, but further progress has to be made.

Fianna Fáil insisted on new legislative provisions for special classes but they need to be acted on. They need to be used not as a primary tool but rather as a tool where one cannot get schools to co-operate. We must ask schools to co-operate to provide special classes voluntarily and then if we have to, and only if we have to, use legislative sanctions.

The issue of green spaces has been mentioned. My colleague, Deputy Casey, tells me that the green space is on the roof of one school in his constituency. In my constituency, there is a campus at Ashbourne. I am losing track of the number of schools that the Government has built in the town - I think it is four at this point - over the past number of years. They were badly needed. I refer to Gaelscoil na Mí; Ashbourne Educate Together, which is a fantastic school and pupils of which I had in Leinster House yesterday; the new Ashbourne community national school, the principals of which we had to bring up to the Department to make that case. For a long time, the officials had been denying there was an issue; and, of course, Coláiste De Lacy. There is a real lack of green space there. The Department has land. When the Department is putting schools together in a campus format, it will have to provide for green space so that we can have primary schools and secondary schools competing at the highest levels in sports and that we can adhere to the important national objectives relating to children moving and running around.

There has been some progress on capitation rates over the past number of years, but not enough. That will feature prominently in the general election. I fully expect to be under considerable pressure, rightly, from teachers' unions and the education sector on capitation because it is only when we can get capitation back up to the appropriate levels, that we can tell parents it will be all right, regular contributions will not be needed, and they can have their raffle at Christmas or whenever, but they will not need to make up for the essential running costs of schools such as paying for toilet roll.

I will not take up too much time because there are two Deputies here, who are new as well. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan has not spoken yet and he will need a lot of time.

Táim buíoch den choiste. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach, Teachta O'Loughlin, as an obair thréan a dhéanann sí ar an gcoiste sin. Táim an-sásta go bhfuil seachtar nó ochtar Teachtaí ó mo pháirtí féin, a bhfuil an-spéis acu san oideachas, anseo. Ní fheictear an spéis sin ó gach páirtí ar an gcoiste. Is trua é sin toisc gurb é an t-oideachas ceann de na rudaí is tábhachtaí sa tír seo. Caithfimid seans a thabhairt do gach duine éirí sa saol leis an bpoitéinseal atá acu. Sin an fáth go bhfuil spéis faoi leith ag páirtí Fhianna Fáil san oideachas.

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