Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate all the members of the committee and in particular Deputy O'Loughlin for chairing it. It is an extremely deep report. It excited me because cross-party support shows that something can be achieved. We have similar examples with the Sláintecare and the future of mental healthcare reports.

We have been listening to queries about school buildings programmes in our offices over recent years, not months. As the new Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan and the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, are aware, there have been ongoing issues in Carrigtwohill in my constituency. The difficulty of school campuses seems to be replicated around the country. When a committee of all parties and none comes together and can thrash this out and come up with doable and credible recommendations surely it is a blueprint and a plan. These should be followed. I welcome the fact that the school buildings programme is taking into account provision for special classes for students with autism and other special needs. There seems to be huge demand for that. I recently met with Educate Together in Midleton and it too is looking for an additional secondary school and an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit. It is a question of moving things forward. Education is the key to opening any door. We have a fabulous education system. If we can give children the best that they are entitled to that is one of the strongest stepping stones in life. Everybody who has spoken tonight seems to be very passionate and honest about it. I always have been honest about it because we in this House have an opportunity to do things right.

Barnardo's did a survey some time ago and calculated that it would cost an additional €130 million to deliver free primary education to all children. In the context of the large budgets we deal with here that does not seem to be a lot. It would take immense stress off schools, parents and teachers. The question of voluntary contributions, school raffles and so on were mentioned but if the stress was taken off the parents, the principals and the teachers, they would have less to worry about if the education was provided free at the point of entry. People would then be willing to give a few bob and that is how the school can guarantee getting green areas for PE and so on. That has a positive effect. Barnardo's said that an additional €126 million was needed for the secondary schools. These are not unrealisable sums of money to do the right thing and make education free as it has never been.

I am in this Chamber with many teachers but the Minister of State sitting across from me, Deputy Stanton, taught me in school many years ago. I may not be that young but I am certainly younger than Deputy Stanton. He can remember much more about the school than I can. Maybe some days I did not want to be there.

People have said that principals of special schools should automatically designated administrative principals. That would be an invaluable support and would have a positive effect. In respect of capitation rates and funding for schools, if the Government was willing to take on what is in the education committee's report and the Barnardo's report it could eventually have inclusive free primary and secondary schools. The effect of that would be less stress on families and the community and on the system. When people appreciate something that works they buy into it and will give it more support. That model should be seriously considered.

Another recommendation of the report is generic uniforms. That is putting unbelievable stress on families, leading to them going to moneylenders, borrowing from anybody. It has reached the stage where parents are taking the badges off old clothes and sewing them onto generic clothes. That puts stress on the children going to school.

If children do not have the up-to-date uniform and so on, they will be victimised, which is very unfair.

In response to a recent parliamentary question, the Minister for Education and Skills said:

[The capital programme] also provides for devolved funding for additional classrooms, if required, for schools where an immediate enrolment need has been identified or where an additional teacher has been appointed. Details of schools listed on this programme can be found on my Department's website.

Many speakers in this debate have spoken about parents panicking and I see it in my office every day. They are panicking because they have no clue where their children will go next year. It is not just an issue for secondary school, but also for primary school. I wrote to all school principals in east Cork recently and the replies I have received so far are very worrying. I am not sure how the Department calculates its figures and I do not want to cause problems for the schools in question but there are 160 children on one waiting list and 128 on another. Parents are phoning me and emailing me about this constantly. At 5 p.m. this evening I received an email from the parent of a child who has moved from No. 90 to No. 60 on the waiting list, wanting to know what can be done. This is causing such stress for people. The Minister has said that where an immediate enrolment need has been identified, contact should be made with the Department. Is it possible for elected representatives to contact the Department on behalf of school principals? This is also putting school principals under severe stress. They are dealing with families every day who are phoning or calling to the schools and asking if their child can be guaranteed a school place next year.

The report is extremely inclusive and provides a wonderful blueprint for the future but I worry about our ability to drive it on. My biggest fear is that it will sit on a shelf like many other reports produced in this House. Another important issue is the abolition of salary gaps for new teachers. I would urge those working in the education sector as well as parents and community groups involved in educational projects to read this report and in particular, its final recommendations. In that way they will educate themselves about what we are trying to do in this House. We are trying to improve education in this country. The report has received cross-party support. I assure the Department that Members on this side of the House will do our best to drive this forward and make the necessary improvements.

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