Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will make two brief final points. I welcome the allocation for special education. It closely resembles what we called for ourselves. The point with regard to special education is that it is not just a matter of the budget. The situation that arose last year was a matter of planning, not the budget. We need to make sure that we do not have a repeat of it next year. The budget should be in place but now that the powers are in place, we have to get the planning right this year.

The reduction of the pupil teacher ratio by one is welcome but it is a shame that the recommendation of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation and Sinn Féin for a great leap forward, by reducing class sizes by two points, was not taken up.

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