Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am going to focus the majority of my speech on the education side of the budget yesterday, which was like the budget before it and the one before that, a budget of half measures. I do not use the term lightly. To describe a person, thing or entity as a half measure is not something I would like to do, yet that is exactly what we seem to get. It was the accusation that was levelled towards the Government's budget yesterday and, I would argue, since it came to power. Yesterday, it was announced that the free book scheme would be extended up to junior certificate level. Last year it was provided at primary level, yet we took away the ICT grant. The Government gives and takes away.

Students, parents, teachers and staff throughout this country have described, in online forums that we looked at and in news and media, how the budget yesterday did not go close to far enough in the realms of education. One person described it as a shambles. We know this because they have come out in their droves to say it. The Irish National Teachers' Organisation, INTO, said that budget 2024 fails miserably. It does so precisely because of its approach of half measures. The INTO is forecasting the loss of 250 more teaching posts by next September as a result of yesterday's mockery. Included in that mockery was the suggestion that an additional 700 new teaching posts could be filled when teacher shortages, a crisis that has been hindering student education and staff welfare for several years now, received absolutely no attention at all. The Government announced 250 more teaching posts but did not address retention and the fact that people are leaving in their droves. No solution was put forward and half measures were announced.

The Department of Education has shown itself of be a Ministry that is only led by broken promises. The Minister, Deputy Foley, has built quite the reputation for peddling false pledges and empty assurances, apologising in the short term while setting up the con for the long term. Last Easter, we were promised 2,400 assistant principal positions. Vital roles which have been vacant for 15 years now would be restored, it was promised. The budget, most predictably, made no mention of a return of these posts of significant responsibility. Last year, the Social Democrats put forward a motion with real solutions to tackle the teacher shortages, which outlined how almost two thirds of primary schools in the Dublin area were short staffed, while those in Wicklow and Kildare faced similar conditions. In many areas very little has changed. In fact it has actually got worse. Yesterday offered no respite from that. Mainstream teachers are still being used to plug gaps in special education classes. The State certainly cannot provide the level of education special education classes deserve. The Government has announced 1,200 special needs assistant, SNA, posts. How does it plan on filling those posts when SNAs are underpaid, underappreciated and have seen no substantial improvement in the terms and conditions of their work for years now? It was one of the first issues I raised in this Dáil term and it is still a significant issue. It all comes down to half measures.

There is no end in sight for overcrowded classrooms, despite the pleas of stakeholders to bring us into line with the EU average, which is three fewer students per class. More than 60,000 are in super-sized classes of 30 pupils or more, an environment not fit for the standard of education of any child in this country. There are 60,000 children in classrooms of 30 pupils or more. All the while, many of those students return home with letters demanding voluntary contributions, a practice so outdated and cruel that it destroys any misconceived notion that education in this country is free. It is free at the point of entry and children are going home with a letter in their backpacks for their mothers who are struggling with the crippling cost of living. Funding must reflect the real operating cost of primary schools, while banning this practice outright. Neither of these basic asks was answered or even referred to yesterday.

The litany of ways the budget has failed primary schools could be spoken about endlessly, but secondary schools have suffered the same fate. Though the provision of free school books up to junior certificate level is welcome news, the cost of leaving certificate materials will continue to hurt families who are struggling with the cost of living. Leaving certificate books can cost up to €40 and many students are taking seven subjects. That is an astronomical fee to place on parents. Yesterday, we were told that junior certificate students will get free books but somehow fourth, fifth and sixth years will once again be treated differently. They are half measures. These costs are crippling low- and middle-income families every August. Senior cycle books and materials exceed the price of their junior cycle counterparts, yet when families need help the most, the support simply drops off a cliff. The billions of euro kept in the Exchequer for a rainy day could have been used to significantly ease the hardship these families are facing now. They are dreading the thought of the bills coming through the door.

In the Social Democrats' alternative budget, we costed free school books and genuinely free education for primary and secondary schools at just €294 million, or 2% of the overall education budget. This shows it is not an expensive measure that needs billions upon billions that would place an undue burden on the Exchequer. It is simply a choice not to do it. The Minister has shown herself to be a Minister not of transformation but of rearrangement. She is providing free school books but removing an ICT grant. The provision of free books up to junior certificate might be a positive measure but there is no word on that ICT grant which schools have been crying out for. Yesterday, I received a number of communications from secondary schools asking if, like their primary counterparts, they will lose that grant. The Government is moving money around and playing fast and loose with people's genuine needs. In our budget, we would have provided free school books and classroom resources. We would have provided free school transport which the Government has not even come close to addressing for thousands of students throughout the country. Some of our most vulnerable students are still waiting for that basic necessity of getting to and from school. There should be no more voluntary contributions. It is a cruel and outdated practice and we could get rid of it.

I have not even got time to go into the DEIS+ categorisation, which so many schools in our most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities have asked for. I have been told it would be looked at but it is too late. If I had the time I would have talked a bit more about counselling and the therapeutic necessities in classrooms, but I will leave it there.

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