Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister acknowledge and understand the level of dismay with which this announcement was received by those who are charged with delivering education through our school system? The €60 million she referenced is not a permanent measure; it is a once-off measure. Relying on once-off measures of a precarious nature, and precarious funding, is categorically not what teachers' unions, teachers and principals asked for as part of budget 2024. One email sent to me by a principal last week stated that it is effectively a 10% cut in capitation. Others said to me that their schools are experiencing profound financial hardship.

The funding of education was the big issue of budget 2024 for countless people because they wanted to see funding put on a permanent footing that would ensure our education system was funded to an adequate amount, ending the myth that we have free education and ensuring that it is actually free. The temporary measures the Minister announced do nothing to address the supersized classes we have in some parts of the country.

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