Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In any assessment of our education system, particularly our primary school system, it is shown to be one of the best in Europe. This is repeatedly the case with PISA outcomes and results for literacy and numeracy. Our system is very high up there in terms of outcomes. That needs to be said because the Deputy’s narrative was one of unrelenting misery and almost of a system that was not effective at all. The system has grown enormously. The number of teachers has grown enormously. It is up dramatically. This Government has significantly reduced the pupil-teacher ratio. The Deputy did not acknowledge that in her presentation. In the last four years, it has been a singular achievement of this Government and the Minister that we have reduced the pupil-teacher ratio at a primary school level. We have dramatically expanded the hot meals programme. We have significantly expanded the DEIS programme, and with that, the increased financial allocations for primary schools that benefit from being included in the DEIS programme and the various bands in it. We have significantly increased the number of new special schools and classes for pupils with additional needs. The number of special needs assistants has risen dramatically. There are well over 21,000 SNAs in our school education system right now.

I accept there are challenges but it is not good enough to come in and say everything is miserable and a disaster without giving the other side of the coin. The fact is that huge resources, both capital and current, have been put into education over the last three to four years. We have significantly increased the number of teachers in our schools. We have increased the number of special needs assistants. We have increased the number of special classes. We have to do more. We also brought in the free books scheme up to junior certificate level, which is a significant resource to many children and their parents because it removes very severe costs for families and parents. I hope we will be in a position in the next budget to extend that to leaving certificate level. During the Covid pandemic, we substantially increased the capitation grants to primary schools. Also, we improved the situation with school secretaries and caretakers. That also happened under this Government's watch.

We will engage with the Irish Primary Principals Network, IPPN. I do not know if that is the body to which the Deputy was referring and which met yesterday. I helped to establish that body when I was Minister for Education to create a forum for primary school principals, and did likewise for secondary school principals. There are challenges and we will respond to those challenges, as we did last year through the cost-of-living package and other interventions we made for primary schools.

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