Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the opportunity to speak on this motion regarding primary school funding. I thank Deputy Harkin for proposing such an important motion today. I fully support the motion, which calls on the Government to commit to aligning primary educational funding with the OECD average to ensure the ancillary grant is sufficient to cover the cost of running schools and to enforce the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to ensure every child is receiving a proper education and sufficient support.

Our schools are in a dire situation at the moment. It is shocking that we rank last in terms of our investment in education of the 36 developed OECD countries. We invest 13% per capita compared to the OECD average of 27%, and this is being reflected in our schools. It has been reported that seven out of ten schools have run at a deficit at some stage over the last 12 months, which is totally unacceptable. Heating, electricity and insurance costs are squeezing school budgets. The once-off cost-of-living grant was not enough to make any real or lasting difference. It has been reported that more than half of schools are having to raise funds to cover their costs.

As if school staff do not have enough to do, they are now forced to raise funds to ensure their schools are able to function. This is an incredibly unfair burden to put on those who already contribute so much to our society. Even though the number of children with special needs in primary schools increased by 56% between 2017 and 2021, SNA and SET allocations have been frozen or cut. Allocations do not match the level of need presenting in schools and many children are slipping through the cracks.

The Government has done little to address this and has instead introduced programmes without much forethought or consultation. The hot meals programme is being extended, with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, saying that she wants to see every primary school child in the country receiving a hot meal in 2025. However, there has been little consideration of the fact that many schools are struggling for space and facilities as it is, particularly rural schools. I have never come across a primary school with a canteen in County Donegal. I doubt that most would have the facilities for, or accessibility to, delivered meals. Primary schools are struggling to pay for cleaners as it is, meaning that the expectation will, once again, fall on teachers to facilitate and clean up after hot meals.

The Government needs to invest significantly into ensuring better facilities for our schools. Many are operating in completely unsuitable circumstances. Glebe National School in Donegal town, for example, has been waiting on a modular classroom for over a year. The application was submitted in March 2023 and it was expected that the classroom would be available in September 2023. It is now the end of the 2023-24 school year and there is still no sign of it. Over the last year children have been taught in completely unsuitable conditions. The special education teacher at the school works out of a kitchen and English as an additional language, EAL, lessons take place in a space under the stairs or in a hallway. This is what the Minister should be prioritising to ensure children and teachers have access to safe and suitable learning environments, and sufficient resources and supports are available.

It is also shocking that there is no mechanism for schools to provide feedback on who has needs within their classes. The 2024 allocation model uses outdated data from 2016 and ignores the current needs. The model relies on enrolment numbers, literacy and numeracy scores, and educational disadvantage metrics, but lacks any individual profiling. As a result, resources are allocated based on historical data but not on current needs, which is hugely problematic and leads to allocated supports that are often not helpful and do not address the actual needs present.

It has been reported that the Department will not accept individual profiling, citing the general data protection regulation, GDPR, but how can children’s needs be adequately addressed without any information about what their needs actually are? GDPR must be a godsend to the Government because it allows the blocking of any information at all being transferred across the system. This would seem to be the purpose of it at this stage. Current accurate data can easily be gathered from schools via their pupil online database or annual census returns, and this should be considered by the Minister.

There is a genuine crisis here. Our schools need massive, immediate investment. The ancillary services grant should be remedied immediately. The capitation grant should be linked to the cost of living. Teaching principals require far more support and the SET allocations model must be reviewed immediately. We also need to address the fact that 50% of DEIS band 1 schools have staff deficits and many primary rural schools are experiencing this too. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, children are coming to school with a range of different needs. Many rural schools are seeing an increase in children from war-torn countries, some with severe needs, with no staff to manage these situations or address these needs, despite these needs being well known in advance for the schools in question.

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