Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

A number of years ago, we passed a referendum to put children first, but when one listens to the testimonies of the school principals who were in Leinster House last week or of the parents, teachers and SNAs who attended our recent meetings on special education, what they describe is a dire crisis in our schools and the Government's complete failure to adequately resource, staff and fund schools for our children, thereby shortchanging our children on their future and potential.

The disconnect between the Minister’s narrative and the testimonies we are hearing from teachers, school principals, SNAs and parents is stunning and probably tells us why she is not tabling an alternative motion. She does not even believe her own narrative. According to it, there is no underfunding crisis. It has to do with the way we calculate GDP, apparently. We have loads of extra staff and adequate funding and we are making strides forward. She does not table a countermotion, though, so she does not really believe all of that. She knows that the accounts we are getting from teachers, principals, parents and so on are the truth. They describe teachers, principals and SNAs who are burned out and considering leaving the job. We have schools that are overwhelmed by the cost of heating, energy price hikes, insurance costs, day-to-day running and managing deficits, with special needs children in particular being let down in terms of the resources and teachers they need. Under the new allocation model, one third of schools lost special education teaching resources. The Minister claims that resources for complex needs have not been removed, but that is what has happened. Teachers and principals have told us to trust schools and listen to them. They know what they need and they have the information we need, but the Government does not want to know what they need because it is not willing to give them the necessary resources. There is an inability to recruit and retain teachers because they are running away from working under these conditions and that level of stress.

I wish to paint a picture of the provision of school buildings in my area. The lack of planning and commitment to schools has been extraordinary. Gaelscoil Laighean has been in two temporary buildings and is now in its third. It has a permanent site, but there is still no planning permission for the building. Dún Laoghaire Educate Together National School has been on several temporary sites. It now has a permanent site with planning permission, but there is no sign of construction commencing. Sallynoggin Educate Together National School is in a temporary building and has no permanent site yet. It has one ASD class and has asked the Department for another because it is massively oversubscribed, but the Department has said it will not get one until it gets a permanent building and will not even say when it will get that building. Gaelscoil Phádraig has been waiting 20 years for a permanent building. Blackrock Educate Together Secondary School is moving into its secondary temporary building and still does not know when a permanent site will be tendered for. There is simply no political commitment or will on the part of the Government to fund, resource and plan for the education of our children. It is a disgrace. We have the resources. There is just a lack of political will.

See this speech in context