Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Teachta McNamara. I congratulate Deputy McNamara, who is in the Chamber. It is great to see him here in the aftermath of his being elected as an MEP. I look forward to engaging with him in that role.

We fully endorse the motion. It is evident there is chronic underspending by Government on primary schools. I thank Nóirín Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh and the other principals who came up last week with their teams to put it bluntly to us how bad the situation is. I commend the Independent Group on tabling the motion.

Ireland's expenditure is equivalent of 13% of GDP, while the OECD average is 27% - more than double. That says enough. The Minister of State should listen to the people. This leaves Ireland last of 36 developed countries for spending on education, as per the OECD report. A survey conducted by the Catholic Primary School Management Association in April and May 2024 revealed schools have experienced a staggering increase of 35% in energy costs over the past two years. Insurance costs surged by 98% in the same period. There is everything else as well. We know it from our own households. Primary schools have been operating on a shoestring. I served on the board of management of our national school. Alarmingly, seven out of every ten primary schools have found themselves operating at a deficit in the last two years. That is shocking. When will the Government listen to them and understand?

We had Covid and all the rigmarole brought in at the time. We have health and safety and all those issues that must be complied with now but that were not there previously. Some are necessary and some are over the top. We were told insurance costs would come down but in fact they have gone up. There is a situation with not having assistant principals. What will happen is we will not have principals in national schools. They cannot cope with the stress, trauma and sleepless nights, wondering where the next shilling will come from.

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