Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)

Education is crucial to competitiveness. We will not have it without teachers, yet many schools are in crisis situations. I will give one example from my constituency. St. Mary's Boys National School in Rathfarnham is set to lose another teacher next year, having lost one in September, unless the Government commits to reducing class sizes. I have been contacted by many parents, one of whom wrote to say:

My son is already in a class that exceeds the national average size. Without intervention, he may soon be placed in an even larger multigrade class, which would significantly affect the quality of his education. The school is currently just four pupils short of retaining its 16 class teachers.

In the budget, it was announced that 1,042 teachers will be hired, which will not cover the 1,046 teachers who will be retiring so it will not reduce the pupil-teacher ratio. The hospitality VAT rate cut cost the equivalent of hiring 7,800 teachers, illustrating where the Government's priorities lie. Will the Taoiseach commit to reducing class sizes?

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