Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Question 16: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his view that any increase in the pupil teacher ratio at second level will seriously impact on the career and study options of our young persons and could mean that thousands of students will miss out on science education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34847/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As I have already stated, I will not comment at this stage on any changes to the pupil-teacher ratio and the impact it could have. I assure the Deputy that the Government in its budget discussions will endeavour to protect front-line education services as far as possible. However, this must be done within the context of bringing our overall public expenditure back into line with what we can afford as a country.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I am sure the Minister is aware that if there are cuts to teacher numbers and the pupil-teacher ratio goes up, this means more kids in classrooms in primary schools, but at secondary level it sometimes means that schools need to cut subjects. One school in Dublin has had to drop its honours maths teacher and its art teacher. Whatever way one looks at it, it seems a retrograde step to make honours maths and art unavailable in a school where they were previously available. Kids may have been studying one of these for three years and, all of a sudden in year four and year five, it is no longer available. Given that the Government is pretty keen to make sure we are progressive in the subjects we make available to students and that the future must involve an improvement in education facilities in order to benefit the workforce, does the Minister not think there should be some way of making sure schools do not lose particular subjects? Is there any way of safeguarding this?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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It is my intention that when the budget has been announced and the measures have been signed off and voted upon by the Dáil, I will ask a group within the Department to examine the impact the measures may have within different schools across the country. It is not possible at this stage to predict these in advance. The measures that will be enacted in schools after the budget will start in the autumn of next year rather than in the next school year, which starts in September 2012. We will be examining it in that context.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The Minister skipped the question on history, which is of interest.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy is all right. He can read it.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Can I ask the Minister how interested he is in the subject of history? History has been an undervalued subject in Ireland, and given that history is the story of men and women and teaches us where we came from, who we are and where we are supposed to be going-----

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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If the Deputy had been here an hour ago, the Minister would have given him the low-down.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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If I told the Deputy I was on page 602 of The German Genius by Peter Watson, which details to a considerable extent the extraordinary genius of the German people for the last three centuries, would that be sufficient indication of my interest in history?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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I am pleased to hear that. It is very good and I am impressed.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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That is a very good answer and I am not the teacher.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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There is a perception that history does not make money so there is less interest in investing in it. If the likes of George Bush and Tony Blair knew a little more about history, they might not have wasted ten years in Iraq and as many years in Afghanistan.