Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for being in attendance because there are a few pertinent points I wish to make and I have a number of questions which he might answer.

Before dealing with the substance of the motion – I thank Senator Ulick Burke for introducing it – I wish to discuss my experiences in the field of pedagogy. I had the opportunity to work in both the formal and non-formal sectors of education. I worked in a secondary school and as a community development worker and I believe I can empathise with the people who work in these areas.

We must consider the holistic aspects of education before we attempt to make decisions. As Senator Burke stated, we must exercise caution and take time in this regard. We must look at the bedrock of the education system which, on a positive note, rests in the area of family support. This is a non-tangible aspect of the education system and comes in the form of parents who help their children with homework, who take time out to serve on boards of management and who volunteer to help with sporting organisations. In addition, there are teachers who voluntarily involve themselves in extracurricular activities. The assistance these people provide is a massive and positive component of the education system.

Problems have arisen in education in the past ten years and I wish to refer to a number of them. Income limits for receipt of grants are far too low. I will provide an example of this. A mother with whom I am familiar is a teacher – sometimes when we categorise teachers we forget many of them are also parents – who job shares and she is not allowed to obtain a grant for both of her children who are attending courses in Northern Ireland because of her income limit. In addition, she will not receive compensation for registration fees because they are attending colleges in the North. We are talking here about a parent, who is also a teacher, being discriminated against because she happens to be in the PAYE middle income category. I suggest that net rather than gross income should be taken into consideration.