Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

Will the Leader get definitive clarification from the Minister for Finance as to his intention to cut the number of public service staff by 5,000 as indicated in the budget? Will she point out to the Minister the crisis in education where up to 40,000 primary school pupils are being taught by untrained teachers? A freeze on appointments indicates that rather than the promised reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio, we will see an increase. Educational support services will be pushed further into crisis because of the failure to make appointments to, for example, the psychological service. Those support mechanisms are very much needed. I ask the Leader to ask the Minister, particularly in the area of education—