Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

However, it is a case of prioritising how she reaches this target. In the context of rolling out the commitment, she must have due regard for special educational needs, which has been stressed in the House today. The Minister and the Government are firmly committed to reaching the target set out in An Agreed Programme for Government.

We should consider the record of recent years. For example, the pupil teacher ratio has gone from 22.2:1 to 17.44:1 over the period of this coalition Government.