Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I take a different view than Senator Tuffy on the INTO and complaints about what must be done. In the December issue of the INTO's magazine, the general secretary commented that, at last, there is progress on class sizes. The magazine goes on to read that this promised reduction in class sizes is the first for four years. The issue also states that much more work must be done, with which I agree. I was impressed by the INTO's pre-budget submission, of which there is a short version in the magazine. The full details are on the website.

I welcome the publication by the INTO of an issue of its magazine dealing with class sizes, to which the Minister has tried to respond. She probably knows I have been campaigning in my constituency for small schools in particular. Last year, I established that five three-teacher schools fell short of the retention of the third teacher by just one pupil. This year, there will be help in this regard, as the Minister announced, but we will still have problems. I always wonder why we examine the previous September's enrolment figures when many schools would have had smaller enrolments than their figures for this year. In the case of three-teacher schools where pupil numbers have fallen from 50 to 49, there must be some way of helping. Some schools will have more than 50 pupils next September but will still lose a teacher based on last year's figures.

This issue must be addressed and those figures should be highlighted in the partnership talks. It is a good situation for two-teacher schools, in which the number of teachers will not fall irrespective of pupil numbers, but three-teacher and larger schools have a particular problem. Principal teachers of a number of the smaller schools are making a point about their workloads. I have discussed this matter with the Minister and a number of public meetings are being held throughout the country on the extra work that principals must do. Many of the meetings deal with school buildings, which have improved due to the devolved grants.

I welcome the fact that Tuam, a RAPID town, now has an educational welfare officer. It did not have any for a long time. I am sorry that many of the ad hoc committees composed of gardaí, social workers, principal teachers and health authority staff seem to have fallen out of the loop because of the educational welfare service. We cannot have one without the other. Those committees should continue, even on an ad hoc basis. I hope the Minister and her Department will examine the example of Tuam, where there are many ethnic minorities and difficulties in respect of school attendance and school leavers, and encourage the committees to remain in place for as long as possible.