Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

Over the past number of years we have on numerous occasions debated the issue of class size at primary level. It is disturbing to read a report in The Irish Times that 5,000 more children are currently being taught in classes of more than 30 than was the case two years ago. This figure came in response to a question tabled by Deputy O'Sullivan. This is despite a commitment given that no child under nine would be in a class of 20 or more in the lifetime of this Government.

The current Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, dismissed this as a noble aspiration. When she attempted to give reasons the goal has not been realised, she used the idea that local school management decided that greater areas of priority existed and teachers would be moved to areas other than teaching children under nine years of age. More recently, the Minister has aired the idea that as a result of unforeseen expenditure in the area of supporting special needs, such a goal could not be realised.

Our pupil-teacher ratio is the second worst in the EU, with only Britain in a lower position. It is unacceptable that in a time when we have such an abundance of resources, and despite all commitments given, such a goal is now just a noble aspiration. It is unfair to the children involved. Many children are in classes of more than 40, and some are in the Minister's own constituency. Some of the classes are in County Galway. It is unacceptable.

Despite many efforts to alert the Minister to what is happening, she has ignored the issue. She has failed, at Cabinet level, to get the necessary resources to bring about the commitment given when this Government took office. Will the Leader ask the Minister her plans to reverse the worsening situation of the past two years? That it is worsening rather than improving cannot be tolerated.