Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I listened very carefully to the Opposition. I will discuss three areas which I know best, namely, school building, class sizes and special needs and disadvantage. It was said that the Department has thrown all the responsibility onto boards of management by giving them the allocations, expecting them to get on with it and that this is the way forward. I was a member of a board of management and witnessed situations where a school needed to be extended and where new classrooms and a sports centre were needed. We received such support from the Department in respect of the architect and the building control section and any co-operation that was necessary was given to us the moment the request was made. The line that has come from the opposite side of the House in this debate has been negative. I believe it is the way forward. We should move it to the board of management, which knows the area and the builders in it and can get a local architect to co-operate with the school building programme within the Department. There is no difficulty with that and I welcome it.

The Government has committed more than €540 million for school buildings this year. When one compares this with more than £90 million in 1997, one can see that this is progress. We may not have a 100% success story, but we are moving in that direction. A total of 1,500 projects will be undertaken this year. These projects range from new roofs to windows to large extensions to new schools in some cases. This is a commitment. This is a fact and I like to talk about facts. This is the reality stated by the Minister and I welcome this progress. There is nobody better than the present Minister when it comes to understanding the world of education, given that she has been there herself and understands how it operates inside and outside the building. The Minister is doing her best at this given time. I could not believe that the motion stated that a change in the leadership at the Department of Education and Science is long overdue. That type of thinking is below the belt.