Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Seán Haughey, to the House. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of offering promotion to a long-term employee of mine who rejected my offer because, as I later discovered, he could not read or write. Having known the man for years, it came as a jolt to learn this.

I support the motion even though it does not go far enough. On that basis, perhaps I should support the Fine Gael Party amendment. The motion strikes a note of complacency as opposed to urgency. In other words, it seems to argue that everything is all right.

I have been a long-time champion of lifelong learning for two reasons. First, this form of education addresses the reality of modern life, namely, that the knowledge we acquire at school is insufficient given the advent of new technology and other developments. We will fall behind if we do not continue to learn following school. Second, I champion lifelong learning because, as the motion hints, it provides an opportunity for the less fortunate to catch up. In these affluent times it is too easily forgotten that we have a hard core of long-term unemployed who, in many cases, cannot secure jobs because they have a lack of basic skills such as literacy. At least the man to whom I referred had a job and had managed to hide his problem for many years. Many others fail to find a first job.

I make no apologies for repeating a point I made during last week's debate on competitiveness when I raised the IDA's efforts to attract overseas direct investment. The question of investment in education is for me what the phrase Carthago delenda est was to Cato the Elder who repeated these words until Carthage was destroyed. We need a quantum leap in the level of investment in all parts of the education system. The calibre and skills of our people will depend on how much we invest in education but not nearly enough is being invested to realise our aspirations.

Investment in education must not be increased in line with increases in Government spending in other areas. It is not sufficient to place education at the top of the queue each year when the various Departments do battle in the run-up to the publication of the Estimates. The radical increase we need in educational investment cannot be delivered incrementally but must be provided in one fell swoop. The OECD used the term "quantum leap" to describe what was needed in this regard. This is not just a soundbite but describes exactly what is required. Treating the problem with the seriousness it deserves means making education our most important national priority and being prepared to provide proper funding for it before we begin to consider other demands on resources.

Two weeks ago I attended a conference in Venice at which Queen Noor of Jordan and other speakers addressed the topic of education. Queen Noor argued that in trying to solve world hunger, the best investment one can make is in educating women because so many women around the world do not receive an education.