Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House although I regret the Minister for Finance is not present. However, I appreciate the Minister of State will communicate my thoughts to him.

I hope some priority issues which I raise will be taken into account on budget day when it comes to allocating the finance that will make a difference. There can be many policy positions and aspirations but unless resources are committed, nothing will happen.

I wish to raise the issue of integration. Will the Minister for Finance be investing in integration through the provision of funding at local and national level? I see glaring needs in this regard in County Galway.

When I speak to local service providers and consumers I am reminded every day that integration is the greatest challenge this country faces in the next ten years. A total of 250,000 people are speakers of other languages and they require English language support to be able to integrate successfully. Currently only €10 million is being committed and this is a minuscule sum; we should be committing €25 million to even match the EU average expenditure in this area. I would like to see a change in policy in this area.

It is time to consider a pilot scheme of five or six centres for the establishment of multicultural centres in areas of high multicultural density. The aim of such centres would be to enhance integration by providing information, mother and toddler groups, activities based around English language classes, classes in Irish culture to help people become familiar with their new country and, most important, such centres could help develop leadership among these new people. The cultural differences are significant and need to be addressed.

Concerns are emerging in the field of education due to lack of understanding and a failure to address the issue of integration. Irish families, white families, are concerned about a lowering of standards of education as a result of the multicultural nature of classrooms. I refer to a pressing local issue in Galway city. East of the city is an area called Doughiska which in 2000 had a population of approximately 300 people but which now has a population of 8,000 people, consisting of 36 nationalities, 20 new estates and no primary school. This is unbelievable and unacceptable. Children from these areas are feeding into other local schools.

I raised this issue with the Department of Education and Science which responded that there are sufficient places in the surrounding schools for the period up to September 2008. This is an unacceptable answer. If people are to integrate into a new community, it must have a primary school at its heart. The only group currently addressing this issue is the Catholic Church which has set up a new parish, the Good Shepherd parish, headquartered in a GAA complex in Castlegar community centre. The situation is appalling. Investment in a primary school in this area of Doughiska and its surrounds needs to be given serious consideration in the budget.

As the Fine Gael spokesperson on education and science, I wish to raise the issue of class size. The Minister referred in the pre-budget outlook to class size being a ratio of 27:1. We all know this is not real. Moycullen national school has a class size of 36. When small classes and large classes are taken together, the Minister is taking an average class size of 27:1. I recommend that a flat class size would be implemented, beyond which no class would go. I suggest the Minister should not quote the national average size as this makes no sense in reality. I ask the Minister to fund a flat class size of 27:1 in the budget. The Government in 2002 promised a class size of 20:1. The INTO campaign for smaller class sizes was looking for a lower ratio. I ask the Minister to ensure that no class is bigger than a ratio of 27:1. This would be a landmark decision.

I also ask the Minister to increase the primary school capitation grant from €163. School fundraising is funding primary schools and it is a feature of every school in the country. Compared with OECD countries, Ireland's investment in education is low. I ask the Minister to prioritise integration. I look forward to him coming to the House. The introduction of a flat class sizes and an increase in primary school capitation are two issues from my list.