Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

——to renege on the commitment that Deputies and Senators gave in the lead-up to the general election to hundreds of concerned parents and teachers who attended the INTO meetings, and to renege on the commitment in the programme for Government to reduce class sizes by one unit every year until 2010.

I seek a amendment to the Order of Business so that we can have a debate on the issue of class sizes and ask the Minister why she is doing this, whether she will rescind her decision and if it is her intention not only to renege on this commitment, as the Government did in the previous programme for Government, but also not to reduce class sizes in 2009 and 2010 as promised by this Government to the people.