Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his portfolio. Education is about every child being able to realise his or her potential. It is also about society reaching its potential. We invest in education from the national purse because we believe no child should be denied the opportunity provided by education. The amount we are willing to invest in education tells us a lot about our national priorities.

Unfortunately, Ireland lags behind most other OECD countries in its education expenditure in almost every sector.