Dan Boyle (Green Party)

I will outline the problem with the schools building programme. We need to look beyond the need to construct new schools and repair those which are quite old. We should try to provide schools which are cost efficient. Schools are the public buildings that are most numerous in our society. If we are to create an environment in which people can go through the education system in the most acceptable manner, we need to provide for the highest possible standards in our schools. Despite the straitened times in which we find ourselves, the Departments of Education and Science and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources are about to announce an initiative whereby many of our schools will be retrofitted to make them more cost efficient and energy efficient. The initiative should help school boards of management.

The problems associated with educational finance revolve around the extent to which money is being used efficiently within the administrative infrastructure that is in place. The Opposition is entitled to argue that the inconsistent nature of much of the funding that is provided by the Department of Education and Science allows neither for proper administration nor for the most efficient use of the moneys in question. We also need to question whether certain bodies, such as VECs, use their funds as effectively as they could. I was a member of an efficient VEC in Cork that has one of the highest standards in the country. We have dodged the debate on the number of VECs in this country. What functions should they have? How many should we have to ensure they are as efficient as possible? If we were to examine this area of educational expenditure, we might decide to reduce the level of administration that pertains to quite small urban units. We could achieve significant savings in such a manner. Such moneys badly need to be reinvested in our education system.

We are entering a period in which there are questions about the level of funding that we can and should be giving to education. I hope that decisions announced on Tuesday will be made on the basis that they protect the most vulnerable in our society and recognise the need for those to be given access to the best quality education at primary level. I look forward to returning to this debate after the Minister has dealt with those questions.