Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I congratulate Senator Healy Eames on the motion she has brought to the House and for her passion and commitment as spokesperson on education. I can understand why members of the Government get uneasy when she details the situation in education as it is today. The biggest disappointment for our citizens, after ten years of unprecedented wealth, is to see the problems that remain in education, in renovation, in the schools building programme and the failure to fulfil the promises that were given on the pupil-teacher ratio. Hundreds of parents attended meetings all over Dublin at which these promises were given, yet they have not been kept. I will focus on one issue — the lack of transparency in the schools building programme. Earlier this week, the Minister attended the House and said he would address my concerns about health and safety issues in one school, St. Brigid's in Palmerstown. However, a number of schools in my area are awaiting word on the provision of sites and refurbishment. The lack of transparency is a source of great frustration for principals, teachers, parents and children alike. It is disgraceful not to have a transparent decision-making process in the Department. It is taxpayers' money and details should be available on the website. I welcome what the Minister had to say about this, but it should be clear and there should not be any political interference.

It is extraordinary how teachers can cope with some of the conditions in which they are expected to teach. Nobody can deny the sort of money that has been invested in education, but why have these schools not been dealt with? Why are they not being refurbished? I want to make a plea on behalf of settled communities like Palmerstown. We have seen the building programme in action in newer areas, which is important, but the same urgency should be put into refurbishment work in schools where conditions are simply dire.