Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by my colleague, Senator Twomey. As a means of addressing the current budgetary crisis, my party has proposed a one-year pay freeze from next September for public servants earning more than €50,000. Fine Gael recognises that difficult decisions must be made. However, I have spoken to one school principal and received e-mail communications from others who have said they would prefer to take a pay freeze than to have pupils and teachers endure unsafe conditions arising from the education cuts in the budget. The principal to whom I spoke, whose school has 650 pupils, is concerned that his staff will be under extreme stress as a result of the withdrawal of substitution and supervision cover, with the result that the school will, according to him, become inoperable. For now, he is left to decide which three teaching posts to cut. He will have no choice but to send pupils home after Christmas.

Another teacher remarked to me that children need resources in education more than ever before in view of the integration of pupils with special needs, Travellers and non-nationals into the school system. Everybody knows we will have to pay for the profligacy and stupidity of the Government during the Celtic tiger years. The obvious way to raise money is to impose a pay freeze on the public sector. Such is the good will of teachers contacting me that they are prepared to take the hit rather than have their children suffer and see the future of this country go down the drain. In the two weeks since the budget, I have repeatedly asked the Leader to say when the Minister will come into the House to face these realities and answer our questions. I look forward to being given a specific date today.