Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

That is why it must be ensured in-service training is provided for all teachers in order to ensure the quality of teaching.

I refer to the substitution issue, which is important. With regard to costings, the substitution scheme was demand-led and it was becoming unsustainable. Prior to 2003, no supervision or substitution scheme was in place. The scheme was introduced in 2003 and it cost €37 million. However, when I took up office the cost of the scheme was €250 million. That was unsustainable and it could not continue to expand at that rate. I had to call a halt and, thankfully, I decided I would take a step back when I was contacted by representatives of the management bodies who indicated that if I made certain funding available between January and June, the schools would manage within the realms of that. At the same time, they agreed to a total review of the scheme during that period. The process has commenced and I am hopeful that, at the end of the day, the full review will result in a system under which each school will have a budget within which it will live and we will move away from the demand-led system because it cannot be controlled.

The provision of prefabs is an important issue. The Labour Party is trying to make a big issue out of it but it is misrepresenting the position. Many prefabs provided to schools nowadays are of outstanding quality.