Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

Every family in this country will be approximately €3,000 worse off as a result of the budget yesterday. However, this country could face nothing worse right now than a recession in our education system. It is an outrage and alarming for this country that in terms of literacy standards it has fallen from fifth to 17th place in the OECD and in terms of mathematics standards it has fallen from 15th to 25th place. Let us wake up and smell the coffee. We are on the brink of a major depression if our educated workforce is at risk.

I wholeheartedly support Senator Bacik's call for the House to urgently invite the Minister to the House to discuss standards. This is a failure on the part of the Government. Why has the Government not monitored standards and learning outcomes? Why has the Minister for Education and Skills not kept an eye on standards? Above all, why has the Minister not invested in teachers? I am not referring to pupil-teacher ratios but to the quality of our teachers and their ability to remain in touch with the needs of children today. The needs of our children are being benchmarked against the developed world. Our youngsters must compete against the best in Europe. The only chance this country has is to have an educated workforce so we can continue to attract industry.