David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

Like others, I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He might know that, last week and before that, many Senators raised the issue of the protection and rights of children on the Order of Business. Recently, we discussed the Ombudsman for Children's report on children's rights. She is advocating for those rights. As repeated in the Chamber, she stated that lawmakers should stop and listen to children. I would say that we also need to act and ensure we provide for children.

I agree with Senator Mullen that eating into learning supports is deeply misguided. It is also economically wrong and socially unjust. The State has a fundamental responsibility to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to the education he or she deserves. I am a parent of a four year old and my wife is pregnant; we are due our second baby this week. Like any parent, I would be concerned if a child did not get the kind of support he or she needed. The Minister of State would accept this concern as well and the Government will try to do its best, but we are discussing cuts, namely, taking away from the most vulnerable and depriving children of the education they need. It was a disgrace that, under the previous Government, many parents needed to take the State to court to get their children the education they deserved as a right.

We must make a comparison. On the one hand, we are borrowing money from the IMF to repay billions of euro to speculators and gamblers while, on the other, we are stripping schools of special needs assistants, SNAs. Families and citizens feel aggrieved by this injustice. It is morally, socially and economically wrong for us to deprive children of the education they deserve.

The Minister of State will be aware that Ireland subsidises private education to the tune of €30 million per year. I have no difficulty if people have money to put their children through private schools. That is fair enough, but the taxpayer should not be footing the bill when we are enforcing cutbacks in schools. We cannot divorce the situation of the SNAs from the overall situation of cutbacks at primary and secondary level. For example, class sizes have increased in recent years. In some schools, classes comprise 30 pupils or more, which will have an impact.

The Government and the country need to take a step back and ask whether we are on the right course, making the right decisions and getting the best use out of our money. There are many arguments about how and where to cut. In a Republic that claims it wants to cherish all of its children equally, surely their education is the last place we should start cutting.

It is appalling that children who deserve and need extra support from the State are not getting it because of cutbacks. Much can be done. For example, €30 million is being spent by the taxpayer to subsidise private education. In the context of the Finance Bill, which we will debate this week, we can table propositions on how to save money and raise income. Taking money from education is morally and economically wrong. Every euro one invests in education benefits the economy tenfold, as it leads to a properly educated workforce in which everyone has an equal opportunity.

The argument is that, although we appointed SNAs and provided money, a programme of service delivery did not exist. Saying that cuts will help to improve literacy levels is a bit like saying that disease will be alleviated if we cut the number of hospital nurses. It does not stack up. Rather, it scapegoats people and does not deal with the reality of the issue. I understand how difficult it is for newly elected Government Members who stood on a promise of not cutting education, of protecting the most vulnerable and of ensuring we reverse many of the cuts made by the previous Government.