Tom Shehan (Fine Gael)

The Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and Minister of Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, do not want to introduce cuts but must do so because savings have to be made. Pay and pensions account for 80% of the overall education budget, with the remaining 20% allocated to run education services. As pay and pensions are protected by the Croke Park agreement, only 20% of the budget is available for cuts. I ask Senators to suggest where expenditure can be reduced to secure the necessary savings.

I appeared on a radio programme last Saturday when Senator Daly suggested that charging the same price for diesel throughout the country, including for agricultural purposes, would secure the savings required. I am afraid that is not the case.

As I noted, pay and pensions account for 80% of the budget. Speaking at a public meeting recently, I told the 300 people present that I did not come to tell them what they wanted to hear and that they may not want to hear what I had to tell them. If the €300 million being paid in increments to the public sector were on the table for negotiation, cuts would not be needed. However, no one is willing to put that issue on the table. The decisions the Government has taken are the consequence of decisions taken by a previous Government. Under the Croke Park agreement, public sector workers decided they would work with fewer staff rather than for less money. This was the choice that had to be made and they chose the former option.

The proposed measures must be implemented on a case by case basis to take account of schools such as the school to which Senator Byrne referred where parents must drive 45 miles to bring their children to school. On the other hand, my parish has seven national schools, namely, one eight teacher school, two four teacher schools and four two teacher schools. As a public representative I cannot stand over this because it is not sustainable.

I went to a public meeting attended by 300 people and told them I could not tell them what they wanted to hear. They did not want to hear what I had to tell them. Probably two of those schools will close while the other two will be amalgamated. The parents have already decided because they pass these two-teacher schools and go to the four-teacher and eight-teacher schools.