Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

When budget 2024 was released, there was a lot in it. Education funding is part of what was outlined. It probably did not make much of a splash by way of headlines because the announcement of free school books up to junior certificate level was the headline but buried within the budget are a number of concerning issues. For example, funding for the capitation fee was €90 million last year and it has been reduced to €81 million for 2024. That is approximately a 3% cut in funding for the capitation fee. When the capitation fee is cut, the funding has be replaced by someone. Who will it be? It will be parents. The voluntary contribution, as it is known, is no more voluntary than the dogs in the street. Cutting capitation fees has left principals with a massive job to do in trying to cover costs in their schools.

We also saw funding for 205 special education teacher posts. It sounds great, but there are 4,000 schools. How can 205 teachers be divided across them? Funding for 260 special needs assistants was announced, but that is 260 across 4,000 schools. Again, it is hard to see how that will have an impact on the education system. There were announcements with respect to newly qualified teachers. They will get an additional €2,000. The schools hiring them in Dubai and various other parts of the world will quite happily give them the €2,000 towards their airfare to get out of here. It is a paltry sum and does not indicate we value education as we should. We are one of the richest countries in Europe. We are running a massive surplus at the moment. Surely we should be looking at the services we are providing for the adults of tomorrow and ensuring they have the best possible education and supports. I see the Deputy Leader nodding. I know she agrees with everything I say because I know her well. We need to go back to the Minister and say where the budget is concerned the report for this year is "must try harder".