Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 539: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the solutions he proposes in regard to the consequences for a primary school (details supplied) in County Waterford arising from the recently announced budget 2009 cut backs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38470/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the correspondence referred to by the Deputy. The 2009 Budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. These decisions were made to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run. In this respect Education while protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure could not be totally spared.

We are dealing with an economic situation of unprecedented difficulty. The Government has a collective duty to respond to this and to take very difficult decisions in the national interest. In doing this we have attempted to afford some shelter to the education sector but given the scale of public expenditure on education it is simply not possible to avoid tough decisions. I fully accept that these decisions are not of themselves desirable and that they can only be justified by the imperative of securing the future economic stability of the country. I have called for cooperation from all the education partners in meeting the challenges facing us both as an education community and as a country.