Vol. 424 No. 2
3 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Minister for Education if he is prepared to undertake a reorientation of education expenditure in the light of the recently published OECD report, Education at a Glance, which shows that Irish education expenditure at primary level is 40 per cent of the OECD average and that our 26.8:1 pupil/teacher ratio at primary level was treble that of Belgium; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
34 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Education if he will make a statement on the recent OECD report which showed that of all countries studied, only Turkey has larger primary school classes, that our secondary school classes are also well above OECD average size and that Ireland spends less per primary student than all other OECD countries; and when class sizes will be lowered to the OECD average and school funding increased.
70 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Education the steps, if any, he will introduce to bring our pupil/teacher ratio into line with other European countries taking into account a recent OECD report on Education which stated that Ireland had the largest classes in Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Priority Question No. 3 and Questions Nos. 34 and 70 together.
I should point out that the figures on which the OECD report is based refer to the year 1988. Since then, spending on primary education has increased by 28 per cent. The OECD report also shows that we invest more of our wealth in education than the OECD average — 6.2 per cent of GDP as against an OECD average of 5.7 per cent. The need to ensure that as many young people as possible are provided with the facilities to complete a second-level education and, particularly in view of the employment situation, to build up the provision for third-level education and training has placed an enormous burden on our resources. The extraordinary measure of success which has attended the efforts made in these two sectors must be acknowledged.
Specifically in relation to pupil-teacher ratio, there has been a number of improvements in the ratio in recent years. It now stands at 25.2:1 at primary level for the current school-year and will be further reduced to 25:1 in 1993-94, down from 27.5:1 in 1988-89. The pupil-teacher ratio at second level has also been reduced in recent years.
I agree that there is a measure of balance to be redressed and priority will need to be given to the primary sector in the provision of resources in the future.
Would the Minister agree that the level of expenditure as a percentage of GDP and total public expenditure is not at issue; that we owe the OECD a debt of gratitude for dispensing with global figures and concentrating on expenditure per student; that compared with the position in Northern Ireland we lag hopelessly behind in terms of school transport, school meals, library services and the quality of school buildings? We should acknowledge this.
We will never have the amount of money that both the Deputy and I would like to spend on education; I acknowledge that we will always need more resources. While much work remains to be done in the primary sector expenditure has increased by 28 per cent in four years. I should like to quote an interesting figure so that the public will be aware of it. We now spend £1.7 billion on education which is equivalent to half the entire tax take of the State. Compared to other countries, we do very well. So far as any Minister for Education or Opposition spokesperson on Education is concerned obviously this is not enough and we will have to continue to try to do better.
Would the Minister agree, in terms of priorities, that the sixties and seventies were the eras of second-level education; that the eighties and the nineties were the eras of third-level education; that at this stage we have to go back to providing the basic tools of education and personal development and that there is a need for reorientation and greater expenditure on primary education?
It is my intention in the immediate future to give priority to primary education. However, the Deputy should remember that we are looking at an additional 25,000 students at third-level and that there has been a virtual explosion of interest in third-level education which is enormously expensive. Having visited many primary schools, I am aware of their pressing problems, particularly in relation to construction work. I am attempting to address this problem.
