asked the Minister for Education the length of time it is intended for the latest committee to be set up by her, the Review of Primary Education, to take for its work; and if Circular 20/87 will take effect before the conclusion of the review.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Primary Education Review Committee.
67.
I have not prescribed a date by which the Primary Sector Review Body will be required to report.
As I stated previously, no change under Circular 20/87 will take place before 30 June 1988 in order to give the Primary Quota Review Committee an adequate opportunity to carry out their task of reviewing the position in each school affected by the circular.
Without making a speech, will the Minister answer yes or no to some simple questions? Does the pupil-teacher ratio come within the terms of reference of the latest primary body and will Circular 20/87 become operative before the primary review body have concluded their work? I ask both those questions because both the INTO and the National Parents Council stated quite clearly that Circular 20/87 is part of the primary review.
I am being told to be brief and the people who put the questions are being very diffuse. This is certainly a turnabout for the books.
They are very simple questions.
I am determined to be as diffuse as I want to be in my answers.
Yes or no?
Circular 20/87 is suspended until 30 June and the primary quota review body——
It is the primary review.
——has had an opportunity to do its work.
That is not what I am asking about.
The primary sector review will of course take many issues into account. It will deal with demographic changes——
Will it deal with pupil-teacher ratios?
——and, as the whole world knows, demographic changes mean pupil-teacher ratios. Of course it will deal with pupil-teacher ratios. I would not tell the esteemed chairman in what way he should do his business. We have been very lucky in securing the chairman that we have. Next Thursday I will be launching that review and the terms of reference of the review will be made public. It would be entirely incorrect——
The Minister has not answered the question.
——and quite unprofessional of me to come in here to announce the terms of it prior to the launching——
Evasion again.
There is no evasion.
Yes or no?
Circular 20/87 remains until the end of June when the primary quota review body will have had its chance to report.
That is no help at all.
I was astounded at Deputy Hussey's Government's record when I looked back over it and found that the last review of the primary sector was in 1954.
In her time the Minister has had four reviews.
That was 34 years ago. It is the most important sector in education.
That was the last time that Fianna Fáil had their backs to the wall.
I intend to do this now. Deputy Bruton has been amazingly interested in the educational sector and I think he is preparing his own little red book. I would be very keen to have a look at it.
I shall send the Minister a pre-copy. However, let her just answer Deputy Hussey's question.
There are two questions to be disposed of, Nos. 68 and 69.
Deputy Hussey's photograph is still up on the wall.
That is true.
I call Question No. 68.
The Minister is not in the school room, she is in Dáil Éireann.
This is a very interesting question and I am most pleased to answer it.