The Minister for Education and Skills has pointed out that there is a clerical error in the motion circulated; the total number of primary teachers should be 31,700, which represents an increase of 51%.
In the last month a series of urgent issues has rightly dominated our discussions in this House. However, we should never lose sight of the need to make sure longer term issues also receive attention. Nobody can question the idea that education lies at the heart of the future of the country. The major expansions in provision and participation levels in the past four decades provided the essential foundations for broad and deep social and economic progress. As we consider the policies required to help Ireland to build a lasting recovery, we should be clear in stating education is a priority.
This is the first time education has been debated in the 31st Dáil. It is not the typical partisan motion which has too often been the mainstay of Private Members' debates in recent years. Our intention is to put before the House a constructive motion based on a core principle which all parties should be able to support. The motion points to a number of areas in which it is impossible to deny progress, but it equally acknowledges that serious problems remain in the education system. It expresses the belief education will be central to recovery and states the House believes it should be a priority. It attacks nobody and demands no extra spending. It simply states that in the allocation of what is available education and training should be a priority. We believe it is important for the Dáil to make this statement not just because it is early in a new term but also because budget policy is being discussed by the Government and important decisions will be made in the near future.
In the past few weeks there has been a number of occasions on which a wider consensus of the House could have been achieved on a motion had the Government been willing either to consult the Opposition or pass up an opportunity to introduce an amendment to require the Opposition to endorse the Government. I hope the Government will not insist on pursuing this tactic in tomorrow night's vote, but it is clear from the reaction of the Minister for Education and Skills that this will be the case. There is nothing in the motion which is incompatible with the manifesto of either Government party or the programme for Government. On a number of occasions in the last month we have supported Government proposals and I hope this will be reciprocated in the vote on this motion.
One of the great failings of debate in this House has been that issues have been approached in an almost cartoonish way by different sides. Our debates are generally framed around the idea that everything can be seen as black or white. The Opposition denies progress and the Government is reluctant to concede that there are problems. A new variation was pursued by the Government last month when it was implied that nothing positive had happened in Ireland before 9 March. I acknowledge the ingenuity of Government scriptwriters in finding new ways to explain how policies which were disastrous on 8 March are radical and visionary today. The ungenerous and narrow approach to spinning and diminishing clear advances made in recent years reflects poorly on those involved. They would be well advised to understand such spinning has a habit of rebounding badly in the long run. Fundamentally, we cannot have a constructive debate on policy if we insist on denying progress has been made. It is not possible to set a credible and effective agenda for the future of the education system if we blindly refuse to give any credit for past policies or accept that many things are better today than they were in the past.
Serious issues remain to be addressed in the education system in the years ahead. Many of these have been identified in the programme for Government and were identified by parties on all sides of the House during the campaign in February. However, let us not fail to recognise what has been achieved or fall into the trap of believing every problem we face is uniquely Irish. I recognise there are unique elements to our system, but the underlying educational issues in areas such as literacy and standards are ones shared with many countries. The fact is there has been significant expansion in every element of the education system in recent years. Resources have expanded, as have the positive outcomes in the system. Class sizes in Ireland are high in some schools, but they have been steadily reduced in all schools and are today at their lowest levels in history. There are many schools in significant need of capital investment, but the largest building and refurbishment programme in our history has been under way for many years. The OECD has shown that, on average, our school buildings rate well internationally. Participation in third level education remains unequal, but the rate of increase has been fastest in groups which have historically had very low participation rates.
While education is at the core of any commitment to social progress, its economic role is undeniable. At a time of enormous pressures those areas of the economy most reliant on the education system are also the strongest. In areas in which education based skills and knowledge are the key to success Ireland is continuing to be a world leader. Knowledge intensive industries that are our greatest bright spot present our greatest opportunities for the future. Every serious examination of how Ireland will recover sees export-led, knowledge intensive industries as the essential element. That is why the Dáil should signal that education will be a priority when vital fiscal decisions are taken. It should also support a programme of addressing key weaknesses within the system.
The expansion in the primary education sector in recent years has been unprecedented and is something which happened by choice. In early 1997 the then Government endorsed a fiscal policy based on the idea that there would be a reduction in the number of teachers. It also entrenched capital funding policies which put up an enormous roadblock against parents and communities which wanted to build new schools or expand existing ones. No one in the House could dispute that the move away from this policy towards a sustained programme to increase teaching resources and enable new schools to be provided was the right one. The expansion in the number of primary teaching positions from 21,000 to 31,700 has been enormously beneficial, as has the increase in non-traditional patronage of schools which has been enabled to reach critical mass which allows for further expansion. These new teachers and schools are doing great work which should not be undermined as we seek to deal with our undoubted problems.
I have always had a personal interest in special needs education and intend to raise the issue regularly as my party's spokesperson. I hope Deputies will acknowledge the dramatic increase in support for children with special needs in recent years. By any measure, the increase in the number of special needs assistants from 250 to 10,000 is significant. Each of us, as individuals or public representatives, knows students who have benefited from this worthwhile and necessary investment.
The most recent literacy surveys have highlighted important concerns. While factoring in the reality of non native speakers in the figures, there is no doubt that Ireland needs to improve literacy levels in its primary schools.
Fianna Fáil welcomes the Government's stated intention to prioritise this area and I heard the Minister speak eloquently on this. I welcome the move from a rigid curriculum which ultimately excluded as many as it helped. The introduction of many important areas into the curriculum in the last decade has been very positive but the need to revisit and strengthen the emphasis on literacy is clear. The Minister will find us to be constructive on this matter and eager to debate evidence-based solutions to the problem.
The four year fiscal strategy outlined in November last contained funding to increase the numbers of posts in education and maintain a high level of funding for school building. We hope that this high priority given to education will be maintained.
On a number of occasions, the Minister has pointed out that Ireland has an unusually large number of small primary schools primarily, although not exclusively, in rural areas. He has rightly pointed out that there is a value for money audit going on into the spending attached to these schools. Our position on this review is that it is about maximising the educational return to communities from these schools and not about finding ways of rationalising them. There may be areas where shared resources, such as specialist teaching and IT support, could make a big difference. In my county, our vocational education committee provides information technology services to voluntary secondary schools and to a number of primary schools. That type of initiative must be given further momentum in all areas of public service, whether central or local government. This would correspond to some of the clustering work which has been carried out so well under disadvantaged area schemes. However, I want to make it clear, as we did well before the election, we do not, and will not, support any programme to rationalise smaller schools.
In government we very explicitly increased the teaching and other resources available to small schools. The number of one teacher schools was cut not by closing them but by giving them extra teachers. We did this because we see local primary schools as an irreplaceable part of community life. This is true for areas with few people as well as for minority religious communities. In fact, the biggest beneficiaries of expanded support for small schools have been the schools of Protestant denominations outside of Dublin.
The Minister should be clear that we will support him if his agenda is to increase the educational gain from spending on these schools. If his agenda is to reintroduce the rationalisation programme which we abandoned in 1997, we will oppose him as strongly as we can.
At second level, school completion figures have increased over the long-term due to a range of measures, including curriculum diversity. Research indicates that completion is likely to increase further due to economic circumstances. There is no doubt that the issue of standards and the relevance of courses is the most important item on the Minister's agenda.
The programme for Government commits to the reform of the junior certificate and leaving certificate, including reform of mathematics and science teaching at second level. The Government also plans to introduce a bonus system for mathematics, make science a compulsory subject by 2014 and continue investment in the professional development of mathematics and science teachers. I strongly welcome this commitment to the improvement of mathematics and science teaching at second level, building on progress made in recent years. As a recent study from the Higher Education Authority showed, prior educational attainment, particularly in leaving certificate mathematics, is closely associated with successful progression through higher education. In terms of individual subjects, leaving certificate mathematics appears to be most strongly linked to successful progression to higher education after secondary school.
The HEA study last October also found that prior educational attainment outweighs all other factors, including social class, gender and choice of education institution, when determining how likely it is that a student will go on to college and complete his or her certificate or degree. Students with low levels of achievement in leaving certificate mathematics are the most likely to drop out of the higher education course where such students have enrolled in scientific or technological courses.
In the past couple of years, a major programme of reform was introduced designed to encourage a better understanding of mathematics, to reinforce the practical relevance of mathematics to everyday life and to ensure better continuity between primary and second levels and between junior and senior cycles.
The former Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe, introduced the project mathematics initiative in 2008 which was first piloted in 24 schools but has since been mainstreamed in all secondary schools across the country since September 2010. This initiative was supported by a national programme of professional development for teachers which began in 2009. While it is early days, the emerging results are positive with 18.5% taking higher level mathematics in those schools where project mathematics was piloted compared to 16% nationally. I welcome the Government's commitment to this initiative.
In science, there have also been further increases in participation rates in chemistry and biology but participation in physics was down very slightly this year. Engineering and technology have also had increases in participation rates at higher level. I welcome the proposal in the programme for Government to make science a compulsory subject by 2014.
The report of the innovation task force recommended the introduction of bonus points for higher level mathematics so students beginning their leaving certificate can make informed decisions about subject and level choice now. The former Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, indicated her own view at the time of the desirability of sending a clear signal to second level students about the introduction of CAO bonus points for achievement in leaving certificate mathematics at higher level. She wrote to all seven universities and they all agreed last year to the introduction of bonus points for mathematics. This scheme will run on a pilot basis for four years from 2012.
This Government's commitment to follow through with measures on mathematics and science reform is to be welcomed and we support it. I would also like to see the Government make a clear commitment to protect funding for the project mathematics initiative and the professional development of mathematics and science teachers.
We acknowledge that problems remain in our system in terms of early school leaving and that more can be done to encourage greater completion levels at leaving certificate level, particularly among young males. An ESRI report, No Way Back, found that approximately 9,000 teenagers are leaving school every year without completing second level education. Since the mid-1990s the level of school completion has remained relatively stable at 80% to 83%, with gender and social class strong determinants in early school leaving. Young men from working class or unemployed households are most likely to leave school before completing the leaving certificate. The report found that Ireland occupies an intermediate position in rates of early school leaving in Europe with levels of early leaving lower in Ireland than the European average.
In order to tackle early school leaving, we need to tackle disadvantage within our school system. We welcome the Government's commitment to follow through on measures aimed at tackling disadvantage in our schools. The programme for Government commits to maintaining the free pre-school year in early childhood care and early childhood care and education and commits to considering the recommendations of the review of the DEIS programme. While it is too soon to assess the impact of the free pre-school year, the take up of the scheme has been considerable and it is welcome news that the Government is proceeding with this important initiative. The introduction of the free pre-school year has been widely welcomed by people, in particular by child care providers and by many parents. The initiative has been mentioned to me many times by parents since its introduction a relatively short time ago. It is an innovative and a positive measure which has produced very good results.
For those who leave school early or who have completed their schooling, a wide range of training measures are required for people of all abilities. The national recovery plan provided for stronger activation measures for the unemployed, including the setting up of a community work placement programme, a skills development internship programme and additional placements on the work placement programme.
Last December a suite of new and expanded initiatives were announced which were designed to provide assistance to the unemployed, with a particular focus on graduates and apprentices. These included the creation of a new €20 million multi-annual higher education labour market fund, an expanded redundant apprentice placement scheme for up to 1,000 apprentices, 700 places in the institutes of technology for redundant apprentices to complete their training, 5,000 places on a new skills development and internship programme and the expansion of the work placement programme from 5,000 to 7,500 places.
These initiatives are in addition to a total of almost 465,000 training and education places currently available in 2011. Of those, 140,000 are training places, 168,000 are in the further education sector and 156,000 are in the higher education sector. We believe in the importance of providing training for people according to their own abilities. I hope to have the opportunity to debate further education in the near future. There is major potential to provide that upskilling in a good geographic spread because of the presence of our post leaving certificate colleges and our colleges of further education in areas where there is no easy access to institutes of technology or FÁS training centres.
The programme for Government commits to providing additional training, work experience and education places for the unemployed and to do so in a supplementary budget. However, it is unclear which additional training measures it intends to pursue. We urge the Government to prioritise the introduction of training measures focused on key skills needs of the economy.
One of the most surprising aspects of the programme for Government is the lack of detail around the Government's strategy for higher education. It simply says that it will review the recommendations of the recent Hunt report and reform third level funding. With higher education playing such a crucial role in our economic recovery and job creation, greater clarity is needed around its plans for the sector.
Last week, a unique new world university ranking by subject placed a number of Irish universities in the top 100 for their engineering and technology degree programmes. The survey was unique in that the ranking took into account the employability of graduates. The results of this survey are hugely significant for Ireland and the universities involved. Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin and University College Cork all achieved placing in the world's top 100.
These results confirm that the massive investment in the third level sector is paying off. Not only are we producing some of best graduates in the world, but we are employing some of the best graduates in the world in computer science, technology and engineering. These sectors are critical to economic recovery and job creation. This country cannot afford for this progress to be squandered. Progress must be built upon.
During our time in government we were hugely successful in pursuing ambitious goals to widen participation and increase student and graduate numbers. As a result, we have positioned ourselves in the front rank of OECD countries. The expansion of opportunities for higher education in Ireland is reflected best in the attainment levels of young adults, 45% of whom have now acquired a higher education qualification. The proportion of 18-year-old people entering higher education is approaching two thirds. Alongside this dramatic expansion, we significantly increased retention rates at third level over the past decade. A recent HEA study on the issue of early college leaving found that 85% of students progress from first year to second year and that the Irish higher education system compares favourably with other countries in terms of student progression and course completion. There is a progression rate in the university sector of 91% and in the institute of technology sector of 84% on honours degree programmes. As with every country with expanding tertiary provision, we have to be vigilant about the use of the money and the standards achieved within the system. We will support the Minister in his efforts in this area.
Over the past decade we have witnessed a dramatic transformation of the research landscape in Ireland. In 1997 the exact total of dedicated research funding allocated to the Department of Education was zero. Not only has the level of funding changed, it is a great example of clear, measurable progress emerging as an output. Last year, a comprehensive international study of higher education research performance ranked Ireland eighth on the impact of our research publications and also noted that the volume of research articles and reviews from Irish universities and colleges published in recognised international journals more than doubled in the past decade. On volume, Ireland shows an impressive increase of 33% in terms of research output for the five years 2002-07, second only to China in terms of the increase.
According to the chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, not only have we become a serious player in research but we have made an impact. I hope the Government will place the same level of importance on investment in research and that the next step for the Government will be to increase collaboration between universities in the area of research, and between institutions in Northern Ireland and the Republic. The synergy and benefits of collaboration on an all-Ireland basis must be pursued.
Investment in education and training has delivered great progress to Ireland in the past and will be central to building a positive future. Even at a time of great fiscal pressure there are choices that can be made in allocating funds and there are many initiatives that require few if any resources. Education cannot escape untouched, but it can and should be given a priority. The Government has many welcome education proposals in its programme, as well as many areas that remain unformed. We will support the Minister in many of his intended initiatives but we will also strongly oppose him where we disagree. I commend the motion to the House.