Before we adjourn I, too, would like to be associated with those words. On the Order of Business earlier today I congratulated Deputy Pádraig Flynn on his elevation to the post of European Commissioner. As a fellow teacher and INTO member, I am delighted that he has been promoted and hope that his experience as a primary teacher in the west and INTO member will stand him in good stead when he comes to deal with the Eurocrats and the Europeans, generally. I also hope that the primary education sector will receive attention from the European Commission.
Education is excluded from the Treaty of Rome but, for me, the most progressive and positive development in relation to the Maastricht Treaty is that for the first time education is included. I also note that last week at Edinburgh the way was opened for new funding arrangements in relation to the Structural and Cohesion Funds.
A document from the OECD, which was published in September of this year, clearly outlined the problems in relation to funding at primary level and established a number of facts beyond yea or nay. First, within Ireland the primary sector receives less funding than any other sector of education and on a pro rata basis less money is spent on primary education in this country than in any other country in the OECD. In addition, we have the largest classes and the least amount of resources and funding.
The reason I raise this matter today is that I would like the Government to take an interest in it. The Minister of State has always taken an interest in education matters but I would like the Government to take a real interest at this stage. It is a little known fact that the primary sector is the only sector which has never received any European funding. All the other sectors, including the regional technical colleges and second level education have received funding.
At this stage most of the Commissioners have been assigned their portfolios and know what their job is going to be. This is an open secret in Brussels. I was in touch with a number of people in Brussels today to confirm this. What is left at this stage? Two major portfolios are still available for the Irish Commissioner — the Regional Affairs and Social Affairs directorates. If our Commissioner is not given one of these all that will remain is what is termed a "rag bag" or "mixed bag" of lesser portfolios.
I am asking the Minister for Education to highlight the needs and primary sector in Brussels and I am asking the Government to make an initial move and move immediately and use its influence to endure that the Irish Commissioner is given the social affairs portfolio. The Minister for Education should convince the Government that there is need for it to use its influnece to ensure the Irish Commissioner is given the education portfolio. It would be particularly appropriate on this occasion that an educationist be given the social affairs portfolio given that for the first time the Commissioner for social affairs will have responsibility for education.
The Cohesion Fund was set up to ensure that levels of support were equalised in European countries. It is quite clear that this fund could be used to great effect in disadvantaged areas in Ireland and should be extended to include the education sector which is the main point of intervention in dealing with the underprivileged.
I have written to the new Irish Commissioner this afternoon seeking a meeting with him and his new staff in Brussels at the earliest possible date in January. At that meeting I intend to make a number of proposals. Among other things I intend to propose that a pilot scheme for the introduction of modern languages into our primary schools should be established; that a comprehensive literacy programme, involving the creation of literacy projects and extra remedial posts, be introduced; the introduction of in-service training and education for teachers; that we respond to the needs of those from under-privileged backgrounds in relation to education, that a building plan be drawn up to ensure that schools throughout the country have a general purposes room and that the caretaker and clerk-typist schemes be extended to all primary schools.
These are all practical steps and when I meet the Commissioner I intend to price them and ensure that the Structural and Cohesion Funds are extended to include education. Some of these are already included but in the case of others a liberal interpretation would be required on the part of people in Brussels to ensure that they are included but it is important that we note at this point that at their meeting at Edinburgh last week the Heads of Government made a commitment to education.
For the past 40 years Brussels has been dealing with the question of training, not education. In more recent times, however, it has begun to deal with the regional technical colleges and other areas and has an interface with both third level and second level education. Nobody has experience of being in charge of developing a primary education programme. Europe is inexperienced in making decisions in the area of primary education. For that reason, recognising that it is completely outside the experience of DG5 — the directorate dealing with social affairs, human resources and education — I would ask the Minister to request the Government to ensure that we press for the immediate establishment of a European advisory commission on primary education.
The Government should also insist that the Commission applies itself to determining a common education policy on those aspects of primary education in which member states have a common interest. It was never intended by anyone in Brussels that Europe would make decisions on education, but there is an intention there to develop co-operation. Therefore we should identify the areas of common interest for primary education and establish a common education policy in those areas. The last time I spoke on this matter I suggested that if we are doing away with the Common Agricultural Policy we should introduce a CEP, a common education policy.
I have covered most of the items I wished to refer to. I would make it quite clear that the funds are there and the Government should ensure that some of that funding goes to primary education. I am asking for the setting up of a European primary education advisory committee and a common education policy as well as the channelling of finance from the Structural and Cohesion Funds to primary education. I congratulate Deputy Flynn on his appointment as Commissioner. I would ask that primary education be given consideration after decades of neglect, having been identified nationally and internationally as the only sector in education which has never received European funding. That sector now deserves support and I would ask the Minister to respond in a positive way.
