As the Minister said, the game is on and we wish him every success that he will have a good result in his Estimates. We all appreciate it is not easy as there are competing demands. Fine Gael and the Labour Party quite rightly included in their programme for Government a pledge to protect front-line services in education, which we all welcome.
The first debate on education in this Dáil was a Private Members' motion which I tabled on behalf of Fianna Fáil that called on the Government to prioritise spending on education. The Minister very magnanimously accepted that motion, as did all parties in this House. I assume he got Government approval to accept that Private Members' motion and I hope he will be able to convince his colleagues to prioritise front-line services in education.
This report appeared recently and I am not saying what union members said to me but what teachers at primary and second levels said to me. They said that too often in the past, pupils were literally lost in large classes and they fear any deterioration in the pupil-teacher ratio. There has been an improvement and, naturally, we want to see it further improved. In 1997, the ratio was 22:1 while in 2010, it was down to 16:1. All of us want to see that improved. Any deterioration would be a huge set back for the education system. I emphasise that teachers at primary and second levels are very concerned should there be any deterioration in the pupil-teacher ratio and increase in class sizes.