Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 July 2018
236. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he has examined a pre-budget submission presented by unions (details supplied) with a view to examining the extent to which he expects to be in a position to positively respond to the queries raised therein in the short to medium term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29691/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have set out the ambition to deliver the best education and training service in Europe by 2026. This Government has already made significant provision to support this ambition.
The mid-term capital review made provision for increased investment in my Department’s School Capital Programme.
That Programme has been delivering an average of 18,000 school places per year in major projects and close to 8,000 per year in smaller scale additional accommodation. This building programme has allowed us meet the needs for extra places for an exceptional period of pupil growth at both primary and secondary level (up by over 100,000) and to expand provision of special education units in mainstream schools from 548 to 1304.
This programme has facilitated the employment of nearly 6,000 extra teachers and 3,000 SNAs in a three year period which has also seen two reductions in the primary pupil teacher ratio.
My Department is satisfied that the €8.4 billion capital investment in the National Development Plan (2018 to 2027) is sufficient to deliver the necessary school infrastructure. This is a 70% increase on the €4.9 billion in the previous 10 years (2008-2017).
I fully acknowledge the areas which the Deputy has referred to in his question are important for investment going forward and I will be competing at cabinet for funding in the next budget.
The Deputy will appreciate it would be premature to speculate what precise level of resources will be available across all Government departments or individual departments in advance of the budgetary process.
In recent years the Government has prioritised new, more modern school buildings; additional teachers; a lower pupil-teacher ratio; the introduction of new subjects at leaving certificate - physical education and computer science, for example; the restoration of funding to our universities. I will consider all budgetary submissions from the relevant education stakeholders.
