Deputy Joan Burton has reacted with fury to the Government decision to increase average class sizes saying that “these poorly-thought-out cutbacks are a disgrace. Young school children are being made to pay the price of Fianna Fáil’s mis-management of the economy.”

“About one in five primary school children in Dublin 15 are already in super-sized classes of 30 or more. We have had an acute shortage of primary school places in Dublin 15 for some years now and this decision will only make things worse.

“The biggest primary school in the area, Sacred Heart National School in Huntstown, has already indicated the impact that these budget cuts will have. They could lose up to six teachers, including 4 language support teachers. With substitute cover for sick teachers also being withdrawn, three to four classes could end up being sent home on any one day.

“Another local school, Castleknock Educate together, which already has the biggest average class sizes in Dublin 15, is set to lose up to 5 teachers.

“The Labour Party is tabling a motion in the Dáil next week to have these harsh education cutbacks reversed and we would hope that all local TDs would support this.

“I was surprised and disappointed by the Government’s U-turn on class sizes and a host of other education cutbacks which will have a detrimental effect on the development of young school-children in Dublin 15. This is bean-counting gone mad.

“The Government had promised to reduce the average teacher:pupil ratio to 24 for the 2010/2011 school year. This is one more promise that this Government has thrown on the scrap heap.

“Up until last year, the Minister for Education would routinely provide data on class sizes by means of a reply to an ordinary parliamentary question. This year, such requests were refused on the basis that ‘the information requested is not readily available and would take an inordinate amount of administrative time to compile.’”

“I was concerned at this change in policy and submitted a freedom of information request to get my hands on class size figures for Dublin 15. The results are quite shocking. They show that more than half of primary school classes in the Dublin 15 area have 27 or more pupils while nearly one in five have at least 30. This rises to one in four for schools which are not designated by the Department of Education as being located in ‘traditionally under-served areas’.

“Even in a more difficult economic environment, we must continue to invest in the skills of our young people. Maintaining investment in education was one of the hallmarks of Irish Governments of all stripes since the 1960’s. Even during the dark days of the 1980’s, this investment was maintained when many other areas suffered cutbacks. It is bitterly disappointing to see the current Government diverge from this long-standing policy.”