asked the Minister for Education the amount of money that was originally allocated to cover the projected employment of 500 special trainee teachers; and how he proposes to allocate any proportion of that sum remaining unspent as a result of the shortfall in the numbers actually recruited.

The estimated cost of the scheme as originally announced would have been £1,649,000 in a full year.

As the number of persons who agreed to participate in the revised scheme was known before the 1978 Estimates had been finalised, the provision made for salaries and training costs was adjusted, in line with the numbers involved. There is no question, therefore, of any significant amount of the financial provision remaining unspent.

Given that the recruitment is only half of that originally proposed, is the Minister saying effectively that he could have had another £500,000 for education but he had to give it back before he even got his hands on it?

If the Deputy ponders and considers that I have a 20 per cent increase this year, he will know I did damn well out of it.