Page 86 of the programme for Government gives a number of commitments to investment in education, which is very badly needed. There are a number of key issues but I will focus on just two for now, the first being a commitment to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio and the other being related to an increase in the capitation grants, which is badly needed for every school considering the very many bills they have to pay. Will there be any progress on that?

I bring the Taoiseach's attention to a situation in Kildare. At least when we are talking about capitation grants, we are talking about circumstances where there is a school but, for many children approaching secondary school age, there is no school to meet the demand. It is very important that we make provision in this regard. The recent census shows that all of the statistics prove the case that exists for a new secondary school in south Kildare.

On the pupil-teacher ratio, I know from my constituency that our class sizes are among the biggest in the country but this is a country-wide issue. No progress has yet been made on this despite its being subject to a key commitment in the confidence and supply agreement. It is very important, not just to this party but also to the country as a whole. It is also a commitment in the programme for Government. I would certainly like to hear something substantial from the Minister on it. It is the one thing in the Government's action plan on education for which there is no action plan. We would like to hear more detail on it and get something happening next week. We would like some kind of detailed progress plan that can give people some expectation as to how the Government will deal with this issue.

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue.

We are working on the programme for Government. There is a commitment in it to address the primary school pupil-teacher ratio and capitation levels.

In the previous two Septembers we increased the number of teachers in our schools by almost 5,000. We have made a very significant investment in additional teachers, including special educational needs, guidance counselling, support for the new junior cycle and middle management posts. All these areas are high priority.

I can assure the Deputies that in the forthcoming capital plan and in allocations in future years for current spending I will seek to prioritise very obvious needs in the education system after what was close to a decade during which very little investment could be made. It is a question of fitting within the budget framework each year.