I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan. The first Commencement matter is from Senator Shane Curley.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach. I raise this issue in the context of a conversation I had last week with the INTO over in Buswells Hotel. While a lot of what I will raise probably highlights negatives that exist within the education system and offers solutions to them, I also acknowledge the good work that has been done.

In the 2023-24 school year, Ireland achieved its lowest ever student-teacher ratio at primary school level. In the context of the global turmoil we see and the uncertainty that exists across the world, that is a huge achievement and must be acknowledged. However, large class sizes remain the reality. The average primary school class size in Ireland is 22.5 students, in comparison with the OECD average of 21 and the EU average of 19 students per teacher. We in Ireland, as a wealthy country, instead of trying to achieve the average across Europe and the OECD, should strive to be standard bearers in this area. In my party, we pride ourselves on being the party of education. We have huge work to do in this context.

From a teacher's point of view, we talk all the time about the crisis in retaining teachers in the country, and retention is one of the key issues here. We have 419,823 children in oversized primary school classrooms, if we take that EU average of 19. That is 996 teaching posts unfilled, which shows the unattractiveness in some ways of the role and the problem we have facing the retention of teachers. A total of 7,864 substitute teaching roles are being covered by unqualified teachers, which, again, is not a good reflection on our primary school education system and it is something we need to work on. As to what that looks like in practice, we have 51,028 primary pupils who were educated in the 2023-24 school year in class sizes above 30 pupils. That is a lot. That is 1,637 primary school classes that had over 30 students. The fact that our record low number of students in the 2023-24 student-teacher ratio still had those startling statistics shows how far we must go to improve that.

My ask is clear. We need 1,000 extra teachers in the 2026-27 school year at primary level to bring us in line with the OECD and EU averages and to try to push ahead and be one of the standard bearers in this field. Why? First, take a student with special educational needs. As a teacher myself, I think I did my best teaching in smaller classes. It is way easier to spread yourself across a classroom when there are 12, 13, 14 or 15 students in it, as opposed to trying to teach 30 students, which is just not doable. Students with additional needs, in particular, need a lot of the teacher's one-on-one focus. When that is not available, it reduces the effectiveness of that teacher in the classroom, no matter how good a teacher they are.

Second, we could also look at rural Ireland and the number of one- and two-teacher schools that are in danger of closing. A rural school is the focal point of a rural community that might have only the school, the post office and maybe a small shop and the local pub. That school is a vital cog in that whole area's social fabric, and we need to be really careful to make sure that we keep rural Ireland alive when it comes to these schools. Could we look at maybe a lower teacher ratio that we target in some of the more sparsely populated rural areas?

I thank the Senator for his question, his commitment to education and the many engagements we have on education and how we can build on the education system we have. In various reports we have seen the success of the Irish education system. On a continuous basis, we meet the challenges and deficits across the system. The Government and our party are working extremely hard on education, and I am fully committed to education, as the Senator will know. I will give him a few statistics on the education system.

The 2026 budget provides for an investment of €13.1 billion in education, up almost 7% on the 2025 financial year. Budget 2026 provided an increase of €845 million in core funding for education and youth on the figure allocated for 2025, while the total investment figure also includes €1.6 billion allocated for 2026 as part of the national development plan, which goes from 2026 to 2030. This funding reflects the Government's continued commitment, under the programme for Government, to ensuring that every child and young person can learn, thrive and reach their full potential. It builds on the progress made in recent years, while recognising that further work is needed to make education more inclusive and equitable for all.

Funding has been provided for 860 special education teachers across special schools and mainstream settings, along with more than 1,700 SNAs, and a €48 million full-year investment across both the DEIS strategy and the DEIS plus scheme.

Approximately 30,000 children and young people attending DEIS plus schools will benefit from these targeted supports.

Schools in the DEIS plus scheme will receive strengthened, research-informed supports across well-being, attendance, engagement, guidance, leadership capacity, community partnerships and access to services, including the introduction of a new positive mental health and well-being initiative to support a whole-school approach to student well-being. In addition, school leadership supports have been increased and will see additional deputy principals in primary and post-primary schools in the 2026-27 school year.

To go back to the point the Senator made, there are huge commitments to education in the programme for Government that we are working every day to ensure we reach in terms of both mainstream and special education. Under my own remit on the special education side, we have sanctioned 560 special classes, which will open in September 2026. We are constantly looking at how we can best equip the education services into the future. It is Important to note that the Government and I, certainly hold very dearly the issues in relation to smaller and rural schools. They are the focus of communities and lead to better outcomes. We have to be very mindful to protect what we have and to invest in the future in terms of commitment. There is no doubt but there will be additional teachers across the education system in 2026-27 but we have to be mindful, as we head into the summer and budget negotiations, of the challenges. The Senator and many of his colleagues met the INTO and I have frequent negotiations with that organisation in relation to its asks for the next school year and the pupil-teacher ratio and all of that. That is a huge part of its asks. For the very determined and hard-working teachers and SNAs who work within the school communities, we must ensure we support them and have all the resources possible to have better outcomes for the child, not just during school time but into their adulthood as well.

I am conscious that a vote has been called, so we have one minute each and then we will finish up on this.

I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has been doing. An extra 860 special educational teachers is a mammoth investment. Any time I have approached him, whether about school transport or special education, he has been incredibly approachable and I acknowledge my appreciation for that.

The special education side of it is obviously something we need to hugely focus on but what I am trying to get at today with this extra 1,000 teachers is more about mainstream education and the student who has additional needs who may thrive in the mainstream setting if the student-teacher ratio is brought down a small bit. It can be a very lonely place for a child, particularly if they have educational needs, to be in the classroom and feel totally lost and not know what to do, simply because the teacher is spread too thin. What this motion speaks to today is to try to bring down that student-teacher ratio, give the teacher a chance to cater to the needs of every student and allow that student who needs a extra little bit of help to thrive in the context of a reduced student-teacher capacity.

More than 43,000 teaching posts have been allocated across the primary school system at present and that represents an increase of just over 5,000 teachers since the 2019-20 school year. We have been steadily improving the pupil-teacher ratio and the average class sizes during this period. There is continued investment in terms of mainstream and special education. The entire education budget has been the source of some commentary but we are really meeting the need that is presenting at both primary level and special schools and classes, as well as at post-primary education. As we as a society, party and Government believe in education, we are committed to working with partners across Government in terms of the education requirement. The points the Senator has made will be reflected on very carefully. We have a lot of work to do. We have a great education system, but we need to further strengthen and support it into the future.

There is a vote on now.

The Minister of State, Deputy Troy, is paired, so we are going to take him next.

While we are waiting, I welcome Camila Alejandra Blanco, who is from Florida and is interning here with Senator Joe O'Reilly. She is very welcome. I hope he is looking after her well and bringing her in to the Members' restaurant every day for lunch, as is the custom for interns. I have no doubt he is. Ms Blanco is very welcome and we wish her the best in her studies and work experience.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Troy. Is he still celebrating or is he quiet on the football today? Next up is Senator McCarthy.