It’s difficult to understand how the Department of Education is facing an overspend of up to €700 million while schools around the country continue to struggle from underinvestment, according to Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins.
The Dublin South Central TD said, “I am deeply concerned at reports that the Department of Education is looking at an overspend of between €600 million and €700 million this year, with other government departments expected to absorb the cost.”
“This situation lays bare a fundamental contradiction at the heart of government policy. We are told there is an overspend, yet Ireland still spends around two per cent less than the OECD average on education as a proportion of GDP.
The Soc Dems education spokesperson said, “what we are seeing is a system under sustained pressure. Schools across the country are dealing with buildings that are falling apart, unfilled teacher posts, and not enough appropriate places for children who need them. These are not new problems – they are the direct result of years of inadequate investment.”
“The government’s response to the recent SNA debacle – an emergency €19 million fund – only underlines how reactive and short-term this approach has become. Instead of proper planning, we are lurching from crisis to crisis, plugging gaps when public pressure becomes too great,” she said.
“Parents and children are still waiting far too long for the reintroduction of in-school therapies, and progress has been painfully slow. At the same time, capitation grants remain far below what schools actually need to keep the lights on and provide a basic standard of education.
“It’s hard to understand how there is an overspend in education when schools are under-resourced, staff are overstretched, and children are not getting the supports they need.
Cummins said “we need sustained, planned investment in education that matches other European countries, not accounting exercises that shift pressure from one department to another.”
“Our school communities deserve better than a system that is permanently on the brink. This government must stop treating education as a cost to be contained and start recognising it as an investment in Ireland’s future.”