Fine Gael TD Deirdre Clune has revealed Department of Education figures that show 12,774 children in primary schools in Cork were in classes with 30 or more pupils last year.

Department of Education figures released yesterday reveal that last year 12,774 of the 54,566 children in primary school in Cork were in classes of 30 or more. We now have a situation where nearly 1 in 4 Cork primary school students are in classes of 30 or more.

These figures are for the 2008/2009 school year and do not take into account the Government’s decision in last years budget to increase the pupil teacher ratio from 27 pupils per teacher to 28. This decision will lead to even larger class sizes this year.

Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe has stated that he believes that overcrowded classes do not affect education and has used this as a basis for increasing the pupil teacher ratio. It is an opinion that is not shared by the teachers in the schools or the parents who have children in overcrowded classes.

The decision to increase class sizes in the last budget are now being felt in local schools across the country and it will not be forgotten that this decision was supported by local Fianna Fáil and Green TDs and Senators. The Government has decided to sacrifice our education system and put the high quality of Irish education at risk without any real benefit.