Teacher unions and opposition parties have today criticised the Government after a new OECD survey found that Ireland continues to rank close to bottom in terms of spending on education.
Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland general secretary Pat King said the report underlined the "compelling evidence of the economic and soical benefits of education". He said Ireland's continued low investment in Ireland was "deeply depressing."
The Education at a Glance 2010 report shows Ireland invests about 4.7 per cent of its GDP on education compared to an OECD average of 5.7 per cent.
Only the Czech Republic, Italy and Slovakia rank worse than Ireland in terms of education spending among OECD countries.
Irish National Teachers Organisation general secretary Sheila Nunan said the report showed opposition to education cutbacks was entirely justified.
"Irish primary education is significantly underfunded and under-resourced. Teachers and parents are rightly outraged when they see less than adequate funding for the education of young children being cut in order to rescue failed economic policies," she said. "Ireland's low rank in terms of education spending shows the low priority the Irish Government gives to education."
The study shows that spending on all levels of education combined doubled between 1995 and 2007 in Ireland. However, GDP more than doubled over the same period leading to a decrease in expenditure as a proportion of income.
The new report, which features data on all OECD member countries and eight non-OECD States, shows that spending on education in Ireland has fallen back significantly since 1995 when the country invested 5.2 per cent of GDP on education.
The Teachers Union of Ireland was also highly critical of the continued lack of spending on education.
“It is important to highlight that these comparisons are already dated as the education system has been routinely asset stripped by the Government over the last two years," said general secretary Peter MacMenamin. "Ireland would fare much worse in 2010 in any of the comparisons put forward in the report, which is based on a survey carried out in 2007."
"Students leaving the education system in the next few years will find it increasingly difficult to access the labour market. The very least families should expect is an education service that will provide them with the skills to maximise their life chances,” he added.
Opposition parties were equally as scathing in their criticism of the Government.
Fine Gael education spokesman Fergus O'Dowd said the that at a time when education should be at the forefront of our economic recovery, the Government has cut back spending on it.
"Education holds the key to our economic recovery. We need a skilled, high-tech workforce participating in a thriving knowledge economy. This means that education should be in the vanguard of policy formation but Fianna Fáil is, instead, leaving the sector languishing. It is to all our cost that this is the case," he said.
The Labour Party said the OECD's report showed that successive Fianna Fáil-led governments "blew the boom."
"When it comes to prioritising spending in Education, the track-record of Fianna Fail in Government has been abysmal. Three years later it is clear that with the Greens in tow, matters have gone from bad to worse," said the party's education spokesman Ruari Quinn.
"The coming years will see our education system constantly struggle to cope with the rising growth in student numbers. The children born today will be in school in four years time. We don't have long to prepare. We need action now to ensure all the children of the nation can get the kind of education that they deserve," he added.
Sinn Féin education spokesman, Senator Pearse Doherty, said the report showed the Government was more wrapped up in looking after its own interests than in developing an education system that works."
“People pay taxes on the reasonable assumption that they will in turn be afforded with quality public services. The fact that Irelands ranks fourth last in terms of education spending and has the second highest class sizes in the EU is a kick in the face to taxpayers," he said.
“The government and Minister for Education need to get real. They cannot waste billions of taxpayers’ money bailing out banks while at the same time delivering substandard public services such as education," the Senator added.
Elsewhere, the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland said publication of the OECD report highlights the challenges facing the country as it seeks to develop a "smart economy."
““Ireland is producing a higher than average percentage of graduates, with 45 per cent of all 25-34 year olds holding a third level qualification. These high levels present a tremendous opportunity for Ireland to build a talented workforce capable of competing at the highest level to attract foreign investment. However these benefits will only be realised if Education receives the necessary funding to produce quality across all levels of education," said a spokesperson for the organisation.
