Education

Fianna Fáil believes in improving participation and achievement at every level of education. We believe that every child should be educated in appropriate and comfortable facilities. We are in the middle of the largest and most sustained programme of school modernisation in the history of Irish education. Forty-three major school building projects are to go to tender and construction in 2009, creating more than 19,600 places in new schools, extensions to existing schools and refurbished schools.

Fianna Fáil believes in education, both as a means of enabling all individuals to reach their full potential and as a major contributor to our country’s success. These two key priorities underpin our approach to education.

Fianna Fáil is reversing the historical under-investment in school buildings, improving services for children with special needs and ensuring a multi-faceted approach to enabling children from disadvantaged areas to make the most of the opportunities available to them at school.

We are meeting challenges such as catering for the needs of an increasingly multicultural society, preparing young people for the knowledge society and building the research base that will be central to our ability to attract high skills jobs in the future.

Fianna Fáil is fostering a spirit of partnership with all the stakeholders in education – parents, teachers, school patrons/trustees, management bodies and the community – to deliver on the goals of creating the best education system possible.