Ireland gets low OECD school ranking

DESPITE recent increases, Ireland still has one of the lowest spending levels on education of almost 30 developed countries surveyed in a recent report.

Of all the countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), only Greece, Turkey and the Slovak Republic allocate fewer resources to education than does Ireland, says an OECD report. The OECD is a think-tank mainly for First World countries and those on their way up.

Ireland spent just 4.6% of national income on education in 1999. Education Minister Noel Dempsey acknowledges this level - the same as Peru - leaves Ireland well behind many countries.