Economy relies on investment in early education

A KEY to improving Ireland’s economic prospects is to invest as much on pre-school and early primary education as on roads and infrastructure, Labour Party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton claimed last night.

She told the Magill Summer School, Glenties Co Donegal, she is unsure whether we are getting either an adequate economic or social dividend from current spending on education, even with six ministers assigned to the Department of Education.

“It would be a foolish minister who fell back on the usual tired mantras that we have the best educated workforce on the planet. I don’t believe that,” said Ms Burton.

She said that education policy could be as important a factor for long-term economic progress in the coming years as, for example, business tax incentives or physical infrastructure improvements.

“I mean education here at every level because we cannot have full success at higher levels until issues at earlier levels are addressed. I see that august bodies like the National Competitiveness Council put an emphasis on investment in pre-school and the early years of primary education as essential preconditions for later achievement,” she said.

Ms Burton expressed disappointment that her party’s programme for investment in pre-school got minimal attention at the election, but she urged that it get attention in future budgetary plans.

“It is just as significant as the metro or the M3 for Ireland’s future economic prospects. These physical investments gets the lion’s share of attention in public policy but this will change and may indeed change sooner rather than later. I certainly hope so,” she said.

Ms Burton described the lack of interest among talented students in maths, science and engineering as disturbing but said it is not surprising they do not have the status they deserve when there are no engineers or scientists in the Cabinet, but too many lawyers. She described the target set to having 90% of people of school-leaving age complete the Leaving Cert as ambitious, with the current rate at a little more than 80%.

“The system needs to incorporate a much-wider range of social groups if it is to meet its numerical targets and also sustain a stable and content society,” she said.

“One view could be called the ‘knowledge economy’ and it offers huge potential financial and economic benefits to the country and those who take part in it. I prefer to argue for the ‘knowledge society’ that draws in all social groups and, in the longer term, could secure more lasting benefits,” said Ms Burton.