In this week’s podcast I focus on Budget 2027, outlining an alternative primary education budget and arguing that annual measures like capitation increases, extra teachers, and more SNAs prop up a flawed system rather than changing it. After summarising Sinn Féin’s proposals (additional teachers, special education staff, SNAs, higher capitation and allowances) and the Social Democrats’ plans (free education measures, lower ratios, counselling access, prefab phase-out, meals expansion), I propose a 15-year transformation towards a publicly managed system built around local education authorities, removing patron bodies. Key ideas include the State paying schools’ utilities, insurance, cleaning and procurement; moving to maximum class sizes; reforming school meals through localised, simplified, on-site preparation; embedding wraparound services in schools (counsellors, social workers, nurses, therapists) via expanded training; ensuring public capital spending creates public assets by increasing State ownership of school buildings; funding implementation of the primary school survey; piloting the model in one county; and properly paying all education staff while aiming for two adults per classroom.

00:00 Welcome and Subscribe

01:39 Budget 2027 Preview

02:33 Beyond the Usual Budget Questions

03:56 Opposition Education Pledges

06:53 A 15 Year Transformation Plan

07:38 Local Education Authorities Vision

09:20 State Pays School Bills

15:54 Fixing Class Size Rules

20:02 Rethinking School Meals

25:07 Rethinking School Meals

26:11 Wraparound Support Teams

28:41 Training the Workforce

30:30 Who Owns School Buildings

34:07 Funding Survey Changes

37:13 Pilot Local Authorities

40:04 Scaling the New Model

43:09 Pay and Classroom Assistants

44:15 Stop Piecemeal Fixes

45:34 15 Year Vision Wrap Up

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