The pre-election tax cuts being promised by other parties are "difficult to reconcile" with the spending on public services that the country "desperately needs", the Green Party said today.
Publishing its pre-election 50 steps to a better education systempolicy on education, the party challenged other parties to say how much they are prepared to invest in education and how they would fund it.
The party said it would invest €1 billion in education in its first year in government.
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent TD
Green Party leader Trevor Sargent TD said: "Increasing investment in education is one of the Green Party's fundamental objectives.
"Our education policy...is a blueprint for providing a first class education service for modern Ireland.
"The proposals are fully costed and represent the best investment we can make in the future of the country. These education objectives will form a key part of our programme for government after the election," he said.
"We would like other parties to state today exactly how important investment in education is to them and how they would fund it; from our calculations we find it difficult to reconcile across-the-board tax cuts with the spending on public services that this country desperately needs."
The party's education spokesman Paul Gogarty said Ireland invests less in primary and second-level education than most European countries.
"Investment has remained stagnant since the 1990s in GDP percentage terms, and as a result we have crowded classrooms, and schools shamefully dependent on temporary and often dilapidated facilities," he said.
"We believe that education pays for itself socially and economically. Each of our '50 Steps' is aimed at ensuring that our children are given the best chance to turn into healthy, creative and balanced adults and also help Ireland to meet the social and economic challenges of the 21st century."