Far from intervening to try to bridge the clear mismatch between housing provision and school places, Hanafin has instead been gratuitously offensive to parents who, for any number of personal reasons, move into the area.

The minister has built up a reputation for her openness and approachability and this is something she should not undermine with a soundbite approach to real problems.

Waspish comments about "parents who check the colour scheme in the bathroom of their new house but would not have found out if a place was available for a child within a school" have no bearing on the difficulties involved in moving house, its timing and how such disruption affects families.

Perhaps the minister does not want to draw attention to the fact that there is an acute shortage of school places in the rapidly expanding commuter counties of Louth, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow because educational provision has not kept pace with the vast house-building programme being promoted by the government of which she is a member.

As with almost every infrastructural problem we face, school building programmes lag far behind what's needed. The people of Newbridge, like the parents in Clonsilla, Dublin 15, have campaigned for five years for adequate school places to no avail.

The primary teachers union, the INTO, estimates that one in five primary school children sits in classes of 30 pupils or more, well above the onein-20 ratio promised at the last election. One out of every five computers, which are supposed to plug our youngsters into the brave new world of technology where they'll find jobs and wealth, is redundant.

The latest batch of Whole School Evaluations, carried out by the Department of Education's own inspectors, is scathing about the physical conditions in schools from Arklow to Miltown Malbay and from Shercock to Bantry.

No doubt the minister will learn about more problems on the doorstep during the forthcoming election campaign. Will she be so insulting then?