Jimmy Harte (Labour)

As a former student of psychology I have read a good deal of Piaget. There is an expression of Piaget's to the effect that only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual. That was written in 1934 by the French educational psychologist. Perhaps those in the Fianna Fáil Party should have read that five, six, seven or 12 years ago when they compromised the future of all the children of this country. The importance of education of children is singular. It is remarkable for Opposition Senators to come in here tonight and say that what they would have done is different. What they did to the economy was wrong. What they did to education was wrong.