Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This has a tenuous link with what Mr. Byrne is saying, but last weekend I happened to be in the west when Robert Fisk was speaking. He had been invited to attend a book festival and the Paris tragedy had occurred. He said it was only in Ireland, in a place like Westport, that he could find such an educated audience. What he meant was that the audience members were from all walks of life and included all kinds of people - educated, non-educated and self-educated - as well as people of all ages. He said he would rarely find this in parts of England, an audience that was aware, informed, well read, interested and alive. I think it has something to do with what Mr. Byrne is talking about - our striving to be educated in a republic, into which great effort is put. The most important thing we will ever do is educate our young, middle-aged and ageing population consistently. It is linked tenuously with what Mr. Byrne is saying and how we can move and are moving forward in that way.