Mr. Ed Byrne:

It is a long time since I heard that expression. The Chairman instanced the subjects of history and economics. I am an economics teachers. One will have leaving certificate students doing economics. I teach in a school of 600 students. We have one economics class in fifth year, one economics class in sixth year. The chances of building up hours in that particular subject are slim. It may be a little easier to get hours to teach history. History tends to be offered in all schools to classes up to the junior certificate level. We hope that continues. It depends on the teacher's subjects. If one teaches core subjects, such as maths, Irish or English or if they teach subjects that are widely done at junior certificate level, such as history and geography, one should be able to build up the hours in those subjects. It is a concern.