Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a profound response. There is much sense in what Ms Watters said. I used to be a teacher in a school where many of the students had difficult backgrounds. She put her finger on it. She has identified her support for them as individuals and recognised their importance and self-worth.

I read a report published yesterday on productivity at work. Because of the problems and educational deficits among young people in the North, which has the largest number of students in the UK who do not continue in education, with many leaving school very young, there is a major issue in terms of productivity at work, which the report stated comes down to educational disadvantage. Ms Watters put her finger on a extremely important issue.