Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Kent. Before we conclude, this is our final committee before the summer recess. If anyone wants a good summer read, the book written by former Minister, Mr. Eoghan Murphy, Running from Office, is quite good for all of us to read. It starts off about his personal journey in politics, which is similar to all of our own experiences, but approximately three quarters of the way through the book, he talks about how he wanted to transform housing. He knew he had to speak to Uisce Éireann and others in that regard. It is a good read. Basically, the joined-up thinking, in his eyes, never happened. He felt it was not his fault, maybe, nor that of the institutions. Rather, it was just systemic. The stuff we need to co-ordinate and work does not work because even politically and institutionally, as agencies we all tend to go back to working in silos. If the witnesses can stay chatting beyond this committee and solve some of those issues, this committee, children and parents will be hugely grateful.

For those who have tuned in this morning to watch the committee, although I do not know whether many watch this, we thank those who work in this sector. We thank the witnesses for coming in here today for their fantastic engagement and for all the troubleshooting they do beyond this committee. They do an awful lot to help public representatives and the public. We thank the bus drivers and school bus escorts who do a tricky job. Senator Conway summed it up rightly when he said that we were all at one stage in our lives bold pups on the back of the bus. I can only imagine what it is like for the person driving that vehicle. It is a tough job. We want them to stay safe. We want those students to be back safely in classrooms in September. We thank them for their fantastic service. I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee today for their engagement and for taking the time to answer members’ questions.