Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

In regard to consumers, Deputy Kenny has made this point before and I do not disagree with it. Social partnership is based around all the organisations. They do not have a particular consumer role but, as the Deputy knows, under Sustaining Progress and the last agreement, the social partners worked together collectively on inflationary issues and inflationary trends. Therefore, indirectly they help to try to keep the interests of their members, which are the interests of the consumers, to the fore. While they are not consumer organisations, they take a general interest in this.

On the racism programme, as I said yesterday, the national plan has been published. It provides strategic direction to combat racism and to develop a more inclusive intercultural society. That is set out in the plan. The strategic monitoring group has been established to oversee the implementation of the plan. Elections will also be covered so that there are no racism elements. As the Deputy will know, at the last election we all signed up to a code on this issue. That is now part of the plan and the chairperson of the implementation group will bring it forward. I presume the group will issue, where necessary, guidelines and practices which we must follow, although that is already happening in respect of elections. We signed up to a code at the last election but I do not know whether we need to sign up again because we signed it as political parties. However, we should put into practice what we have done.

On education, the Government continues to make progress on class size. However, I think Deputy Kenny knows that often the problem is not class size. In some inner city and poorer areas, the issue is not class size as they are quite low. For example, in my area of the inner city, class sizes are very low but that still does not prevent drop-outs. While child poverty has decreased and consistent poverty has dropped from somewhere in the region of 15% to 6%, recent reports show the areas we must target. All of the resources must be put into those areas.

The Minister for Education and Science has the figures but what is being done for those who drop out is good. Home liaison teachers work in conjunction with the school and visit families. They are addressing the underlying causes of why children drop out and are consulting the families. That is one of the best things. Children drop out of school but there is always a reason. The home liaison teachers are working very effectively and the families are being consulted.

There are other issues too — there is no point denying it. There are issues in respect of pre-school, after school and school meals. I saw surveys last year in regard to schools providing breakfast and how that got children to go to school. There are real problems in some areas. If there are family problems, they must be addressed.

I said to the Minister that is where we should target resources. Everyone cannot say he or she is disadvantaged, as tends to happen in the system. We must focus on the areas where there is real disadvantage. I accept there is real disadvantage, as has been shown in the recent National Economic and Social Council report and the report on living conditions. We must target resources.

The social partners should not ask us to have the same rules in all areas. If we are to make a real impact on areas with difficulties, we should not be asked to have the same guidelines in the poorest places, whether rural or urban, although they tend to be mainly urban. We must put the resources into these areas and should not say that if we do so in one area, we must do so in all areas. I do not think that is a sustainable argument.

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