Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

Given that the Minister had the report since last month, what is the reason for the delay in publication? Debate on the report by all the education partners should now be ongoing but that is not yet possible. We have forgiven the Minister in the past for not being in a position to provide much information because the report was not available but I want to ask some specific questions now that she has it.

What is the Minister's view on section 29 of the Education Act and does she accept that it can be used to undermine the authority of schools, especially in terms of dealing with seriously disruptive students? Does she anticipate changes to the Act?

Does the Minister intend to provide facilities to deal with students for whom standard classroom facilities are not working in terms of discipline? The sanctions available within the classroom or the confines of a school do not seem to work in respect of a minority of students. Will she put in place proper support units in schools?

Does the Minister accept that her Department has been remiss in formulating guidelines for schools on codes of behaviour? The last guidelines were issued in 1991 when I was still in school, and a sea-change in behaviour has taken place since then. A gap has been created in terms of behaviour, although I am sure that the issue will be considered in the task force's report. I accept that only a minority of students misbehave but the disruption of a minority can have significant consequences on the majority.

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