Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

Are they going to be all things to all people, or will they be in any way responsible about what they would or would not do? Just before attending the House at 5.30 p.m., I had a phone call from the principal of a secondary school in my constituency. He told me he will manage the pupil-teacher ratio by rearranging the timetable. He has already had a parents' meeting to explain it to them. However, he brought one small item to my attention, which I will bring to the Minister of State's attention. He said "I am bamboozled with telephone calls and emails from the Opposition, both Fine Gael and Labour, telling me to invite parents to protest meetings and to send children home with letters in their satchels about protest meetings, and in general to have a whip-around of incipient rebellion about education". The Opposition is urging him to do it and will attend any meeting he will arrange on these matters. Every one of us has had over 800 emails delivered to our offices on the topic which Fine Gael tabled for tonight's debate. We saw where it was sent to, so clearly there is a unit which is hard at work. I like active units, but that may be a somewhat pejorative term in light of northern issues.

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