Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

What exactly is the impact of this? Why has the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, decided to leave the primary and secondary sectors relatively untouched but to impose a 4% cut on the third level sector? We hear speeches about the smart economy, the knowledge economy, investing in third level education and trying to get a cohort of those coming out of secondary schools into third level. In most cases, this is appealing to a generation whose parents never went to third level and who are frightened of it because they do not know it, never experienced it and are scared of taking on debt and borrowing to put their children into that world of experience which they never had. However, we are imposing a 4% cut on third level education. It seems quite arbitrary but I have had only a chance to glimpse at one section. I suspect my colleagues could only do the same for the sections for which they have responsibility.

I welcomed one aspect of the speech made by the Minister yesterday. At last the Government will deal with the tax exiles. The phrase "tax exiles" does them an honour they do not deserve. They are not exiles, they are tax fugitives.

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