Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

The Minister of State is many things, but he is not a ventriloquist. He is defending the policy of the Government on the question of science in our schools, but has admitted to the House, using figures provided by the Department, that close to 10% of secondary schools in the country have dropped a science subject. Therefore, the ASTI is wrong when it states that more than one-third of schools in the country is considering dropping a science subject and the NAPD is wrong to suggest that one in five principals has had to drop a science subject this year. One of the key aspects of the smart economy was that summer schools in science and engineering would be expanded, with the emphasis on innovation and commercialisation. Has that happened?

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