Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

The Tánaiste's reply is a step backwards by comparison with her predecessor, who showed more flexibility in his short tenure in his Department of Education and Science than she has in a month. She does not want to consult with anyone. Her Department stated in March that it had identified ten sites. Now the Tánaiste cannot tell me where those sites are or how the Department consulted with parents in those sites. She will not even give us the information on those sites. The way the Department is dealing with this issue is disgraceful. Will the Tánaiste agree to have a debate in this House next week on the issue? We have not had any debate on the issue in the past two and a half or three years. Would she consider a proposal I made in the course of my speech to our party conference a month ago whereby every parent would receive a survey from the Department asking what they want. The only group being totally ignored by the Tánaiste and her colleagues in Cabinet are parents. It should survey parents, find out what they want and publish the survey.

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