Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State's statement that school breaks will be standardised. However, we have heard this before. A number of years ago, a predecessor of the Minister, Deputy Quinn, was forceful on that issue. I understood - I am open to correction on this - that immediately following the then Minister's announcement school breaks were standardised. However, this has lapsed in the meantime.

I spoke recently to parents of two primary school-going children, one attending a boy's school and the other a convent in the same town, in respect of whom there was practically a week in the difference in terms of summer holidays, which is ludicrous and is a burden on parents. Non-standardised school breaks can create an unnecessary burden for parents of two children attending different primary schools and another in their first or second year of second level in terms of work commitments and caring. I hope the Minister or Minister of State has the power to ensure the standardisation is adhered to. I acknowledge that in difficult winters schools must often close for a few days. Many parents who have spoken to me, some of whom I know well, are frustrated by the lack of co-ordination of school breaks and holidays within small communities.

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