Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I have seen the letters outlining that due to a lack of provision of additional funding a place will not be provided for one's son or daughter as the case might be. It is a disgrace and it reflects badly on the Government in terms of prioritisation. It is reflected also in the increasing number of special needs assistants who are being cut.

I put it to the Taoiseach that he needs to change the way he is overseeing the implementation of the programme for Government. The promises on health are not being delivered at all. We have had cuts to local services, on which the Taoiseach made promises. The benchmark is the commitments made in the programme for Government. There is no other benchmark. A commitment was made to protect front line services but the Taoiseach is not protecting such services, in health for example, where waiting times are climbing dramatically because of changes introduced by the Minister, Deputy Reilly. There is no substantive reform agenda. It is directionless. Most people in the health arena acknowledge that when one meets them on the front line.

The Government was put together by parties who had a joint approach to unsecured bondholders. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, was perhaps the most celebrated when he said "Not a red cent more". That was greeted with great acclaim across the country, in particular by the Fine Gael Party and the Labour Party. Could the Taoiseach indicate whether there is any effort under way to implement the particular promise which both he and the Labour Party made or will he take the opportunity to declare formally that the promise has been well and truly abandoned by the Government?

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