Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Minister was missing in action for several weeks and his reappearance on polling day was telling. He more or less said to people, "I have not gone away; I will be back."

Today there are thousands of students sitting the junior and leaving certificate examinations. Our best wishes go to all of them. Students who will sit the examinations next year, however, will not have the benefit of the comprehensive career guidance service they have enjoyed in recent years. One of the most misguided and savage cuts in last year's budget concerned the decision to axe in its entirety the career guidance service which was singled out above and beyond any other teaching service within second level school provision. There is no point in the Minister for Education and Skills shaking his head. That is the reality of what happened.

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