Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Despite the provisions included in the Education Act which underpin and support the provision of a professional career guidance service in the education system, the damage of this budget cut is serious and will undermine the capacity of career guidance teachers to help students in the most challenging times of their lives in the latter half of their second level schooling. Will the Minister indicate to the House when the education and training boards Bill, the further education and training authority Bill and the education Bill will be published? Will he utilise the opportunity provided by these Bills to reverse the cut in question? Will he ensure legislatively that school management and principals will at least provide some semblance of a career guidance service for students, given the savage and discriminatory and selective targeting of the career guidance service in the last budget?

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