Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I posed a number of questions during my statement earlier but one of the issues I stressed was that it is a waste of time for all of us if the Taoiseach comes into the House to outline the Irish Government's position on various issues but does not give us any indication of the position of the other governments in Europe. Perhaps as part of the ongoing discussions about Dáil reform that issue might be given some consideration.

The Taoiseach made reference to breaking the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns but what future plans were actually agreed in that context? He did not go into that in any detail. He spoke about Sinn Féin meeting the troika and hearing its views on bank capitalisation and so forth.

In the context of the TTIP negotiations, issues of trust and confidence are paramount. Yet running parallel to those negotiations is the major crisis concerning countries being spied on. Many believe that the discussions should be suspended, at least temporarily, in order to send a strong message to the United States that the Governments and people of Europe are opposed to such activities. Does the Irish Government have a view on that?

The Taoiseach made reference to the need to address the digital divide in order to fully realise the potential for job creation. He spoke about resourcing the education system and the fact that there is clearly far more we can do to align our education and training systems with the needs of 21st century employers. Everyone agrees with that but will more resources be provided in this area? We all know the reality in schools today and the difficulties being faced. If a computer breaks down, schools do not have access to anyone with the skills to repair it.

It is great having these big views on the world and how we will fix it. However, nothing will happen if these basic problems are not addressed.

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