Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I understand that. I will come back to it, but it is all part of the same point. The point is that all of these issues are related to where we are in society. From the end of society I am talking about, I am referring to my experience in my area but I am looking at another Bill coming through the House, which is about looking at the opposite end of it. I refer to the fee-paying schools, the elite of the elite. Even at that, there is extra privilege added. Not only do people have to be able to pay to go to these schools, they have an extra advantage if the family that came before them came from a wealthy privileged background. It sets out the haves and have-nots in society. We need to sit up and take notice of other countries in the world. We have all been sitting up late at night looking across the Atlantic at a nation that has set itself up on the basis of have and have-nots. Where does that lead? The essence of what that Bill says is not appropriate.

We need to come back and look at reality. We need to look at the experiences of real people. We need to recognise that, as was said earlier, we are in a republic. In that republic all children should be treated equally. All families should be treated equally and should have equal access. Those who are at the bottom need to get an extra lift up. Those who are at the very top certainly do not need additional privilege built into the system to assist them. That privilege needs to be taken away. The effort and energy should be to ensure that everyone gets a clear and better possibility of making a better future.

The Minister has brought forward the idea of putting this out for a year to consider it. As Deputy Ó Laoghaire said, that is part of what the Government strategy seems to be with every Bill that comes forward, no matter how positive it is. The idea seems to be that the Government will push it on a little further and push it out. The Government will not simply say it is a good idea and agree to it and implement it. Yet, in the same breath the Government will ask why the Opposition is not more co-operative and does not try to help and so on. We want to help. We are coming forward with good ideas and proposals. Sometimes they may not be perfect. That is why we have a committee system. The Bill will go into the system and be thrashed around. Spokespeople and experts will be brought in, including people from the fee-paying schools. If they want to send in their organisations, the people who represent them can come before the committee and put forward whatever good or logical reasons they have. The matter is then in the open and debated. Then,we can progress things. However, to say that we are going to put it out for a year before we do that is simply kicking the can down the road. It is not a good idea. It does not reflect a Government that is about looking after everyone equally and cherishing all the children of the nation equally. That is what needs to happen. That needs to change.

I hope that by next Wednesday, when it comes to the vote, the Minister and her colleagues can re-examine this and recognise that there is merit in doing it now. It will not go through Committee Stage in a matter of weeks. It will take months and possibly more than a year. The Minister is talking about postponing this before it gets through a committee. We all know that. We have good legislation that is simply being pushed to one side because it is coming from the wrong place. That is most unfortunate and it is a poor reflection on Government.

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