Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

I assure the Senator that I will deal with disadvantage in a moment. I take on board some of the points made by Senator Burke and I welcome some of Senator McHugh's sentiments, which indicate a clear understanding of the huge anomalies in the area of grants and maintenance funding for third level education. In relation to Senator Burke's comments, the outstanding legacy of this Minister is one of substance, not of spin. I am happy to acknowledge this on his first visit to Seanad Éireann as Minister for Education and Science.

I wish to explode the myth of cutbacks in education. There are no cutbacks, on any honest assessment based on the simplest arithmetic. Those who do not wish to use plain, simple arithmetic may wish to seek help elsewhere. The expenditure by this Minister, following on from what has been achieved over the last five years, will not be one cent less than was allocated at the start of the year. If there are individual interpretations of cutbacks, I respectfully refer those concerned to the Oxford dictionary or its equivalent in the economic sciences.

(Interruptions.)