Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

In his report the Minister said he will tackle disadvantage and of course we welcome that. I reject his suggestion that anybody on this side of the House would not do everything in their power to tackle it. We want equal opportunity for everybody, which means providing the resources to allow everybody the opportunity to get into third level education. That has not been the case.

I direct my comments to the Minister's proposal to reintroduce third level fees. Has he lost sight of the people on the ground? Driving around in a ministerial car has taken him away from what is happening in the houses of people who are hard pressed to live from day to day even when there are two people earning in a home. The reintroduction of fees is unacceptable to people who are hard pressed to look after their families. Are we to go back to the day when I finished my own second level education and my parents could not afford a third level education for me? I think we are and families will have to make choices. The strains on families today are greater now than they were when I was growing up and they now have to provide homes for their children as well. The Senators opposite know that Government is telling parents they have to pay for education and houses and it is quite unacceptable.

I am glad that children growing up today have a wonderful sense of looking forward and of expectation that the world is their oyster. That is what we have told them they can have. By providing free third level education the opportunities are there for them. We are going to take away those opportunities if the Minister proceeds with this.

We are all in favour of tackling disadvantage at primary and secondary level, but money has been put in and we have not got results. Those children are not getting to third level education. It is not just about money in schools. Education is something a large section of our community cannot aspire to because there are other problems locally and in their homes. Their parents may not have jobs, and there will not be a history in their families of going on to third level education. We also need to tackle crime and housing, two of the many issues that have to be tackled to enable people to stay in education and to progress.