Mary Henry (Independent)

I ask the Leader if the relevant Minister will come to the House to explain to us how widely the Stay Safe programme is being applied in national schools. I wrote to the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, about the programme six months ago because it is not being applied in schools attended by many children to whom I talked about this. He said it was being applied only in about 70% to 80% of schools, which seems low given the length of time it has been introduced. Perhaps the Minister will explain how widely the programme is being applied now.

I was delighted to hear the Leader say she thought Senator Quinn's idea of discussing various reports in the House was a good one. I suggest that we start with the report of the inspector of mental hospitals which was published in September. It has a wide application throughout the country to those with psychiatric illness and their families.