Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Ulick Burke spoke in favour of the Western Development Commission. I am not aware that the commission is being abolished. The Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, is quite rightly examining all the agencies which do such excellent work to see if they can be streamlined to operate more effectively because we are obliged to seek value for money.

The Senator also asked that the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Deputy Mary Coughlan, reduce the period by which the long-term unemployed can claim a back to work allowance. When the allowance was introduced, the long-term unemployment rate was 9.5% while it is now 1.4%. Thankfully, this reduction is a result of the various measures that were put in place.

Senator Tuffy raised the matter of cutbacks in funding for third level research and asked how making people pay would help. I believe the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Dempsey, has suggested that those who can afford to pay will pay and those who cannot afford to pay will not. I see nothing wrong with that. The funds must be used where they are needed and then more people will enter—