Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Was he not right? When I went into the Department the cupboard was bare anyway.

I know that many schools, particularly at second level, had the flat roofs and the poorly constructed buildings of the late 1970s. They were a disgrace because problems developed within ten years and huge maintenance money has now to be spent, either on their complete refurbishment or reconstruction.

I remember when we embarked on this because, as Senator O'Toole will also remember, times were pretty bad. When I hear people talking about cutbacks now, I say that they do not know real cutbacks. We would say to the schools that we would give so much money towards four properly built classrooms, not flat-roofed ones, and they could get their own architect. Several parents have written to me over the years saying they have our four really good classrooms, which suffice and which have facilitated great work.

I strongly resent the huge fees paid to architects. I do not care if there are architects here or in the public gallery.