Brendan Ryan (Labour)

The leak was clearly inspired. One would expect the Fianna Fáil Party to take an issue which involves a risk to 12 million children as seriously as the rest of us and at least avoid heckling when it is raised. I ask for clarity from the Government on its position in the event that the United Nations does not pass a second resolution next Friday. I am aware of everybody else's position, including that of most European Governments, yet I do not know the position of our Government because it speaks out of both sides of its mouth, which should not come as a surprise.

In recent months I have called on a number of occasions for a debate on housing in light of the fact that the Taoiseach appears to be coming round to the view, after many years, that something should be done about the hoarding and price of building land. It would be appropriate for us to have a debate on housing and the price of building land and I would welcome an investigation into the ownership of building land.

Most Members will agree that another issue the House could usefully debate is Northern Ireland. I would welcome a debate because I would like to discuss a particular party which appears to be in a position to be pacific in this part of the country and act in a militarist way north of the Border. It is a most extraordinary partitionist position for a political party which claims to be republican in that it supports paramilitarism in the North yet claims to be the leader of a pacifist movement in the South. I would like an opportunity to discuss those contradictions and many others and I suggest to the Leader that a debate on Northern Ireland would be useful.

I want to use my position here to raise an issue which is of local but also national concern, namely, the fact that Cork city will be the European City of Culture in two years. A major issue is developing in Cork about the future of the School of Music. If there is not a Government decision to proceed with the building of the School of Music in Cork, there will be an end to formal music education there. The current position is impossible and untenable and if a decision is not forthcoming, I ask the Leader to use her considerable good offices to try to persuade the Government to do something about it.