Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

Parents are not fulfilling their role. We can pump money into the system, but it will not solve the problem. The teachers are doing their best. These children come into schools with their mobile telephones switched on and when the teachers ask them to switch them off, they say their parents need to be able to contact them. If the principals tell the students that the rule of the school is that they cannot have their mobile telephones on, the parents subsequently come in and chastise them. There is something wrong with the fabric of society when that can happen in our schools.

I welcome the points made by Minister's contribution, and I support him all the way in that regard, but it all boils down to hitting parents where it hurts most, namely, in their pockets. I do not know how the Minister will do that. I do not care if the newspapers take me up on this, but I know the system. The Minister must ensure that every family is aware that if their 13 or 14 year old son or daughter is caught with a six pack, the strategy will be A, B or C. I will not outline the strategy because that is another day's work, but that is the current position. If their passports were endorsed in some way, they would be unable to leave the country or if they have been in trouble they could not get a job.

It is difficult for me to say that, but I have come full circle in my thinking in that I used to favour the softly, softly approach. Parents know their rights, but they are not behaving responsibly. I would like to stay for the remainder of the debate and hear the Minister's reply, but I have to leave.