Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I ask the Leader, once more, to request the Minister for Education and Science to come to the House. This morning, many Members have outlined their dissatisfaction with the cost of tribunals. It is difficult to understand the persistence of the Minister for Education and Science in engaging in constant litigation, costing over €4.5 million, seeking to justify the Department's position in denying parents and children their entitlements and rights to a reasonable standard of education, particularly in the case of those with a disability. What a difference a small portion of that funding would mean to the family in County Donegal where, as reported this morning, the parents have to go to the school regularly during the day to bring their child home to provide toilet facilities. If a Minister persists in spending scarce resources on an ongoing basis, without having learned that he is achieving nothing other than pursuing his own ego, it is important that he should come to this House and give his reasons for allowing such hardship cases to go without while he provides legal teams seeking to deny people with disabilities their rights. I urge the Leader to request the Minister to explain his position in this House.