Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister for Agriculture and Food. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, said that the proportion of private funding for third level institutions dropped from 30.3% to 20.8% between 1995 and 2000 reflecting the introduction of free fees. The Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, raised the issue of the policy of free third level education at a Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meeting a few months ago. He was criticised by some people but I believe he was correct to put this issue on the agenda. Private funding should be a critical part of education. Those who can afford to pay for third level education should pay for it. If the policy is not working, it should be looked at again. I know it was brought in with idealistic ambitions but it has not succeeded, so it should be revisited.

It is not good for any country for private funding to drop from 30.3% to 20.8% over a period of five years. It has increased segregation in schools in that people who used to pay for university education are now pumping that money into exclusive secondary schools. Data hints that there is increased segregation in the education system. This OECD report shows that those in secondary schools outperform their counterparts in community and comprehensive schools who, in turn, outperform students in vocational schools. People should pay for third level education if they can afford to do so and we should not have this segregation in schools which I see in the area in which I live.

I acknowledge what Donogh O'Malley did and what was done in regard to IT by the university scientists, engineers and technicians in the 1970s to fill the jobs in the IT industry. However, I wish to highlight two aspects of this OECD report which are shocking. Irish 15 year olds come third from the bottom of the league table for leisure reading even though Ireland prides itself on its literary tradition. Something must be done about that. In terms of mathematical literacy, Irish students come 15th out of 27 countries. There is something radically wrong. I know countries can be specialists in different areas of education but surely 15th out of 27 countries is a poor result.

There is no doubt the education system has been one of the key drivers of the Celtic tiger but we should not be complacent. While this report paints a broad picture, 80% of young people in Ireland are getting a brilliant deal thanks to the teachers and the parents. However, we, as politicians, must intervene on behalf of those who are socially excluded. That is from where I come and I will repeat that as long as I am in the Seanad. I am for those who are left out of society and who are born into disadvantaged families through no fault of their own.