Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I agree with Senators Ormonde and Fitzgerald that a person starting training in any area, including teaching, has no guarantee regarding the jobs market or the terms or conditions that will apply to their employment on the completion of training. There has always been a chasm in law between a right and an expectation. The provision of this legislation deals with those who have rights, not expectations.

The point Senator Fitzgerald makes is correct in so far as Senator O'Toole's amendment brings us on to the slippery slope between the right and the expectation. When secondary school teachers and nurses were introduced in the discussion, we found ourselves well down the slippery slope. This is the difficulty the Minister has on the issue. It is much easier to have a clear-cut rule that those who have a clear position of right are defined on one side while those with expectations are on the other. The legislation has been drafted in this way. For this reason, I cannot accept the amendment.