Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I ask the Leader to request the Minister for Education and Science to attend the House for a debate. The Minister, Deputy Dempsey, has passed up an opportunity, traditionally taken by his predecessors, to attend the annual teachers' conferences to outline Government policy on education. At the same time, he has taken a roadshow to certain locations in order to listen to the partners in education offering their vision for the future. His immediate reaction to those talk-ins, however, was to reject them, as he says he has heard it all before. The Minister does not appear to have any great policies, so we should provide him with a platform here to display his vision for education, if he has such a vision. We have not seen such a vision during his two years in office; we have seen only his arrogance. The Minister has destroyed teachers' morale and has ostracised himself from the thinking of parents, who are the primary educators. I do not know what else the Minister can do, other than reintroduce the concept of third level fees. The Minister gave an undertaking to this House to show clearly how he intends to increase the numbers of disadvantaged people accessing education, but he has failed in that respect. I ask the Leader to request the Minister to attend the House, as a matter of urgency, in order to outline Government policy, as he has passed up the chance of expressing his thoughts at the teachers' conferences. He should let us all know what his thoughts are on education, as well as his vision for the future.