Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

If they must make a choice between travelling to Sligo to take up the courses of their choice or taking another course in Dublin, they may well opt for their second choice, stay in Dublin and not do the home economics course. This decision was arrived at in an undemocratic fashion.

I am sorry I did not welcome the new Minister when I began but I do so now and I wish her well for the future. However, her first visit to the House concerns a serious issue, which she must take on board. I ask her to examine how the decision was reached and to review it in a transparent way. I expect she will examine the issue from a practical perspective, taking account of all the merits and demerits of the case, and will arrive at a decision. Whatever the decision, it should be transparent and she should inform us of on what her decision is based. We will then see whether that is acceptable. People cannot be treated in a shoddy fashion. If, at the end of the day, everything has been done to save the school and we can see the correct decision was made to move to Sligo, so be it, but the process has not evolved in a transparent way. I hope the Minister will ensure this is the case.