Shane Ross (Independent)

I am sorry to welcome the Minister to the House in these circumstances. I regret the situation in which she finds herself, which is probably very difficult for her. Good, real and raw politics is being played in this House today. The Minister finds herself locked into and having to back up a decision taken by her predecessor and of which she probably does not approve. As the college is in her constituency, the Minister is on a skewer and must defend with the many weapons at her disposal a decision she feels is indefensible. She is cutting her teeth in Cabinet in a raw manner at a very early stage.

It was a good thing that the Minister discarded her supplied script as its contents were pretty feeble. Much of it was unadulterated rhubarb irrelevant to the issue and which would have been wasted on this House. If the Minister continues in that vein, she will do well. The script contained a great deal of background which was not relevant to the decision which was taken. In fact, the staff and students of St. Catherine's are the victims of an old-fashioned Fianna Fáil stroke, as is the Minister to a large extent. As a university Senator, I deeply resent that decision. I suppose I have a vested interest in the matter as those with degrees from St. Catherine's have a vote in the constituency represented by Senators Norris, Henry and myself. While I have a vested interest in defending the interests of those degree holders, that is not to say the position does not coincide with what I believe in. On the other side, there is an extraordinary preponderance of people from Sligo popping up to defend the decision.

While I did not have time to read the local newspapers, it is probable that when the decision was made in 2003 we would have seen all the Fianna Fáil representatives in County Sligo jumping up and down and saying, "Hey, we got this one off Dublin and we are responsible for the decision." They came in here today to say the decision was made on the basis of rational considerations by an independent Minister and had nothing to do with geography, Fianna Fáil and public representatives. While Senators MacSharry and Scanlon should be congratulated for pulling a stroke, strokes have victims. The Senators can prance around Sligo and say they are responsible because they are. The evidence has been revealed here. Among the things which have been revealed is that my old friend and adversary, Ray MacSharry, continues to have enormous clout in this country.