Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister and all the Senators who contributed to the debate. I want to repudiate the idea that anyone on this side of the House feels that St. Angela's is in any way inferior, as was intimated. No one on this side of the House implied that.

The Leader of the House recently inferred that Members on this side of the House regard Sligo in isolation. Nobody made those inferences and that perception should be scotched immediately. The Leader or anyone else on the other side who wishes to put a spin on those issues and create a divide between St. Angela's and St. Catherine's is mistaken. That is not the purpose of this debate and it never was.

The Minister stated that the previous Minister examined all the options and arrived at his decision. There is no indication that the Minister made the decision for anything other than political reasons, as stated in the motion.