Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I think it did. I know the Senator has a link. I can remember the time when it said Ireland was a low-cost place in which to invest but those days are long gone. What we emphasise now is the education of our people and their ability to carry out high value tasks. Some people did that in the past also. What we have to remember is that anything we offer in these terms is offered by other countries.

I was in India last year and was very impressed by the education standards there. In my own company when we needed help in technology we had to go to India for it. What will happen when those in India and China say they have got the education that the Irish have and that their costs are a fraction of those in Ireland? We have got to challenge both of those areas and we have a long way to go. They will say they can deliver the same education but at a much lower level of cost. How can we survive in the light of that challenge? Increasingly, it is the challenge we will have to face and failure to do so will inevitably lead to the consequences outlined in the survey to which I referred.

I am concerned at the Government amendment. I thought the Government might table an amendment in which it would accept the first part of the motion and then go on to point out what is being done. The amendments proposes to delete the content of the motion, thereby appearing not to recognise the challenge. I hope I hear words that are different and that this does not become a confrontational issue because it is one on which we should all set our hearts on addressing.