James Bannon (Fine Gael)

I extend my sympathy to the family of the late Liam Lawlor. It is recognised that 95% of Irish journalists are honest and decent people who are very annoyed by some of the press coverage of Mr. Lawlor's death. It is unfortunate that we must establish an independent press council to deal with a few rotten apples. The majority of journalists I have spoken to were as appalled by the stories that appeared in a particular newspaper last weekend as we were.

I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Education and Science to come to the House to debate the unfair discrimination that exists in the primary school sector. An example of this discrimination can been seen in the enrolment figures for gaelscoileanna as opposed to those for ordinary national schools. The achievement of the same pupil-teacher ratio in all schools should be a priority for the Government. Both these types of school do an equally good job of educating our future citizens and it is unfair that discrimination exists in this area. The Minister should explain to this House how we can uphold unequal arrangements in our schools in this era of equal opportunities. This issue needs to be addressed and, hopefully, the Minister can come to the House to explain what she intends to do in this regard.