Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I support Senator O'Toole's comments on the school league tables published in various newspapers, some of which have indicated different results although published on the same week. Although the purpose of these tables is allegedly to provide transparency, they contain many inconsistencies. For example, a school may be included on the basis that it caters for repeat leaving certificate students but this may not be the case in another year.

The focus on these leagues tables ignores the reality that the vast majority of parents send their children to the local school, most of which are non-fee paying. These schools cater for the needs of their community and do not discriminate against children on the basis of nationality or special needs. We must provide far more support for such schools in terms of the funding of education.

It is reported today that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is bringing a range of anti-crime measures, including electronic tagging, to the Cabinet. I was struck by his statement that he was still undecided on the merits of tagging and was unsure whether such a system would be less expensive than other measures, particularly in the probation and welfare service area.

Why is the Minister introducing measures of whose merits he is unconvinced? He seems to be introducing an increasing amount of legislation. On the other hand, however, we discovered during last week's debate in this House that many of the measures included in the Children Act 2001 have not been implemented. Some of them, such as community service for youth offenders, are shown to be less expensive than the favoured method of dealing with the relevant crime, which is generally detention.

According to this morning's newspapers, the report of the Director of Public Prosecutions has highlighted that 40% of Garda files do not lead to criminal charges, mainly due to a lack of evidence. This shows that what is most needed is enforcement of laws already on the Statute Book and the provision of the necessary resources to deal with crime, as opposed to more window-dressing in the form of measures in which the Minister does not have much faith.