Kathleen O'Meara (Labour)

I congratulate RTE in that regard.

I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the report in the media today on early school leaving and the finding that poorly qualified students are either unemployed or underemployed. In the context of the current economic situation it is shocking to find that the high early school leaving rate is the same as it was 20 years ago. It is clear this problem is not being tackled and it behoves us to examine how this can be done. The Government has not invested in pre-school education which is the one measure that would have an impact and make a difference. Pre-school education investment in disadvantaged areas has been shown to make a difference in that regard. This issue is related to the Private Members' motion which will be debated today. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the report as soon as possible.