Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

Yesterday a report of the court proceedings of the Meath school bus tragedy heard that further summonses were to be issued to CIE in regard to a bus that was known to be a danger to the public and that had a known defect that could easily have been detected had it been checked. There was a repeat of a similar tragedy in Clara and a further accident occurred in south Roscommon only two weeks ago. I call on the Minister for Education and Science to demand a full audit of the CIE school busfleet.

It cannot be said that the same dangers apply to the private operators contracted to provide a transport service for students. In circumstances where such comments emerged yesterday, surely parents with children travelling to school must be concerned about their safety. The Minister said there is a low incidence of accidents occurring. Luckily that is the case but it is only luck that is resulting in the current safety record. If vehicles with known defects are being used, that is a scandal and it must be quickly dealt with.

Agricultural research and development is slowly disappearing, which is a tragedy for agriculture and those involved in agricultural training. Teagasc sold much of the property and lands throughout the country used for research and development in the past and few remain. We read that a national educational institution such as UCD is proposing to continue to sell further lands at Lyons Estate, which it purchased in the late 1950s or early 1960s and at which its department of agriculture developed a strong research and development centre. Some 500 acres were sold for the development of playgrounds, a golf course and a leisure centre.

It is understood that the UCD authorities are about to sell the remaining part of the Lyons Estate for a similar development. I ask the Acting Leader to request the Minister for Education and Science to immediately consult the authorities in UCD to ensure this will not happen. The people in UCD who are pushing this sale want to stay in Dublin city and develop agricultural policies from there rather than travelling from there to observe the reality at the coalface. I ask the Acting Leader to contact the Minister for Education and Science as a matter of urgency to prevent the disposal of these properties.