Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

It would be unfortunate if the public were to assume the report by the inspectorate to the Department of Education and Science on the qualifications and abilities of first year teachers who have just left training college was as bad as was outlined. Students completing their courses in a college like Mary Immaculate College in Limerick are asked to teach in classes of 30 or more children. Some of those schools are in the more disadvantaged areas of the country and have serious discipline problems, etc. It would be very unfair to be critical of the calibre of teachers being trained at present, particularly given that students even at primary level have many difficulties and problems which can manifest themselves primarily at school.

The European Commission yesterday issued its Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2007. For the first time it indicates the poverty trap within which certain people live, particularly pensioners and the elderly. One in three people here is at risk of poverty and this is particularly true of those over 65. Some 20%, again mainly the elderly, are at risk because their incomes are so small relative to the incomes of others. We provide one of the lowest pensions in Europe. Those people who say that our pensioners are doing particularly well with €200 per week——