Mary Henry (Independent)

I share the concerns of all those who spoke about water pollution. Senator Mansergh said we should not have this problem because of the large supply of water in the country. To a significant degree, the cause of the problem in the west is due to flood waters which, unfortunately, have got into the drinking water supply.

Earlier this month, Senators will have read in newspapers of a tragic case where two young women, both mothers of two, had a fight in a shop in Laytown which ended with one of them dead and the other subsequently convicted of manslaughter. During the course of the trial, the former national school principal of the girl who had been killed pointed out that she had been disruptive at school and that he had repeatedly tried to get psychological assessments for her but they were delayed for years. The situation was so serious he wrote to the school board stating she was a danger to the safety of other pupils in the school.

Senator Ryan raised the issue of psychological assessments. As far as I can ascertain, the National Educational Psychological Assessment Service has collapsed in a considerable number of schools and withdrawn in some cases. Any attempts to get information from the Department of Education and Science are non-satisfactory. Will the Leader ask the Minister for Education and Science to come to the House to debate this extremely serious issue. If children do not get the support they need at an early age, who knows what effect it may have on their later lives?