Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I agree to the Order of Business.

In the past few weeks, a number of Senators have asked the Minister for Education and Science to address the concerns they have expressed about education. The report published today by the ESRI on young people dropping out of school merits discussion in this House because it is extraordinary that so many young people, and young men in particular, are dropping out of school. Between 1980 and 1988, the number of students completing the leaving certificate increased significantly from 60% to 82%. That was a superb improvement which we all assumed would continue but no progress has been made over the past ten years. Some 23% of young men and 14% of young women do not sit the leaving certificate examination, with implications for those concerned. Many of these young people come from disadvantaged backgrounds and, while a variety of programmes are in place, they are clearly not reaching their families. This House should analyse why this has gone so wrong despite the prosperity of the past ten years. Once again, the issue of public services arises.

I wish to speak about the electoral register. Several Senators have called for a debate on the Boundary Commission. Yesterday, the Joint Committee on the Environment, Heritage and Local Government heard from the Secretary General of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Taoiseach announced in the Dáil that local boundaries would be reviewed before the next local elections. It appears the register continues to contain huge inaccuracies and it would be welcomed by Senators across the House if the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government addressed these issues.