Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

Following on from Senator McCarthy's comments, I add my sympathies to those close to the people whose lives have been lost to the sea. Many of the families in Greencastle have come to realise how difficult it can be when this happens, whether fishermen are subsequently found or not. Senator O'Donovan last week requested a discussion on safety at sea and support for the emergency services called out on such occasions.

I ask the Leader to convey my congratulations to the Minister for Education and Science on the new OECD study, which ranks Irish students as among the most environmentally aware. It indicated that Irish 15 year old students were among the top performers when it came to literacy and were significantly above the average in science. They were in line with the average in OECD mathematics. More than 4,500 Irish 15 year olds took part in the study.