Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

People rely on medium wave coverage in certain areas. In an all-island context, not to mention expatriates in Britain, RTE is doing a great disservice in discontinuing its radio output on medium wave.

Before Christmas, the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Seán Haughey, said that various agencies should co-operate to reduce the number of early school leavers. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister of State to attend the House for a timely debate on early school leaving and the development of vocational skills to support current economic developments. The debate could also include access funding to ensure that disadvantaged students can attend third level education. The National Special Education Council could also be involved in the discussions as to how we maintain people with special needs in our system as well as encouraging people back into education who might currently be avoiding school attendance. I ask the Leader to consider those points in the context of a forthcoming debate.