Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

There is ongoing debate in the media as to whether Ian Paisley will be First Minister next year. It would be apt that this would happen given it is ten years since the Agreement.

I agree with the call to have the Minister for Education and Science come to the House to debate the issue of funding for primary level education. This State is at crisis point with regard to primary education. The matter needs to be addressed and deserves a full one or two-day debate. The issue of water charges is a scandal. Charging our children to flush their toilets last year was only a symptom of the underfunding of the primary school network. I ask that the Deputy Leader would facilitate this debate as a matter of urgency.

I have called for a debate on the west on numerous occasions but we have not yet had an opportunity to have it, despite the fact that as we adjourned last Thursday, three businesses closed down, one in my home town of Gweedore with the loss of 34 jobs, one in Achill with the loss of 36 jobs and one in An Daingean with the loss of 40 jobs. Not only that, the company that operated those three call centres was to start up in another part of Donegal with the creation of another 40 jobs in the next two months. These closures have the same effect as thousands of jobs being lost overnight in the city of Dublin. There is serious pressure in the west. I ask that we would facilitate a debate on regional development, particularly all that needs to be done in the areas of employment, infrastructure and the necessary supports for the west.