Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

Ba mhaith liom anois iarradh ar an Rialtas na ciorraithe oideachais a chur ar leataobh. Níl sé ceart ná cóir ranganna a mhéadú agus brú a chur ar aos óg na tíre.

We must return to the drawing board regarding the education debate. The Government will have to review class sizes and the substitution question. They are not sustainable from the point of view of the welfare of our children, their education and their one opportunity and in terms of the economy in the long term. The Leader should convey to the Minister that we have multi-ethnic classes, students with disabilities, students with a range of abilities and, thus, a mix that makes it impossible to consider raising the pupil-teacher ratio. I commend to the Leader that we have a debate on education and rectify the matter. The Government will simply have to do what it did in the other instance.

I support the calls for a debate on agriculture in this House. Agriculture is the source of employment in our country towns and our rural way of life. Virtually all jobs in the small towns are connected with agriculture. It is enough that farmers are subject to the normal taxation measures, the increase in college registration fees, the increase in petrol prices and the levy on their income. The normal taxation measures are imposed on them without the imposition of specific attacks relating to headage payments, the farm retirement scheme, the installation aid scheme and the suckler cow welfare scheme. I appeal for a debate on agriculture and for a reversal of the decisions regarding those schemes. I second the proposition by our Deputy Leader, Senator Cummins, that we have a debate on that.

I also second Senator Cummins's remarks concerning the fair deal scheme. Will the Leader clarify the tax implications of that scheme for people in nursing homes and their families? When will the fair deal legislation come through and how will it impact on the people concerned? The Leader needs to answer those questions. We talked about the anxiety among pensioners regarding their medical cards, and that was valid, but one can imagine the anxiety among people in regard to nursing homes, older people who are very vulnerable. I ask the Leader to take that on board. As my colleague, Senator John Paul Phelan said, we should be debating these issues, regardless of how long we sit every day. They are critical and the people are watching us on those issues.