Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I join in the sentiments expressed by my colleagues in condemning the outrages of the past few days in Northern Ireland. We have often had debates about terrorism and the need to understand its causes, while never condoning the acts of terrorists. In truth, it is very difficult to have that debate in this context. It is impossible to understand that after all the painstaking work of the peace process and having achieved the current arrangements, which are an honest and hard won expression of the aspirations of the different communities in Northern Ireland. In light of all that, it is difficult to understand why this is going on and how it can go on.

In truth, we need to contemplate the reality that there is a battle between good and evil in our world. The line between good and evil runs down through the heart of every person. When we say these people are sick psychopaths, we do not use such words to try to find a term of abuse for them but to try to sincerely diagnose the problem in as objective a manner as possible. All in this House feel united about the need to do whatever is necessary, whatever is in our power to do, but we also feel, if we are honest about it, a deep sense of impotence because we know there is no easy solution, given all that has been done. However, we know we must redouble our efforts to be united in the face of such evil. We must work to educate our young people on all sides of the Border that this road leads nowhere.

I fully commend what my colleague, Senator O'Reilly, said about the need to keep that Christian ethical core at the heart of the debate because that is the tradition we all share on this island. We need to delve into that now as we seek to respond to such evil and prevent it from happening. We also pray and hope, to paraphrase the words of O'Casey, that the hearts of stone of these perpetrators could be taken and replaced with hearts of flesh.

I request a debate on a more mundane but nonetheless important matter, that of education. The National Competitiveness Council published a report today. It indicates some important points and some challenging points. It calls, for example, for the introduction of bonus CAO points for mathematics and new efforts to ensure students are rewarded for taking higher level mathematics. It stresses the importance of computer and information technology in our schools, something I have stressed here previously in calling for a trebling of the budget for ICT in schools. It stresses teacher quality and the need to recognise outstanding teachers and to reward them through the promotion system.

I attended when an interesting contribution was given by Mr. Don Thornhill, chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, in his address to the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals the other day.