Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I join others in welcoming the news yesterday that the strike scheduled for Monday has been called off. That is something we all welcome. However, now our thoughts turn to what will be in the mini-budget on 7 April and what level of engagement the Government will have with the trade unions and the other social partners. It is vital that there is real engagement and information is forthcoming. We are seeing again today reports of different figures in terms of what the deficit is likely to be and what levels will be attempted to be made up in the budget.

There is a great deal of uncertainty and that is contributing to the lack of public confidence and consumer confidence that is bringing our economy into this downward spiral. We need to see information being provided, not just to the social partners but to the Oireachtas. We also need to see fairness and some degree of certainty as to what lies ahead in this mini-budget. The ICTU's ten-point social solidarity plan provides at least some sort of blueprint for the way forward. I hope there is real engagement on that.

I echo the calls made yesterday for the Leader to arrange a debate on the reintroduction of third level fees. It seems from reports in today's newspapers that their reintroduction is imminent but, again, there is a lack of certainty about what exactly is being proposed by the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. There has been a great deal of talk about why millionaires' children should get free university education. That is such an old debate. The same argument held true for second level education. Until the Minister, Donogh O'Malley, introduced free secondary education, it was seen as a privilege. In the same way in recent days I have heard people talk about university and college education as a privilege. It is not; it should be a right. It was a very important principle when we introduced free fees, the concept of State provision of university education based on the idea of third level education as a right not a privilege. The same argument applies.