Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

The live register is only here to be talked about.

I want to hear the Minister's views on how the Department will implement the early child care education. Child care is important and we have not planned for it properly up to now.

We must provide incentives for people to go to work. Senator Quinn eloquently put it on the record. People have not got that so far and we need to do that. We need to be creative regarding community employment schemes and we need to allow people the opportunity to go back to work.

The black economy is thriving, whether Senator McDonald likes it or not. I agree with the Minister that we must tackle social welfare fraud. I will give her every support to tackle fairly and properly the people who are abusing social welfare. The black economy is alive and well, and it is well Senator McDonald knows it. It is back in action because of this Government. People do not want to go to work now because it costs them money and that is not right.

Senator Boyle speaks about the dependancy culture, but where are the places for the young people? We are cutting LCA classes. The Minister, Deputy Hanafin, is a former Minister for Education and Science. The most innovative measure brought into schools was the leaving certificate applied, which I taught for eight years. The resources of that great programme have been reduced, and that is daft. In the Gallery this morning during the Order of Business there was a group of leaving certificate applied students who had a new lease of life because they had no dread of being at school. Will we return to the bad old days?

I agree there is a need to modify rent supplement but we need to look at how the PRTB operates and who will negotiate on behalf of the tenant on the big issue of landlords not passing on the reduction in the cost of living.