Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

Senators Cummins, O'Toole, Hannigan and Coghlan asked about the motion on the Stardust fire tragedy which is to come to the House. I am pleased to inform the House that will be taken on Wednesday, 8 July in the presence of the Minister and the relatives of those who lost their lives tragically on St. Valentine's Day, 1981, which was one of the darkest and saddest days in the history of Dublin and I remember it well. The reason for the delay in dealing with this motion was to ensure we would be able to facilitate the next of kin and relatives of the deceased so that they could be present in the House when the motion is taken.

Senators O'Toole, Leyden, Bacik, Ormonde, Mullen, Ó Murchú and Hanafin asked for a debate on education, with the Minister for Education and Science in attendance, to deal with the subjects of equal status and respect for parental choice and the challenges facing our schools. I have already made that request to the Minister's office. I have asked if the debate could take place before the summer recess but if that is not possible, it will be held in the first or second week in the autumn term. I join Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú and Senator Leyden in expressing our gratitude for the work of the religious orders in educating us all down through the generations. Fifty years ago, a total of 75% of all students leaving primary education went no further in education. That was the education in total they received and I can speak from experience about the years 1958 and 1959. This shows how much we have progressed in our country in the past 50 years.

I wish to acknowledge the great work done by Senator Joe O'Toole in particular who has given a lifetime of commitment to education. Every time he utters a meaningful sentence about education I know he is speaking from vast experience in this area.