Rónán Mullen (Independent)

I agree with Senator O'Toole's comments. I would like to hear from the Minister for Education and Science in this House at the earliest opportunity concerning issues such as the funding of minority schools, Protestant schools in particular, to which I referred last week; the funding of chaplains, given that chaplains are not funded in our voluntary schools despite the very important work they do at a time when we are all concerned about mental health, particularly among young men; and in regard to issues such as supervision and substitution.

One of the issues I hear from teachers is their great regret at the loss of balance in staff rooms, for example, as younger teachers are lost because they have not served the full time. Without in any way being ageist about this, there is a recognition that the difference of ages in a staff room can contribute greatly to the life of the school. That is one issue. However, we should not scapegoat older teachers, particularly, as Senator O'Toole said, based on figures that have no real relevance because of the different economic climate that pertained and because they are the ones who are available to do the work. I would like to hear from the Minister in this regard.

Like Senator Norris, I do not know what to make of this new vehicle known as the special purpose vehicle, which sounds a not very environmentally friendly type of machine. The one issue that recurs in most people's minds in this regard is the importance of safeguarding the public interest. Given it was the failure to have regard to the public interest that largely lead us into the economic situation we are now in, people want to know that if there are profits to be made in the future, they will not be lost to the State.

I read today that there is a proposal from IMPACT for a one-day strike on 24 November, which is to be discussed by the public sector unions. Anybody who is considering strike action needs to have their head examined. That is not the way to advance the interests of this country at a time of major crisis for us all. I hope people will be responsible in the leadership they give over the coming weeks so they do not drive themselves down alleys which will hurt us all.