Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his indulgence and for understanding the rare occasion when strong views need to be expressed in the House.

We have an economic crisis in the country and every speaker today has touched on it. It is important union heads do not make it worse by promoting strikes and that they show real leadership at this time. I offer one fact to bear this out. The Union of Students of Ireland, USI, contacted me to say that 50 students per week are dropping out of college at present because of the delay in grants payments. Members know, as do I, that local authorities have no money. In UCD a dozen students per day visit the welfare office and at this time of year there are more than 200 new applications for student assistance. Parents can no longer afford to bail out students and students are choosing to live at home and drop out of college. This is an educational crisis in the making. The Government has not helped because the Student Support Bill was stalled in the other House on Second Stage 18 months ago. It is incumbent upon us to put education on a sound financial footing. I ask the Leader to give a timeframe for this Bill in the House. Otherwise we will all suffer the folly of letting education suffer in our country.

We can say many things, good and bad, about the HSE. Within the past week, I was in the accident and emergency department with my family and spent €559 between doctors, pharmacies, diagnostics and two accident and emergency department charges, the latter at the exorbitant cost of €100 each.