Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I wish to raise two items, the first of which is the strike that occurred yesterday which effectively amounted to economic sabotage at a time of such uncertainty for the country and hardship for people. It is unacceptable to see our international reputation being damaged in that way, the suffering it caused, the impact it had on people's arrangements and the effect it had on our exports. The Minister for Transport should speak out more clearly on this matter than he has done to date. While I welcome his comments this morning, there is a real imperative on the Government, in the context of this type of industrial action, to spell out clearly what the consequences of that action will be and to do everything possible to ensure it does not occur in other sectors. There must be a role for the Government when such vital services are impacted on as heavily as they were yesterday. The Government has a huge responsibility to spell out loudly and clearly the options and measures required to solve such disputes without the chaos we saw yesterday. The House should have a debate on the management of these disputes in order that we do not arrive at a situation where a strike will be seen as the only option. We hear that it is a possibility in other sectors also. There is a huge obligation on everybody to pull together in the interests of the country and to ensure this is not the solution people will seek.

The other topic I wish to raise which is more relevant to some Senators than others is the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Education and Science of the abolition of the NUI. A number of Senators, and Senator Alex White in particular, have called for a proper discussion on the McCarthy report in this House and the need for the Government to outline the way it is approaching the recommendations in that report. It did not do it in the budget and now we have piecemeal decision making. As we await a report on higher education, the decision has been taken in advance to abolish the National University of Ireland. That is another example of how not to do business. It should be planned. There should be rational decision making regarding the McCarthy report. It should be transparent and open and should arise out of discussion in these Houses, with all involved getting an opportunity to put their point of view on the McCarthy report. I ask the Leader to have a debate on the McCarthy report in this House.