Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

The talks in Northern Ireland are due to continue later today. I hope they will prove fruitful, as it is the wish of everybody on this island that Northern Ireland find the solutions that it so desperately needs in these critical times.

This week marks the fourth anniversary of the publication of A Vision for Change, the Government's mental health strategy. It is critical that we have a debate on the document, given the very poor progress made and the lack of the ring-fenced funding promised. Service users are meeting today with Members of the Houses in the audiovisual room at 5.30 p.m. I hope Senators will be able to come along to hear their views.

Yesterday I raised the issue of fairness in the education sector, following the cuts in the area of special needs which attack the most vulnerable. There is a lack of clarity on the part the Minister for Education and Science on the issue. How many special needs assistants will be removed from classrooms at the end of the week? What will happen to those children who need special needs assistants to integrate properly in primary school? However, the question of fairness goes further than special needs assistants. What about the changes made by the Government to the pay of public servants on salaries of €150,000? Decisions taken in the budget were reversed for the people concerned, yet the decisions taken in respect of those on salaries of €30,000 were not. Does the Government intend to address this issue and deal with the question of fairness as it affects those most poorly paid in the public service? Last night there was division in Fianna Fáil about this decision. I ask the Members of the Government parties in this House if they will bring this decision back to the floor of the Houses. The decision was taken outside the Oireachtas and after the budget. How can people believe in the budget process if they see decisions being taken in this manner which are so unfair and are taken outside the budget discussions? This is a question of fairness and transparency in decision making and involving the Houses of the Oireachtas in a meaningful way.