Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

We have given a lead, under the leadership of the Cathaoirleach and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, in establishing internships in the Seanad. I compliment the commission, the Captain of the Guard and the Superintendent for their co-operation in this regard. It is a good example of what can happen here and should be spread to the rest of the public service. There is much room for the people concerned. We should not be afraid of bringing in graduates because they might show up certain things.

I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the proposal made by the Minister for Education and Skills to reduce the number of VECs from 33 to 16. This would be a major rationalisation which has been talked about for a number of years. As I said at the parliamentary party meeting last night, we could end up in a situation similar to that which resulted when we amalgamated all of the health boards, which was not a great success. Perhaps rationalisation is not always the best way to go, although there is certainly a need for improvements in the system. It would be worthwhile for the Minister to come to the House for a debate on the issue.

As someone who has been in the House for a while and a former Minister of State, I am concerned about the lack of legislation before the House. There should be far more legislation before us.