David Norris (Independent)

I am grateful to the Minister of State for his reply. The difficulty is in what he said about the question of resources being available. This almost invariably stops these progressive things. What worries me is that there is a principle of equity in all this. I have always believed the scarce resources of the State should go to those students most in need. The colleges that have not been registered or approved have a significant number of students who are not in affluent circumstances. It is not equitable not to look at the whole situation and to distribute the scarce resources of the State to the most vulnerable, which would include some students in these colleges also. The resources should be distributed to the most vulnerable because there should be a level playing field for all students in the State.

Descendants of the leaders of the 1916 Rising will be in the Visitors Gallery tomorrow, listening to us paying tribute to the vision and idealism of the people of 1916. I would like to remind the Minister of State of the following, although he knows it better than I do. Many think the Constitution contains the phrase, "cherishing all of the children of the nation equally", but it does not. The phrase is in the Proclamation to which this House will pay tribute tomorrow. It is incumbent on every Government to try as hard as it can, with the scarce resources available, to treat all the children of the nation equally. I am intrigued by the Minister of State's reference to fee-paying colleges as if they were commercial. I take it this means he is following his former leader, Deputy Bertie Ahern, into the glorious ranks of socialism.