Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Ó Brolcháin for sharing time with Senator Coghlan and me. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Shatter. It is lovely to see him in the Minister's chair. I compliment him on the work he did as part of the team that negotiated the programme for Government. I wish him well. I compliment the Taoiseach, who has started so well, on the many brave decisions he has taken to date. I refer, for example, to this morning's decision to refer the Moriarty report to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Garda Commissioner. That is the type of new politics the country wants to see.

I endorse many of Senator Bradford's words on electoral reform, which is critical. We need to examine whether the system of proportional representation is the best one for this country, in the context of the overall programme of political reform.

I would like to refer specifically to the emphasis on education in this document. I am delighted that Deputy Quinn is the new Minister for Education and Skills. We worked together for the last few years on the Joint Committee on Education and Skills. I am particularly pleased that learning outcomes are being emphasised by the new Government. The OECD has clearly said that high learning outcomes represent the key to a nation's economic growth and a person's personal growth, including his or her prospects for a good future. The programme for Government states that a "longer term aim of this Government will be to position Ireland in the top ten performing countries in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment". That will need more than talk — a great deal of dedication will be required.

I heard Senator Harris talking about the public service. We need our teachers to be committed public servants and professionals of the highest calibre. It is absolutely critical that we improve learning outcomes. I am delighted that the Government intends to make literacy a national priority. It will ensure more time is devoted to literacy in our schools, teachers have appropriate skills and national literacy plans are implemented. That will need to be monitored closely.