Martin Conway (Fine Gael)

Like others, I call on the Leader to caution the Government to tread carefully with regard to the disposal of any portion of the ESB.

We need to learn from the mistakes of the past. We saw what happened with Telecom Éireann, which became Eircom. We got rid of a network that would have ensured broadband would have been provided to every house in the country. That would have happened had the company remained in State ownership.

I support the call of my colleague, Senator Healy Eames, for a broad-ranging debate on education. Like others, I congratulate the people who got their junior certificate results yesterday and indeed the freshers who are going off to college this week. However, some elements of the education system are simply broken. We need a back-to-basics analysis of the standards, quality and funding of education. Whether we like it or not, we have a two-tier education system. If someone has the money, they can get the grinds or go to a private school, but if they do not have the money, they will not do that. One thing that our country prided itself on during the years was that we had a first-class education system. We need to return to that and ensure that everyone has equal access to quality education regardless of whether they have resources. I suggest to the Leader that, in briefing the Minister ahead of such a debate, he should request that information is made available to us on how much funding is made available to private schools and grind schools that provide leaving certificate programmes. If people choose to go into private education, the State should not be expected to cough up money to subvent it. With those remarks, I ask the Leader to ensure that we have a comprehensive, broad-ranging on education during this term.