Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I support my colleague, Senator MacSharry. I tuned to Ivan Yates's programme on Newstalk this morning and he was bemoaning the fact that the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, despite repeated requests from the radio station, had not been returning its calls inviting him to appear on the programme. It appears the programme has a regular ministerial slot. It is somewhat bizarre. Having listened to Senator MacSharry's remarks something is obviously taking place in the Department of Health that perhaps must be exposed. The Leader might be able to cast some light on the Minister's reluctance. I am sure he is doing a very good job trying to grapple with the complexity of a Department which a former Minister, Brian Cowen, referred to as "Angola", so I can understand the difficulties in that regard.

While I support Senator Mullen's call for a debate on education, I raised the introduction of the registration fee in an Adjournment debate in this House. The Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, replied to it. I have researched the issue. It is an initiative proposed by the previous Administration which was taken up by this Government, presumably because it is seeking to find money wherever it can get it. This is not a new issue although I am glad the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, raised it yesterday. However, it has been in the public domain for the last few months. What is of great concern to parents is the fact that the first €2,000 is not subject to any form of tax relief. If one has a second or subsequent child going to a third level college, one can avail of tax relief amounting to approximately €600 but that depends on the tax situation of the people involved. This is a penal tax and I am glad Senator Bacik has raised the issue. The only way its impact can be minimised for families who are becoming increasingly hard pressed is by the Senator raising it through her party's structures, as we would have done when our party was in government. I am glad the Senator has spoken in so forthright a manner and I hope this will continue. It is a penal tax despite the fact that the Government must find money somewhere.

Finally, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Simon Coveney, was in the House some weeks ago for an unprecedented question and answer session, for which we complimented the Leader. The Minister showed he was very much in command of his brief. I am particularly pleased that the Government has put agriculture at the centre of its policy for economic renewal, on foot of Food Harvest 2020. However, it appears that this Government has now taken ownership of Food Harvest 2020 even though it was quite critical about it when its parties were in opposition. The previous Minister, Deputy Brendan Smith, initiated the concept of Food Harvest 2020, brought it through the Government and out into the open. He has been under-acknowledged for the outstanding contribution he made in this regard.

This is the key area of our economy that will probably produce an increased number of jobs and save our economy over the next few years. It is extraordinary, therefore, that the Department is now talking about cutting-----