Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail)

The increase of €250 will not go to the third level sector. The Government is cutting back its allocation to the third level sector and that increase will go into the general pot as well.

The Government is closing 31 Garda stations and restricting ten others. That was announced by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, by way of press release. He did not have the decency to come in to the House to announce it.

I would make one point about the reform of the budgetary cycle which the Government has brought in. Why is it that when the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform was making announcements in Dáil Éireann yesterday, the Minister for Social Protection, the highest spending Department, was out of the Chamber hosting a press conference in Government Buildings to announce her changes to the media? That is not acceptable. The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, did the same, as did all the line Ministers. These are the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Ministers should make their announcements here. If they wanted to ingratiate themselves with their friends in the media, when they open the newspapers this morning they will see it does not work. It is a serious point. Ministers should not be announcing policy decisions and taking questions from members of the media-----