Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Members have learned today how the Government has breached the official pay level it set last year for the starting salary of the chief executive of VHI and has done so dramatically. They also have learned that very few civil servants have forgone increments and they spoke yesterday about what the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, had had to say on the subject of increments. At the same time, I found in my post box today a piece in the Northside People about my local special school, St. Ciaran's, Ballygall, which must cater for some pupils who require nappy changing, PEG feeding and the administration of medication. The principal of the school, Ms Valerie Monaghan, is reported as stating the school is down two SNAs, from 13 to 11, and believes it is being reviewed and assessed as a mainstream school in respect of its SNA allocation, even though each child has additional needs. These two items are in stark contrast to each other. I refer to the lack of awareness of the need for frugal treatment of the public finances in the setting of pay levels and in the treatment of pay scales, while at the same time, the most vulnerable suffer.

Senator Ivana Bacik quoted my remarks about abortion being a difficult and sensitive issue in support of her call for a debate with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. I, of course, agree there should be such a debate. I always have had grave reservations about images of aborted babies being used as part of abortion-related campaigns because they have a desensitising effect. However, there are controlled circumstances in which RTE and others should not be afraid to advise people that they intend to show them such images as part of public education programmes. One should not censor the reality of abortion. However, as far as the posters to which Senator Ivana Bacik refers are concerned, I can see nothing wrong with them andwould be very worried about a censorious attitude being taken to public advertising that gets to a core reality. I remind the Senator that stating "Abortion tears her life apart" may not necessarily simply be referring to the child who, of course, dies. However, there has been a deafening silence among abortion proponents in recent years about the growing knowledge of the possibility of adverse mental health effects of abortion on women.