Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the other Senators, including Senator Martin Conway, who said it is a sad day for Ireland but particularly for the women who were incarcerated in those laundries for all those years. Calling for an apology is one thing but Senator Martin Conway was the only Senator who mentioned compensation which is tangible acknowledgement of wrongdoing. In addition to calling for an apology we will have to examine the report.

We are all calling on the State to say "Sorry" but it is not only the State that should say "Sorry". The institutions, the nuns and everyone involved should say "Sorry". As a society we should all say "Sorry". Actions speak louder than words. Words are easy but it is the action taken that is important. A considered debate on this issue in the Seanad, as the Leader has promised, and a follow up will be very important.

I raise the issue of the new junior certificate framework. The first students who will be involved in this will be the intake of September 2014. We have all spoken about the importance of physical education, PE, in schools, and Senator Eamonn Coghlan in particular, for the health of the nation because in the new junior certificate framework PE will now have the diminished status of a short course with a time allocation of just 100 hours over a two to three year period. Currently, only 10% of schools are implementing the minimum recommendation of 120 minutes per week.

The Department of Education and Skills says one thing. Is physical education important or is it not? The Department of Health advises one to get out on one's bicycle. This is false economy. The two Departments must work together because the children's national physical education study states that three out of four Irish adults and four out of five Irish children do not meet the guidelines. The recent report also showed that one in four children was unfit, overweight or obese. Children cannot learn if they are unfit. What does adrenaline do for education? Senator Eamonn Coghlan is tired asking for this to happen. I ask the Ministers for Education and Skills and Health to draw up a coherent policy on physical education and let us have the debate as called for by many Senators. It is going in the opposite direction and we have to change it. It is not too late yet for the 2014 curriculum.