Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with my colleague and friend Senator O'Donovan and others who have spoken the terrible tragedy in Passage East. During the Seanad election, I found it to be one of the most beautiful parts of the country when I visited. I would like to pass on my sympathy to the Leader and my colleagues from Waterford on this appalling tragedy. Coming from an area where fishing is a big business, I know the risks and challenges for those who work in this sector. All we can do is pass on our prayers and thoughts.

At yesterday's meeting of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, there was an interesting debate on the teaching of history as second level. We should have a debate in this House on that topic. To plan for the future, we must know our past and where we came from, and we must learn about it in an unbiased and factual way. History is an essential subject in the curriculum and I am troubled that there has been a reduction in the number of students taking history as a subject for the leaving certificate. We must look at an alternative way to teach history, recalibrating it into the important position it should have in the second level curriculum.