Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleagues in expressing sympathy to the Bolger family on the awful tragedy that has befallen them. I agree with Senator O'Donovan that it is time to focus, on a more regular basis, on the difficult lives of fishermen. Today is not a day to address that issue but we should discuss it on another day.

I worked as a teacher for many years and I witnessed the dumbing down of history as a subject. History is becoming like Greek and Latin, both of which were removed from the curriculum in most instances. The difficulty with history is that students tend not to take it as a leaving certificate subject because they believe it to be of no value to them. However, they are quite wrong in that regard. They also shy away from history in light of the huge workload involved. In comparison with other subjects, it is necessary to spend a tremendous amount of time studying history. Perhaps we might have a debate on the matter.

I welcome the publication of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill and I look forward to a good, sensible, logical and dispassionate debate on it in this Chamber. My party, in its wisdom, decided to have a free vote on the legislation. That means free speech for people on all sides of the House. There are two different views on the legislation within my party and I hope both will be expressed in a balanced way.