Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not going to discuss the budget. I will, however, discuss the case of a young man who could not obtain employment here and who was obliged to emigrate. He worked abroad for three years before deciding to return in order to pursue a degree in engineering, only to discover that he is now deemed to be a foreigner and will be charged €12,000 in fees by the Dublin Institute of Technology as a result. There cannot be too many cases of this nature. However, that does not take away from the fact that there is still an anomaly whereby young people who have no choice but to go abroad in search of work and who return here to study after a short period are treated as foreigners. I am sure that if his attention is drawn to this anomaly, the Minister for Education and Skills will be able to take action in respect of it.

There have been news reports in recent days regarding the ongoing negotiations with Iran on its nuclear programme. Iran is claiming that this programme is only being pursued for peaceful purposes. However, it has been in train for 20 years and it is being used to produce uranium and plutonium. The latter are not needed for the generation of energy. Indonesia and Canada have nuclear programmes but they do not produce nuclear weapons. Neither country produces plutonium or uranium. On that basis, there is a need to ensure that pressure continues to be exerted on Iran. The situation in the Middle East is extremely dangerous and if one of the countries there develops a nuclear weapons programme, then in my view others will be encouraged to do the same. I urge the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to ensure that the pressure being exerted on Iran to only use its nuclear programme for peaceful purposes is maintained.