Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the news that the Minister for Education and Skills has brought to Cabinet today his plans for the creation of the technological universities. These have long been in the pipeline following the merger of some institutes of technology. It is a welcome sign. There is further good news on the education front from Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, which is showing better times for awarding of grants, and with the announcement that full-time dental nursing students from Trinity and dental hygiene students from University College Cork, UCC, are approved for student grants. Other Senators have asked for a debate on third level education. In light of the legislation that will come before us shortly on the technological universities, I hope we will have that debate in early course.

Will the Leader arrange a debate with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade or with the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Joe Costello, on the worsening situation in Syria? A very troubling report was released today by three international human rights lawyers which describes the scale of the killing in Syria, in particular by government forces, as being on an industrial scale, with clear signs of torture and appalling treatment of detainees. It is particularly troubling to see that happening. We all very much hope that we will see some resolution of the crisis there on foot of the international meeting.

I also welcome the announcement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade that the Irish embassy network will be extended in support of trade and aid. The Minister announced today the expansion of the diplomatic network abroad to include five new embassies and three new consulates. I am personally pleased to see that we will for the first time be establishing an embassy in Zagreb in Croatia, now that Croatia has acceded to the European Union as the twenty-eighth member state. We will also establish embassies for the first time in some of the growing hubs in south-east Asia, particularly in Bangkok and Jakarta. As part of the review the Minister has announced, "a scaled-back one-person embassy" in the Vatican will be opened "to enable Ireland to engage directly with the leadership of Pope Francis on the issues of poverty eradication, hunger and human rights". This is part of the ongoing review the Minister said he would conduct of the embassy network.