Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Mooney's remarks about the reduction in interest rates and the banks. While I welcome the announcement by AIB yesterday that it intends to reduce its interest rate, I call on the other banks to do the same. I pay tribute not only to my own party and our representatives in this House and the Lower House who have raised this issue continually over recent months but to all Members who have raised it. This issue affects many people whom we represent and it is time it was addressed. Never in the history of the ECB have interest rates been as low and it is time the banks passed on that low interest rate to their customers.

I support Senator Craughwell who raised the issue of the Gaelcholáiste Chineál Eoghain in the Inishowen Peninsula. I am not fully aware of the circumstances but if an industrial dispute is leading to the imminent closure of the school, it is incumbent on us all to investigate the reasons for that situation. As Senator Craughwell stated, it is the only Gaelscoil in the area and it is unfortunate that as a result of an industrial dispute between the staff and the management, the pupils who live in that area will be deprived of a Gaelscoil. I support Senator Craughwell's call for the Minister for Education and Skills to look into it.