Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise the issue of gender imbalance in the primary teaching sector and the message that sends out to our children. An interesting statistic that highlights this problem shows that in the early 1960s, nearly 40% of all primary teachers were male. Today that figure is less than 15%. We need to get a grip on this issue because what kind of message are we sending out to our school children? Are we saying that if a person wants to be a school teacher that it is primarily a female profession? I believe that is the wrong message and it needs to be addressed.

On a separate issue I welcome the fact the First Minister, Arlene Foster, MLA, was in Dublin to meet the Toaiseach this week. By all accounts, from reading and seeing media reports of the meeting, it seemed to go quite well. Perhaps the Leader could extend an invitation to the First Minister and to the deputy First Minister, to address this House on the issue of Brexit.