Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Enough said. Senator Richmond mentioned passports, which I was going to raise myself. Last Wednesday, I helped somebody apply online for a passport renewal. The office was reluctant to accept the photograph but we managed to produce one of sufficient quality. They said it would take ten working days, which would mean Wednesday of next week, but it arrived in the post this morning, after less than four working days. I commend the Minister, the Department and the staff who work in the production facility in Balbriggan. I urge anybody who is remotely able to use technology to use this service. I urge those who are not able to use it to ask somebody to help them. The process is incredibly simple and it is cheaper at €75 instead of €89.50 through Passport Express. It is much faster and it saves a lot of work.

I ask the Leader for a debate on the immediate skills shortage in secondary schools.Many school principals, particularly in Dublin, and across the country are finding it difficult to recruit teachers of many subjects, including physics, chemistry, home economics, languages, especially Spanish, French, German and Irish in particular. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Education and Skills, who is fairly new to his brief, to come into the House to discuss this matter. Senator Norris might not want to interrupt the Leader when I am trying to talk to him.