Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We might keep the Acting Chairman in position because he is certainly fast-tracking the Order of Business. I thank the eight Members who contributed. I join Senator Ó Donnghaile in sending best wishes to Fr. Des Wilson who is celebrating 70 years in the priesthood. He is renowned as a champion of the people, particularly in the context of education. Fr. Paddy McCafferty spoke at his mass yesterday. We thank him for his work. His 70 years in the priesthood is, by any stretch of the imagination, a wonderful testimony to a life well lived. We wish him ad multos annos.

Senator Ardagh raised the issue of a number of briefings held yesterday, one of which was hosted by the INTO. We all value our education system. We applaud the quality of our teachers and school communities. I also attended the briefing in the museum yesterday by the INTO. As the Senator will be aware, last year we continued to pursue the Action Plan for Education with an budget of €10.763 billion, an increase of 6.7%. The request made by the INTO yesterday was reasonable. Last year's budget provided one day for teaching principals for administration. The Government has also created more than 1,300 new posts, including 950 new SNA posts and 372 new teaching posts. The school capitation grant also increased by 5% in the budget. Under Project Ireland 2040, there will be an €11.9 billion capital investment in education. Between 2011 and 2016, at a time the country had little or no money, the Fine Gael-led Government made a significant commitment to improve the capital spend in the built environment in our education communities. Notwithstanding the positivity, there are challenges at third level, particularly with regard to housing. I am sure the Senator will join me in welcoming increases in the availability of student accommodation. That said, challenges remain. The Higher Education Authority, HEA, and the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, raised numerous concerns yesterday.

Our tourism figures continue to increase. There was a 6% increase in the number of overseas visitors between January and March of this year, albeit with a number of caveats. The spend is down by 4%, with the exception of North America. Numbers from mainland Europe and long-haul destinations are up. There is a concern that we are pricing ourselves out of the market, particularly in Dublin vis-à-vishotel accommodation. While that is an issue about which we must be concerned, Fáilte Ireland is to be congratulated on its wonderful ability to promote, sell and market Ireland through campaigns such as the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland's Ancient East and so on.