Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and her officials for their engagement. I have met her officials to discuss certain elements of the Bill. I am glad that we have found solutions to meet some of the concerns of the Labour Party. Some of our amendments, as proposed by the Progressive College Network, were not accepted in the Dáil. There was disappointment with the stance taken by Fianna Fáil which was not in a position to support the Labour Party's amendments which, as a consequence, fell in the Dáil. In the Seanad we do not deal with amendments that have fallen, only those that have been passed. I thank all those who have worked so hard to make the Bill a success. We would like it to be better, but the Minister of State did not see fit to support our amendments in the Dáil. However, as always, we will work with her and her officials and co-operate on future legislation.