Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. While I acknowledge that elements of this Bill are very much technical in nature, I was struck by what Senator Seery Kearney said about the culture and leadership of the Minister. It is very clear that the Minister has stamped his own ethos, ethics and style on his Department and has shown real leadership. I share the hope that this will continue and that the culture the Minister has embedded over the last 12 to 18 months will persist. I have no doubt that it will.

Of course, it is appropriate that certain functions would sit with the Department of Education. The home school liaison and school completion programmes have developed over the last number of years and have had enormous success in certain areas where they have been targeted and where resources have been made available. We all have stories and examples of where the programmes have been successful but would also know of areas where they have been less successful. We need uniformity in terms of both of those programmes because they are exceptionally positive and beneficial.

Of course, legislation often needs to be tweaked. If the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, in collaboration with the Minister for Education, finds that this legislation needs to be tweaked and that certain functions have to revert to him, we should not be shy about doing that because his Department performed these functions well when it had responsibility for them. That said, it does make absolute sense that they would transfer and the fact that this legislation is getting cross-party support speaks volumes. I welcome that and believe this legislation represents a move in the right direction. I wish the legislation well but much more importantly, I hope the programmes continue to achieve what we all want them to achieve, namely to ensure that young people are protected, encouraged and ultimately achieve their potential.

Today the ESRI published a report on graduates with disabilities. These are students who went through the education system, got a third level qualification, including in some cases 2.1 degrees, but cannot get employment. It is shocking to think that we are the fourth worst in Europe in this regard. While this may not be directly linked to the issue we are discussing today, they are all our children.They are people who come through the education process, get the points to go to college and succeed in getting a degree because the supports are there. However, when it comes to getting a job, which everyone aspires to to contribute to society, they are in a situation where it does not happen. I spoke about this problem on the Order of Business, as did my colleague, Senator Seery Kearney. This is an issue that needs to be dealt with. I know from discussions with the Minister in the recent past how committed he is to the area of equality. I believe actions speak louder than words. The Minister's actions in terms of equality and giving all our children protection, supports and belief speak louder than words. I have been quite taken by how he has conducted his Department since taking up office - keep that up. His actions are a shining example to others in Government as to how business should be done.