Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share my time with Senator Mark Wall.

I want to flag some areas that I hope are of importance to the Taoiseach. I could not stand up here without referring to student nurses and midwives. As a former Minister for Health, the Taoiseach will be all too familiar with the work they do, but the issue of pay has still not been resolved. This is scandalous. I plead with the Taoiseach to show leadership on this issue; leadership that I can assure him the country is calling out for.

The Taoiseach said in his opening statement that education is the great enabler. As a Senator for students, I obviously agree, but without vigorous investment and a sustained long-term funding model for the further and higher education sector, education will remain the great enabler for some and will still be beyond the reach of many. The Taoiseach created a new Department, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, under his leadership but, without long-sought-after funding to stabilise the sector and without tackling precarious employment in the sector, this will be a lost country-defining opportunity.