Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With respect to the Minister and her significant workload, she has done a great deal of work in terms of grant funding and supports for school extensions. Every village, town and county has seen the benefits of education spending in the last two years. There is unprecedented spending in education. In terms of leaving certificate reform, the reforms that are taking place are long overdue so it is great to see them finally being implemented under the Minister for Education. We can see her experience as a teacher coming through in her fantastic work in her role as Minister. However, I take on board the Senator's comments regarding examination results and linking in with colleges and the impact of Covid-19. We did not have this issue previously so it is a new one to deal with. At the centre of it all, of course, should be accommodating students and making sure we facilitate people getting their examinations and getting to college, and not making it any more stressful than it already is for students going through those examinations.

I take on board Senator Craughwell's comments about R116 and the devastating loss of those four people. It is a particular issue for my community in Mayo. It will always be a mark on our community, particularly in Erris and Belmullet, but it definitely impacted the county as well. There are key recommendations to make sure such an incident does not happen again. That might be worth tabling a Commencement matter on at the outset to find out what the plan is for implementing those recommendations for the aviation expertise in those two areas. We certainly do not want to see a repeat of what happened in Blacksod.

Finally, Senator Dolan spoke about the Battle of Aughrim Visitor Centre. It sounds like a fantastic place. I also take on board her comments about the importance of history, knowing our history because it informs the present and future and the importance of that education for lots of people. I wish the visitor centre the best. I hope it has a successful summer season in welcoming visitors to the area.