Like many of the stories the Minister of State has heard today in the House, it is not strange that we have constituents coming to us regularly saying the biggest fear they have is the postman's knock. When they get the criteria for what is needed for their children to start the school year, those include €700 laptops, €600 iPads, tablets or something of that format as well as signing up to a Microsoft programme that has been selected. Despite your household perhaps owning a Microsoft programme, you have to buy into another one. I highlighted this in the House over 12 months ago on Leaders' Questions. I am still waiting for a proper reply from the Taoiseach. We have heard the ministerial circular that went around saying that people do not have to use laptops. Every one of us knows from our own constituencies that laptops, iPads and tablets are being used regularly by order of boards of management. I have to acknowledge the Government's good work and call it out, including the free books scheme and the school meals. However, the Government has made a hames of the school meals. Deputy Collins has produced photographs in the House of food that you would not give to a farm animal, yet it is being produced for children. That is the standard that the Government has come up with. That has to be addressed. When it comes to education, Deputy Moynihan is a Fianna Fáil Minister of State. I remember the great days of Donogh O'Malley. I would what Donogh O'Malley would think if he saw the education shambles that the Government presided over in this country over the last 20 years. The Government has not addressed school uniform problems or the fact that most parents have to pay €300 for a PE kit. It has not addressed the problem that parents have to give this voluntary contribution, which is really not voluntary when schools are putting out news bulletins listing the names of families who have contributed and those who have not contributed. That is happening regularly. Parents are suffering, wondering how they will get the money for a school tour and how they will get the money to send their young ones up to the Dáil to tour the House. We have dozens or hundreds of schools that visit this House and many parents in my constituency in Cork have told me that they could not let their young ones go simply because they did not have enough to pay for their lunch or the bus. That is in the wealthiest country in Europe. We should all be inside here hanging our heads in shame about how we are treating people. Just go outside the gate and the Minister of State will see Cara Darmody outside Leinster House again, highlighting a law that the Government has been breaking for over 20 years. What was the Taoiseach's answer to me yesterday? He said we might have to look at and change the legislation. He does not want to be the lawbreaker. He is happy to have broken the law for the last 20 years and presided over that, but now he has decided that instead of fixing the problem, he will change the law so that he is not culpable. It is unbelievable to even be allowed to give that answer to the representatives in this House. The Government has failed the country again. It has failed the 22,000 children in terms of assessments of need, it has failed the school meals programme, which is badly thought out, and it is failing again. I commend the Labour Party and the motion to this House.

Sentiment score: -0.01