I might just reply.

My good friend and colleague has just confirmed to me that Fine Gael does not understand intelligence.

Employment law-----

We are talking about the head of intelligence. No country in the world-----

-----would appoint a person from outside the jurisdiction to head up intelligence. That, as far as I am concerned, is something we-----

It is not racist.

It is far from racist. It is plain common sense.

I shall leave it at that.

Sure.

Long living in the UK.

I always do.

I rise, as quite an elderly lemon in this House, to support this Bill.

I think back to my youth. At 12 years of age, I started my first job. At 15, I ran a bar in a hotel in Lisdoonvarna for the entire season. Before the age of 16, I was working in a pub called The Hog in the Pound in South Molton Street in London. By the time I was just over 16, I was a member of the armed forces. To suggest, today, that a 16-year-old would be anything like I was when I was 16 is insanity. They are far more advanced, more with it, more educated and more on top of what is going on in society. I apprec…

I am deaf so I cannot hear the Senator. I would like to see participation at as early an age as possible. I think 16 is a good age to start. My colleague Senator Cummins made the point that he came from an education background; so too did I. I travelled the length and breadth of the country as president of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI, and I learned how advanced children are from the age of 13 or 14. I am not afraid of 16-year-olds going into a polling booth and voting. I watched my kids growing up and when …

The bottom line is that we have nothing to fear. I encourage the Minister of State to kick aside any amendment and go for it. He should be a brave Minister of State. He will go down in history.

And maybe beyond.

So the people proposing the Bill are actually kicking it down the road.

On a point of order, this was a Fianna Fáil Bill that was brought to the House and Fianna Fáil apparently are the people who are kicking it to touch until 1 July 2024. Do they not speak to one another in that party or where are we going? This is nonsense.

When budget 2024 was released, there was a lot in it. Education funding is part of what was outlined. It probably did not make much of a splash by way of headlines because the announcement of free school books up to junior certificate level was the headline but buried within the budget are a number of concerning issues. For example, funding for the capitation fee was €90 million last year and it has been reduced to €81 million for 2024. That is approximately a 3% cut in funding for the capitation fee. When the capi…

Or next week.