The Millennium Initiative on the Information Society is one of the most far-sighted initiatives of our time. Does the Taoiseach think the Government should be complimented on another far-sighted decision——

Leaving Deputy O'Keeffe on the back benches.

——which was to locate an outreach centre of Cork regional technical college in Skibbereen as a pilot project, using a high level of telematic delivery of educational programmes?

The election has begun.

Will that be a full university?

Deputy O'Keeffe should distribute his script.

It is important that we seek to use the most modern techniques of distance learning. With broad-band technology it is now possible for people in Skibbereen and other parts of the world to attend a lecture given in New York and to interact with the lecturer. Distance education techniques allow this. I recently participated in such a discussion when I visited the out-reach centre of the University of Ulster at Enniskillen. It was linked to the extension of Cork regional technical college at Skibbereen and both institutions are linked to the University of Missouri in the United States, using modern distance education technology — video conferencing, effectively.

This was happening five years ago.

We propose that an experimental centre to apply this technology in education on a systematic basis, for the first time in Ireland, will be located in Skibbereen. That part of Ireland is further from centres of third level education than anywhere else but that extension is now available to it, using and applying a particular educational technology.

We used to call this an "after Mass meeting" speech.

The people of Skibbereen should note that this important and valid initiative is being greeted with less than seriousness by Fianna Fáil.

The Taoiseach will lose the run of himself.

He is so po-faced.

One could call it something else.