I too acknowledge the very powerful contribution made by Senator Craughwell and the issue of power of attorney, which Senator McDowell and others have commented on. The complexity of that needs to be addressed. Anything that can be done in these Houses in good faith to make this process more transparent, simpler, more straightforward and more understandable, we should not be found wanting on. Perhaps we could have a debate at some stage with the Minister on this issue, where the challenges and the complexities could be outlined and a discussion could start. That would be fitting and appropriate.

We have all been approached by the INTO, spoken to INTO reps in our constituency and attended the organisation's Oireachtas briefing in Buswells a couple of months ago. Its ask is very simple and it is one ask: that the budget fund an extra 1,000 teachers. That is a cost of in or around €50 million. Normally, the INTO has two, three or four key requests but this year it has one because, unfortunately, we are an outlier when it comes to the pupil-teacher ratio in this country compared with our European colleagues. I propose that the Deputy Leader write to the Minister for Finance and the Minister for education stating that this House would support the request of the INTO to fund 1,000 teachers. We all know the benefit of education. Many of us have benefited from education and we do not want to see standards being compromised in any way due to overcrowding in classrooms. Unfortunately, that is a very big risk in certain areas of this country. The request is reasonable. It is an investment in our future. While there are many pressing, difficult and challenging issues that have to be addressed in this year's budget, particularly around fuel, home heating oil and so on, we cannot forget the importance of education. That is my request.