Leading ladies give each other a lesson in history

THERE were no wigs on the screen but skin and hair almost flew when two of the leading political ladies went at it over education spending yesterday.

The debate on RTÉ Television’s Campaign Daily pitted Education Minister Mary Hanafin against Fine Gael’s Olwyn Enright — her potential successor if the alternative coalition emerges victorious when voters go to the polls next Thursday.

The focus on class sizes and shortages of school places for children in expanding urban areas was to be expected.