Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The reason I cited the West Dunbartonshire model was not necessarily the outcomes it had or the methodology it used but the ambition it had and terminology it used about eradicating child illiteracy. Mr. Candon mentioned Finland. We went on a trip to research Finnish education. A Conservative MP who is chair of the education committee there lectured us about the centrality of equality in Finland's education system. Both the Finnish approach and the West Dunbartonshire project are very value-driven. I agree that one cannot plant a model from somewhere else in the Irish situation but there is a poverty of ambition in our system about what we are trying to achieve. Could the witnesses comment on that and the validity of a localised solution?