Mr. Des Hogan:

On the question of scrapping the school certificate, the commission has not considered this so we do not have a position on it. The approach the Senator suggests is probably correct, to assess it from the point of view of equality and human rights impact. What would its impact be in terms of levelling or equality outcomes?

If it seems that marginalised, disadvantaged communities or groups within those communities will be removed from whatever is being proposed, then one needs to think about how the proposal can be modified. This feeds into the short course question which is the question of how to fit everything into nothing or in terms of adopting one system over another system. Looking from the point of view of a UN committee, it would want to know whether studies or assessments were carried out before a radical or structural change was implemented. It would look at the timeframe and ask for examples to show that a change can offer compensation. I anticipate there will be questions for the State from international bodies with regard to CSPE.