Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is a generic title applied to learning answers prepared by a teacher for anticipated questions. When we use rote learning, that is generally what is being referred to. Senator Moran spoke about competition between schools within towns, and this is something we could discuss. At an operational and professional level I would love to be able to sit down with my officials and teacher unions to ask about their fears regarding X, Y and Z and how they can be addressed. We will address those issues. Some people have suggested that oral exams could be done in different schools and there is competition in some towns among schools, particularly for the best students.

We cannot do so if people are saying "We are opposed to this in principle and I'm not going to talk to you."

Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell asked me whether I regard teachers as experts. Yes, I regard them as experts, but they are not the only experts. There are other experts as well. Not every teacher has a PhD in educational research, but he or she may have a PhD in-----