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

I will respond as quickly as I can. We are all trying to achieve the same thing. Change is always difficult, particularly when we have gotten used to doing things in a particular way. In response to Deputy Griffin, there is constant assessment going on in our education system. Kids are assessed in terms of literacy and numeracy at different stages right through primary school and now will be assessed at age 14 in post-primary school. Many parents are aware of these assessments because they receive report cards every year.

I signed off on a document today, which is the education passport which will have four sheets of paper in it. I can provide copies to the committee members. It is for youngsters leaving primary school to go on to post-primary school when they have been accepted by that school. It has been refined to the point where the school will say "This is the level of young Brendan or young Rory", parents will be able to fill in a form outlining what they think are the strengths and attributes of the child and in addition, the 11 or 12 year olds can also fill in what they believe are their particular strengths. There is regular assessing and testing and I do not think one can be a teacher without doing that all of the time, to ensure that what one is trying to convey is being received at the other side. That is not the same as doing a formal examination which is marked. Every education system needs a form of assessment and a final examination. I am not entirely sure if Deputy Griffin is talking about an alternative to the current junior certificate examination. Am I correct in saying that the Deputy was a teacher?