Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá sé go maith go bhfuilimid ag pléigh na ceisteanna fíor-thabhachtacha seo. Níor airigh mé aon rud luaite maidir le cúrsaí Gaeilge ná oideachas trí mheán na Gaeilge faraor. B'fhéidir go mbeadh muid in ann cúpla ceist a chur faoi sin.

I share the concerns about the SNAs, the backlog and the lack of access to assessments. Principals are being put in the awkward situation of having to choose which children to have assessed because of the system in place. I welcome what the Minister says about piloting the new scheme and the methodology relating thereto. I hope it will be a big improvement.

Language is very important. I get a sense, from the language he used, that the Minister has brought from his previous Department a mindset that uses terms such as "access to talent", "education being at the heart", "preparing people for the workforce", "inputs" and "outputs" as opposed to referring to students. I am concerned about that type of language. I know it is important to prepare people for the workforce but an educational system needs to prepare well-rounded citizens. I would be concerned if the focus is primarily to push people into a points system to do certain courses in college in order to get certain degrees and then obtain certain types of jobs the end. From my experience of working in several third level institutions, people choose the wrong courses because of that system. They are then not prepared for the jobs for which they should be prepared. I am concerned about preparing people for life, with social and personal development skills at second level. I echo what Deputy Nolan said about guidance counsellors. Teachers at second level all tell me they feel that if we are trying to prepare people vocationally, the students involved need much more guidance on their career and subject choices to prepare them for work. Those who need extra support, whether from the perspective of maturity or life skills, need to be dealt with at second level in a better manner if possible.

The mental health of and stress for staff in schools have not been mentioned. With high numbers in classrooms and the increased administrative burden on principals, they and staff come under a great deal of pressure. Would the Minister comment on that?

He said there will be a fair number of retirements this year. Will all of those people be replaced? The Department unfortunately does not have a great record in recruiting people with Irish. Apart from the teachers under the Department's remit, only 2% or 3% of the staff in the Department have a competency in the Irish language. What steps are being taken to ensure that in the new recruitment process a certain quota will have that competency? There is a knock-on effect on people through the system who are entitled to an education through Gaeilge trying to deal with the Department where previously there was a high standard and competency.

I acknowledge the Department has a policy on Gaeilge and the Gaeltacht and huge efforts have been made by certain individuals but the numbers have dipped substantially.

Yesterday, the Coalition for Publicly Funded Higher Education briefed us and representatives from Tallaght IT are before the committee. I was told the moneys available to ITs this year for materials for practicals, etc., is so small that they have to cut back on doing practicals in certain vocational courses. These are vital in preparing people who are going straight into the workplace. They are unable to get the practical experience that was provided in previous years because of the lack of materials available to do the courses and that needs to be examined.

The ESRI figures for 2015 show that 23% of parents would choose to send their children to a Gaelscoil if it was available, yet Gaelscoileanna comprise only 6.7% of schools. According to one school of thought, Gaelscoileanna are being impeded by the system the Department has for the allocation of moneys for capital projects. Will the Minister address that? A Gaelscoil could be an Educate Together or a catholic school. Patronage is not necessarily an issue but there is huge demand for Gaelscoileanna, given 23% of parents would like one to be built in their area, but capital funding is not being provided to meet that.