Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. Deputy Jim Daly has submitted an amendment to Deputy Martin's motion which reads that, despite these talks, the ongoing dispute between the ASTI and the Department over changes to the junior cycle is a significant cause of frustration and concern to students and their families. His amendment would replace that to the effect that the position that students affected by the dispute and not others will automatically lose 10% of their marks through no fault of the students is deeply unfair to these students and cannot be allowed to happen and is placing an undue burden of stress on the students; that the ASTI's current directive is now directly negatively impacting on examination students; that such selective targeting of students is an unprecedented and wholly unjustifiable industrial relations strategy; that, as a result of the directive, current ASTI English teachers are now in their third year of delivering a new curriculum for which they have been prevented from receiving full professional development; that the Minister for Education and Skills requested the ASTI to provide an immediate derogation from its directive for current teachers of English while talks between the Department and the union on the junior cycle proceed; that the Department remains in discussions with the ASTI on this issue; and that the Minister for Education and Skills remains willing and available to engage with the ASTI on this issue; urges the ASTI to engage positively on this issue with a view to finding a solution; and calls on the ASTI to respond immediately and positively to the Minister's request for an immediate derogation from its directive for current teachers of English while talks between the Department and the union on the junior cycle proceed, and to engage urgently with the Department to resolve outstanding concerns. I invite the Deputy to speak in support of his amendment.