Professor Brian MacCraith:

On that specific topic, Accenture did a wonderful report about two years ago looking at the influences on young women in Ireland in terms of career choice. The biggest single influence was parents with guidance counsellors next. However, there was a clear recognition that there is a deficit of knowledge among parents in terms of guiding children, selecting and not knowing, as Deputy Burton says, what the career choices are. We are working on a project at the moment along with one of the newspapers to create an annual brochure for parents in advance of the CAO so that they will understand the nature of the jobs, their potential and the major opportunities. That could create a dialogue at home that is a lot more informed. It is a partnership between ourselves and major employers and going out in an accessible form to parents.