Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the speakers for their detailed and thorough contributions. They give a detailed insight into reality. I do not understand why we are so dismissive of state-funded education systems. Other countries like Germany have managed such a system. It is all about priorities. Over the past several years education has not been the top priority of previous Governments. That has led us into the case in which we are now. Why should our students and future students pay for those bad decisions made by these previous Governments?

The high drop-out rates in our universities and institutes of technology are partly due to the cuts in guidance counsellors. I have strongly advocated for the restoration of guidance counsellors. It is about priorities and decision-making but we have not always got our priorities right. We should not be dismissive of exploring the state-funded system. It is listed as an option and we should explore it. It is not for us to dismiss it because it will impact on students’ lives.