Marie Louise O'Donnell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The reason I asked Mr. Parsons about second level education is because that is where the impasse seems to be or it all settles down into an examination. There is nothing wrong with that because the leaving certificate is a very honest examination and if somebody does any sort of work, they will get through and it is great to pass an examination. It has many other problems. The reason I asked the question is because there is a place for the Heritage Council to influence the Department of Education and Skills in the development of disciplines such as our heritage as a discipline within the curriculum, as opposed to somebody possibly coming in three or four times a year, which is also brilliant, or a very creative teacher. We now have mindfulness because everybody was roaring about it for months. Sometimes the council could have a great influence on second level education whereby a subject such as heritage in all its polymorphic terms could be something that young people could study up. It seems to be alive in primary schools and third level education and outside the classroom but for some reason, it does not become a knowledge discipline in its own right. That is why I was saying that the council's influence could as good there as it is with all the cultural institutions.