Mr. John Doran:

I echo the Deputy's concern about rising levels of anxiety. On Tuesday, the Minister, Deputy Zappone, released the So, How Was School Today? report. The levels of acute anxiety among girls is at 79% and among boys it is 67%. We need to put a focus on well-being. The chief of staff of the OECD, Gabriela Ramos, recently said if one feels good, one learns better and that there is a crucial connection between well-being, belonging and achievement. It is something of a concern.

I have consulted colleagues on the issue of languages and they are of the view there are huge difficulties with procuring teachers to teach languages. There was a concern that introducing more languages at upper secondary level was not appropriate and that we should be beginning earlier in the system. How we go about teaching those languages is also an issue.

They were the two issues that were coming up. I echo the concerns about the levels of anxiety.