Dr. Seán Rowland:

Perhaps the Chair can bear with me for a minute. When the taxpayer goes shopping for teachers, and let us say he or she wants six apples, six oranges and six pears, right now he or she buys 18 pieces of fruit. We do not know what they are. However, we want maths teachers, science teachers and physics teachers. Let us buy them in from the people who can provide them. We have plenty of people who can provide them. Are we spending money on teachers we do not need? I would highlight the idea of drilling down a step further into teacher recruitment, considering what we are actually purchasing with taxpayers' money and making sure it is what we need rather simply meeting a number. We know the numbers. We have very good in regard to numbers compared to other countries. I suggest we drill down a little more there.

I refer to mobility and flexibility. We have hundreds if not thousands of unqualified degree holders abroad who could qualify in a distance learning programme, come back and become members of the Teaching Council. We can all bring them home. Many of them are not coming home because they are not qualified. Things have changed so much since they left. The Teaching Council has arrived, and it is a great arrival. It has brought a professionalism that has raised the level of teaching. However, these people are no longer included because while they have the degrees, they need to qualify, particularly in areas of pedagogy and teacher education in general.