Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Thomas Byrne asked about teacher supply. This is an issue in secondary schools, particularly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, subjects and Irish. There are also many issues with substitute teachers in the primary school sector.

A group is working on this. We had an advertising campaign pre-Christmas and will continue to do that and look at different interventions to try to attract and invite people who may be interested in coming back from places like the south-east of Great Britain or the United Arab Emirates. Teacher supply will remain a priority for me. There is an ongoing conversation about teacher supply panels. Our officials are working closely on the idea of regional supply panels for substitute teachers.

Deputy Thomas Byrne also raised the issue of population and school places with reference to Ashbourne. There are population pressures regardless of whether we are talking about Ashbourne in County Meath or Kildare, Wicklow, Louth or Dublin. The population pressures are growing. To tie it into the question raised by Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, the Department works very closely with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and looks to where housing estates can be built and planning. The GIS is very much involved in it as well. We can only continue to be as informed as the information available to us. That was the thinking behind Project Ireland 2040, to see where the population pressures will be in the future. Regarding tying the two issues in with the purchase of lands, there is the example of the memorandum of understanding, MOU, between the education and training boards, ETBs, and local authorities in the acquisition of sites. There are examples where this has worked very well. In some instances, it has not worked well. Regarding the idea of an MOU, Limerick is an example of where that has worked and it should be heeded.

Deputy Byrne also spoke about the reintroduction of history as a compulsory core subject. He will be aware that I have called for a review in this area. I do not want to pre-empt the outcome of the review by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, but the officials and members of the NCCA are very familiar with my strong opinion in this area regardless of whether it is the decade of commemorations, the recent conflict in Northern Ireland, own history of emigration, the work on the move from conflict to peace, or our global imprint. That history needs to be told regardless of whether it involved peace, education, peacekeeping in places like Lebanon or the UNHCR, where we have a very high standard and acceptance in respect of working in critical places around the world such as Somalia, South Sudan, Jordan or Lebanon. We must be very open to the fact that we have a dark history encompassing things such as institutional abuse. We must ensure that we cannot just hide all that under the carpet. People came forward, spoke and gave their testimonials and we must ensure that the history of that very dark period in this country is not washed down the stream.

Deputy Byrne also raised issues relating to DEIS and the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, while Deputy Naughten raised the very important subject of politics and society. It is working very well in the schools in which it has been piloted. I have spoken to a number of teachers and students in the pilot schools. It is a class I would recommend to my colleagues. If they have not done so, I recommend that they go into that politics and society class because they know how to ask questions, engage and put someone on the spot. It is a pleasure to be in there. That politics choice will be rolled out to all schools in 2020. Deputy Naughten also mentioned history in connection with populism in respect of the many challenges we face internationally such as the mass migration of people from sub-Saharan Africa looking for refuge. Given the history of this country when we needed refuge, we must be very open to our contribution on a global basis.

The Deputy spoke about empathy, well-being and compassion. He is correct. Well-being means being well both physically and mentally but it also involves dignity - how we treat, relate to and interact with people and not just students. One of the most significant ironies of life is that adults are great at lecturing young people and telling them how to behave and treat each other, but in respect of how we treat each other as adults, particularly in a large public forum like Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann, sometimes the dignity piece leaves a lot to be desired, especially when we have such a legacy and footprint globally. When Irish people went abroad to work, be it in education or in the missionary field, they knew how to treat people and there was an acceptance there. We must continue to be very focused on that legacy and appreciation for the way Irish people treat others. I know Deputy Naughten organised a meeting around that. UNESCO is involved in the empathy piece. If we are having the major debate around well-being, let us try to incorporate the empathy piece as well.

I have covered some of Deputy O'Sullivan's points. I know she had a couple of questions about third level education as well. I acknowledge the Deputy's work on junior cycle reform. It was a significant piece of work that was not without its challenges at the time. One of the lessons was that change needs to be done in a certain way. Perhaps a period should be set aside. I have learned from that for the leaving certificate reform. We must bring it in gradually. I am getting a lot of positive feedback. Many risks were taken. It required a lot of initiative at the time, whether it was the classroom-based assessments, the new subjects and the new short subjects. With the core subjects of mathematics, English and Irish, the complete focus was around literacy and numeracy. This is why I go back to history again. There is no better subject than history when it comes to focusing on literacy so perhaps there is an opportunity there.

I will update the committee on leaving certificate reform. We cannot have junior certificate reform without leaving certificate reform so there is a missing piece. Our students are going to go through the junior certificate and will get used to classroom-based assessment, research work, team work and the critical thinking piece, so we must ensure that the leaving certificate follows through. In saying that, we have a leaving certificate that is very much an integral part of our education system. Yes, there are pressures, including exam pressures. We have tried to take the heat out of that by adding two more days to the leaving certificate through the State Examinations Commission, SEC, this year. One thing that must happen is the continuity between the junior certificate and the leaving certificate. There must be a focus on that. I will keep the committee updated on that. I know it has contributed as a committee.