Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. On the substitution panels, as I have said, we have taken great confidence from the fact that the pilots worked very well in the six areas where they were rolled out. This success has given us confidence. Almost 101 panels have been rolled out at this stage. This is in addition to resources that schools might already have in the pools from which they traditionally draw for substitution, whether in the locality or through the TextASub facility. It has been a very positive move by the Department to provide year long contracts to teachers to make themselves available on a substitute panel so that where there are issues in a school that require access to a substitute, the measure will be there. As I have said previously, these panels will be reviewed as we go on. Everything is in a state of flux. We review, review and review and we amend, amend and amend where we have to.

With regard to the students who sat the exam last year and how they will fare this year, we have made every effort, as the chief inspector has said. The calculated grades are a new measure. They are an extraordinary measure in an extraordinary time. Every possible effort has been made to ensure the 2020 calculated grades will be as close and comparable as possible to the leaving certificate of 2019. As the Deputy is aware, in the traditional leaving certificate there is standardisation and there was standardisation in the calculated grades system. The Deputy will appreciate it is there because teachers will know their students and their capabilities and abilities but it is not possible for them to know the capabilities and abilities of students in the next school or in the next parish or county. Therefore, standardisation is brought in so there is comparability. It is this standardisation that will give confidence not just to the class of 2020 but to the class of 2019 that the calculated grades will be as close as possible. Will there be a stronger grade performance in some subjects this year? Yes, there will but it is as close as we can possibly make it. This standardisation was important so the 2019 students would be able to look at 2020 and vice versa.

With regard to the issues raised by the Deputy on school buses, I appreciate Deputy Cahill also raised these issues. Both Deputies have raised these issues on an ongoing basis with the Department. Bus Éireann is reviewing the routes it has on the basis of the new advice that came to us from NPHET. All along, our roadmap and all we have been doing have been on the basis of the advice available to us on school transport from NPHET. That changed last week. We are now meeting the NPHET guidelines for post primary and rolling out capacity as quickly and as speedily as we can.

When the review has been completed and we add additional buses, if there is additional capacity on those buses those who are eligible, may have paid late or have concessionary tickets will be offered seats at that time. I appreciate the point the Deputy made on issues with the school transport system and the need to examine it.

When we have extra buses in place, we will examine how many more can be accommodated. In terms of issues around that and the capacity this time last year and the number of students in need of a place on a bus, we are at almost half of that capacity at this point in the year. Considerable work has been done in a very short time, bearing in mind that we received the NPHET advice in the last number of days.