Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am determined to tackle the funding issue. We are awaiting the economic evaluation and the input of the European Commission. We are likely to receive that in the second quarter of this year. No doubt we will be talking about it at great length. As an Oireachtas and Government, we really need to crack this and I am eager to work with the committee on that.

Regarding the adult literacy, numeracy and digital skills strategy, I acknowledge Deputy Ó Ríordáin's leadership on it. He has been talking to me about this for a long time. We got the public consultation results back. What was so concerning to see was that for all the people participating in the consultation, the biggest barrier to rectifying their literacy, numeracy or digital skills issue was a sense of shame and embarrassment. As I keep on saying, and I mean it, the shame is on us and not them. The shame is on us as a society that we have let these people down and have left people behind. I would love to come back to this committee when the plan is published. The big challenge is how we get the plan alive and turn it into something meaningful across our country. All Departments have been involved in drawing up the plan. I have been chairing an interdepartmental group - I hate that phrase - consisting of loads of Departments and agencies. I have an open mind on the one agency but perhaps we could have a look at that when the strategy is published.

With regard to the leaving certificate, I can provide the Deputy with some assurances. The previous budget provided funding for about 2,000 additional places. I have set up a working group in my Department to meet with the Irish Universities Association, the Technological Higher Education Association, which represents the institutes of technology, the CAO and others to identify what more we can do. Not all places are about money. Some places also have to have matching placements, so we will also engage with the Teaching Council of Ireland, the Department of Education and the Department of Health. There could be a once-in-a-generation opportunity here if we can find more placements as well as places to try to address some of the shortfalls in terms of the number of graduates we have for our public services. Two numbers I always look at with regard to the leaving certificate are 50 and 80. Every year, about 50% of students who pick a level 8 honours degree get their first choice on CAO offers day while around 80% get one of their top three choices. That is the metric I am trying to measure myself against this year. That metric held up last year and I am trying to make sure it holds up again this year so that a student this year has as much of a chance on average of getting his or her first choice or top three choices as students would have had in previous years.