Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

My thanks to the Cathaoirleach, the Minister and the Minister of State for joining us again today.

I congratulate all school staff and all those across all schools on ensuring we can have safe reopening of schools and giving some clarity around the leaving certificate.

I am keen to mention the Irish Second-Level Students Union, ISSU, and the amount of work those involved have undertaken. It is welcome that we have choice available now. I know it has not been easy so it is important for all of us to recognise the amount of work that has gone into that. Obviously, there are still questions outstanding in respect of out-of-school learners. I know that is something the ISSU would like to have clarity around. Some students may be unable to sit an examination because of the pandemic. What is the impact on them? Others do not have access to continuous assessment. The Minister might outline if she knows at this stage what will happen in that respect.

Obviously, they need to make sure that they have a qualification at the end.

Those who might leave school after the junior certificate traditionally tended to go into apprenticeships. If the junior certificate will not go ahead, what facilities are being put in place to ensure that those students meet the criteria for these apprenticeship programmes that previously would have required the student to attain certain levels of grades in order to progress to other programmes?

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Foley, on her recent announcement about DEIS urban band 1 schools. I, along with every committee member, made representations for that class size reduction in primary, secondary and vertical schools. The move is very welcome. While my constituency might not have DEIS urban band 1 schools, there is still an amount of disadvantage there. We are going to potentially see an expanding divide. As Senator O'Loughlin outlined, those children from first year to third and fourth year will have been out of school for a significant amount of time. There are children with disadvantage across all schools. Will we be looking at increasing home school liaison, for instance, in order to make sure that over the coming years that the disadvantage these children may be feeling now does not become a problem as they approach the junior and leaving certificates?