Mr. John Irwin:

Regarding the senior cycle reform, I could not agree more with what Ms O'Connor said about assessment at senior cycle. It is archaic in many respects and it is very limiting in the range of abilities it tests. It has improved in recent years as subject specifications have tended to take in another component other than what we call the terminal exam, which is an awful name. At a recent debate on assessment, one area was raised where people should be challenged, namely, what it says about how accessible assessment is in this country when we have to put in reasonable accommodation for a significant number of candidates. People should ask how accessible is our assessment model if one of the key cornerstones in it is RACE. Many of us who have worked in schools know how difficult it is and how much work goes into that space in preparing the RACE applications. It is something to consider.

In terms of the other joint committee the Senator is a member of, I liked the dichotomy students described. They want freedom of speech but, by the same token, when it goes pear-shaped they want somebody to deal with it. As for the idea that it takes 48 hours to get material taken offline, having worked with schools and having had to engage with some of social media companies to take down outrageous material online, it would be brilliant if it was 48 hours. They are very slow to respond. They hide behind, on occasion, the argument that there is freedom of speech where clearly very adverse and damaging material about individuals has been put up online.