Mr. John Irwin:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to be involved in today's debate, which was rich. Again, we have to keep the students at the centre of what we are trying to achieve, what is best for them and what is best for their outcomes. We have to ensure whatever we put in place will eradicate that disconnect between junior cycle and senior cycle and on into further opportunities for students once they leave schools. We have to focus on a system which moves from a content-and-recall basis to a system that is based on the acquisition of skills and competencies. Those competencies must be strictly matched to the competencies our students will need out in the new world they will face where they will deal with issues such as globalisation, digitalisation and climate change.