Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have been unlucky today. This conversation as a roundtable discussion is appropriately named. That is appropriate in the context of all of the ideas that have been suggested. All of this is predicated on Covid and the experience the profession and students of Ireland had during that time. I am not trying to kiss up to the teachers but it is fair to say that they went above and beyond what was expected of them. The effect all of this had on the student body has been extraordinary. As was said by others, it highlighted that what we are doing currently is not what I would describe as fit for purpose but it could be improved. Everybody here would accept that.

Having a final examination and taking account of all the issues mentioned by others, both here and in other fora, with respect to being ill, experiencing a bereavement and so on can set students back.

Like Deputy Ó Ríordáin, I still have nightmares about my leaving certificate. I am only slightly younger than the Deputy. I am 43 years and I still recall the leaving certificate without fond memories. There are elements we can learn from the assessments completed during Covid. They were not perfect but they were the best we could do in the circumstances in which we found ourselves. Points inflation was an unintended side effect of that approach. That is not in any way, shape or form a negative comment in the context of what the profession was trying to do. There are elements of this approach from which we can learn. I would like to hear what the contributors have to offer in response.

I will focus on two issues. The first one, a general comment that I raised at our previous meeting, relates to the psychological and mental health supports available to students. These are of critical importance. The committee produced a report making the same suggestion the INTO representative made, namely, that we need to provide access to the necessary services in schools, either on an individual or a group basis, to ensure that when students need supports they are available to them. It is particularly appropriate to have those available in senior cycle.

The target of education is to educate. It is not necessarily to enable students to proceed to a university degree. There must be other pathways. I took a circuitous route to my profession. Higher and further education are essential. That is why I was pleased to hear apprenticeships and other forms of further education mentioned. No one will disagree that we need broader psychological and mental health supports.

In the context of access to other pathways to education, the Central Applications Office points race is important but it is not the be-all and end-all for students. For many students, particularly those aged 17, 18 or 19 years, it is a seminal moment in their lives that can leave a mark. We do not necessarily want to leave a mark on a student's life in that sense. We want to leave an enjoyment of education, reading and further and higher education and what they can achieve for themselves. I ask any of the witnesses who wants to respond to do so within those parameters.