Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their submissions. My first question is for Dr. Looney. I get what she said in her paper, particularly around unlearning, which is a big challenge for us. She described herself as a veteran. The challenge for this committee is how to make this work and the weeks we have spent scrutinising all this information do not end up just adding to the information and conversation. We need to make something happen. We have a responsibility. There is a fluidity now around where we are at, given what has been presented to us in the context of Covid-19, and how quickly we made changes when we really had to make them. We must grab that. Let that be the legacy of Covid-19 with regard to education into the future and breaking with our historical education system, which does not serve us.

I note the point that students are more vocal critics then heretofore. Where will the political to act come from? How will student voices be heard and how will they have an immediate or medium-term impact? Perhaps Dr. Looney will address those two points first, after which I will address some questions to Professor O'Leary.