Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and her officials for giving of their time this morning. Their engagement here is very productive and most welcome. It makes our job as a committee much more rounded and, hopefully, much more impactful as we continue our work.

The Minister and I share the same opinion on the importance of citizens’ assemblies. However, implementation is key in respect of them, regardless of the topic to which they relate. I have a few questions specifically relating to the RSE curriculum. We heard last week from the Irish Second-Level Students Union, ISSU, and from Mr. David Byrne, a research scholar in Technological University, TU, Dublin. They would have very different lived experiences from what the Minister outlined as being the plan. The ISSU's presentation stated "if a young woman is attending school and that school doesn't offer woodwork or technology or engineering, well then that young woman is significantly less likely to explore those career paths, because they're not available to her now so why could they be available to her in the future?" That statement very much captures what we have also heard from the third level education providers, namely, that there is a significant block in terms of access to more rounded options at second level for all pupils. As such, it is having a significant impact on the career options, especially of younger women where they are not eligible for a career path because they have not had the opportunity to undertake certain leaving certificate subjects and so on.

The Minister touched on STEM education. My first question is specific to that area. Why are there no all-girl Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, schools piloting the new computer science course? I find that concerning, and it is something of which we must be aware. That is obviously quite a gap. Is the way we approach these subjects impacting on how schools would apply or express an interest in piloting any new STEM course that is available?

The Minister touched briefly on the RSE curriculum. The NCCA review found that there was considerable variation in the provision of RSE across schools in terms of what is being taught and who is teaching it. We know there have been cases of schools that have not engaged in a process of providing certain levels of education. What mechanisms are in place in the Department of Education to monitor the implementation of the RSE curriculum? Does the Minister believe that the implementation of the curriculum is standardised? If not, what actions does the Department take to ensure it will be? Regarding the NCCA completing the development of the new RSE syllabus, the review found massive differences in how that is delivered. Why is that taking so long? The review has been carried out. We know what it is that needs to happen, so what is the delay in it being implemented?

Another issue that arose in a number of our engagements is that there appears to be no formal training or curriculum requirement for teachers providing SPHE or RSE or pre-service gender and diversity-related training. This issue arose at our meeting last week at which we were told by a witness that "Worryingly, it is ... apparent that SPHE may sometimes be assigned to a teacher based on their balance of available teaching hours, as opposed to their expertise in the subject." Will the Minister also address that issue?