Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I know that it is being considered. That is all I can say to the Senator at this point.

There has been considerable consultation as part of the steering group as well. I had the opportunity to attend some of those consultations, particularly with the young people. They were uplifting, informative and inclusive. There were children of all backgrounds: children from a special education background, children with a Traveller or Roma background, and children from mainstream schools. There was the richest of engagement.

I acknowledge that the manner in which the information was provided by the students was expert. There was engagement also with international experts. The work is ongoing. I look forward to its outcome. I acknowledge that the committee's work here is very much intrinsic to it.

In terms of the State Examinations Commission and the leaving certificate reform in paper 1 in terms of English and Irish at the end of fifth year, as I referenced earlier, the singular impetus for that is embedding student well-being into the experience of senior cycle. Students have been exercised and engaged around the topic of spreading the assessment load for them. We already see it operate at leaving certificate applied level where there are opportunities in fifth year. It is for that reason that we are looking at paper 1 being made available to students at the end of fifth year. A body of work in making that operational is under way. It is very much student-centred and student well-being-centred.