Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes. On the review of the 2013 action plan, the steering group, as the Chair is aware, is being led by Dr. Noel Purdey of Stranmillis University College in Antrim. There has been considerable consultation around this. As I did initially, I wish to acknowledge the enormous body of work it has done. There was a presentation on the thoughts and recommendations and the body of work the committee did before the steering committee. It is a very significant body of people who have expertise in the area, including Professor James O'Higgins-Norman, who, as the committee will know, holds the UNESCO chair at DCU. We looked for expertise from abroad, including from Professor Peter Smith. We consulted children and young people from all different backgrounds. There is terrific work being done. It is now evaluating the consultation process and seeking to do all it can to advance that in the shortest time possible. I do not want to lead the Chair astray and say it will be in a certain number of weeks or months but we are working towards having this in place in the shortest timeframe possible, before the end of the year. That is our expectation. It would be remiss of me to give a specific date because I want to respect the fact that it is working through this.

There was an enormous amount of consultation around this. There were thousands of consultations with parents, students, school staff and so on. It is a very impressive body of work. It is working through it and we are looking to have the final report as quickly as we possibly can.