Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am amazed that the primary school level has decreased. It is an amazing figure. There was a feeling out there that the primary school figures were increasing dramatically. This is news to me. Maybe the committee was aware of that but I was not. It has brought clarity to the entire situation of where the exemption process is going.

I ask the witnesses to elaborate on how education has changed. Exemptions are a very important part of the education system but the entire ethos of how we teach our children has changed. I have noticed it myself. I had four kids in primary school last year and one has now gone to secondary. It is a totally different machine from when we were in school 25 years ago. There are movie nights and things. It is beyond belief. I ask the witnesses to talk about the well-being part of school and where that fits in. They have stated that well-being is now an important part of the exemption process.