Dr. Ruth Freeman:

Maybe to start with teachers and the availability of subjects. It is an issue and Mr. Reynolds alluded to it as well. When we look at skills, these are skills that are in high demand in the economy when we look at vacancies around digital skills. To come back to teaching as a profession there are challenges there in terms of retaining those real specialists in teaching. However, it is so important that we do so we keep all of those opportunities open. I fully echo Mr. Reynold's comments that there are different layers of inequality in terms of access and people's perceptions of what they can do and what opportunities are open to different individuals. The schools question relates to the issue of what subjects are available. In terms of courses one thing that will happen soon is the merger of Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council and that reflects a change away from STEM existing in isolation because when we look at the role of STEM in helping us with societal challenges, technological solutions do not exist on their own. They have to be implemented by humans and by society so bringing in behavioural science and economics and thinking about things through different lenses is really important. We do see that happening in education more broadly so I would welcome that. Did I answer the Senator's first question?