Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that. I thank our guests for coming in. My questions are similar to those I asked of the last panel. There is an awful lot missing from this report. An awful lot of indicators that I would think of including are not here at all. It feels that this just includes bare numbers that we do not need to be included in a report such as this because we all know those bare numbers. The indicators should ask what we need and how we are measuring up against that need, for instance, in respect of inclusion. I am asking if our guests agree with that and if they will be making recommendations for next year's report. We must consider inclusion, for instance, and how many people from direct provision or the Traveller community are going through courses. Do we have a target? Are we meeting that target?

I see no mention of climate or nature at all. I am not only speaking about courses that might align with green thinking and green jobs. How are we meeting the targets for carbon and emissions reduction that we have set as a country? Things feel siloed and this reporting structure is making me anxious about the amount of siloing there is. Departments seem to think they are not responsible for climate or nature and that those considerations are only for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. We will never reach our targets if that is the kind of approach we are taking to transparency.

The other big issue we hear all the time is the challenging situation that students are faced with as a result of the cost of living. We need a measurement for that each year so we can ask how the budget, year on year, is improving or disimproving the lot of students. Is this the best place to have that or would it be best in another section of the repot?