Ms Celeste O'Callaghan:

The junior cycle framework, in curriculum terms, is a relatively recent development. It began to be introduced on a phased basis in about 2015. Many of the subject specifications at junior cycle are relatively new. Maths is one of those. Maths has been through a full cycle or possibly more than that. It is currently the subject of an early enactment review, which is being led by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. That process entails having focus-group-type consultation and engagement with schools on what the experience is with the subject specification. There is currently a review process of what is happening with junior cycle maths. What emerges from that will give a sense of the experience in schools and may shed some light on the issue that the Senator is talking about. I do not want to pre-empt the review and say that it will definitively produce something, but I take the Senator's point about the issue to which he referred. We need to let the early enactment review proceed and see what way it informs the process.