Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank Mr. Tattan. I am aware of good work going on. However, it is not a uniform body of work being undertaken by schools. As a committee with all these witnesses before it, we are again going down the funnel of State examinations being the ultimate. We have this two-and-a-half-week period at the end of June when at the end of formal education, you do these big examinations. For many people, that is not reality. I have a family member who went through a very supported educational environment, with resource teachers, SNAs and other incredible supports. When you clear out your locker and walk out of school, where is life taking you? Are you going up to your local day service? Are you going to spend your days watching DVDs and Netflix, as happens in some centres? Are you going into the employment field? I do not think people are adequately supported. It is a little left of field compared with other questions that have been asked. Perhaps I have my numbers wrong, but I think 160,000 students with additional needs are going to complete their final State examinations in 2026. For them, there is not as clear a pathway as the route through the CAO or into apprenticeships.

With all of this reform happening, some teachers have contacted me to say that the junior cycle management resource hours are not formally recognised in a leadership capacity. Teachers invest time, day and night. Has the Department of Education and Youth considered bundling these hours together and classifying them as assistant principal 2, AP 2, posts? It seems wrong in the context of the curriculum, the Department and the examinations that we are loading responsibility. We are doing so for the right reasons, and there is a lot of good stuff coming, but it all falls back on the teachers. They are expected to take on a major leadership and reforming role without it being formally recognised by the Department. Those teachers are acting up without a payroll contribution to recognise it.