Mr. Kieran Christie:

I will make the preliminary comment that the ASTI would largely agree with the Deputy that we need the conversation around the CAO because the CAO is the tail that swings the leaving certificate dog. I will not labour the point but the Deputy made a very good point on that.

In regard to ASTI not voting to accept the reforms, essentially our members decided the package available was insufficient in terms of the supports that were being provided in that document. We are currently in a process to see if we can secure a more advantageous smorgasbord of supports across a whole range of areas, many of which have been discussed.