Ms Niamh Crowley:

The Senator referred to the merit in the 24 statements. I agree that they read excellently but they can only be implemented if they are followed through with a broad curriculum. There are 24 statements while the core is only three subjects, although sometimes when the Minister speaks he includes science. Science is not officially one of the core subjects but the Minister seems to be unofficially including it. If there are 24 statements and only a core of four subjects, that does not follow through, logically, to us. That is where we would find fault with the document.

At the moment, the vast majority of students in the junior cycle are taking history. Therefore, they all have the opportunity to select it for senior cycle and to go on to study it at third level. However, if one narrows the base, there will be a smaller pool from which students will be able to choose history. That has been shown in Britain. If students do not have history as an option at GSCE level, they cannot go on to study it at higher levels later on.