Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will begin with Deputy Brendan Ryan's general question on the model, how we report and how we are trying to be as clear as we can be regarding how the committee can have its oversight over what we are doing and how it can examine the outcomes. We want to move towards the New Zealand model as quickly as we can, and we have made progress. As I outlined, there are constraints in that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is responsible for the design of the Estimates documentation. There is a practical issue in that a number of measures are required to reach a particular outcome and, as members can see by the small size of the print, we are constrained by the physical space. It is difficult to fit in all the measures designed to lead to an outcome, such as improved retention for the leaving certificate. We need the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to be engaged in terms of the practicality of how we can present the material as clearly as possible.

In principle, we want to move as close to the New Zealand model as possible. The programme for international student assessment, PISA, is an example of something that is measured in a different way from an international measuring system. We must determine whether we can work out some yearly success based on a measure that is not done yearly. If PISA results indicated we had improved literacy and numeracy levels, how could we determine how much of it happened in one particular year? It is a practical problem. We need to continue to work with the committee and we want to commit to this.

Senator Moloney and Deputy McConalogue's questions are related. We do not yet have the outcomes for 2015 regarding school transport or anything else such as special schools.