Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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There are 416 home-school community liaison teachers in 530 schools. Can the officials from the Department indicate what is the maximum number? Does it mean home-school liaison teachers share schools? The education welfare officer is integrated into the system but what is the maximum number of schools of which an education welfare officer is in charge? How does it work? Is there an overload and, if there is, what are the plans to address it?

I commend the work on a successful transition from primary to second level but if a student breaks a generational cycle in their family, gets to leaving certificate and does well, what happens next? Do we need to look at supports for the transition from second level to third level? Do the witnesses agree that children are slipping through at this stage and, if so, are there any plans to address it? The goal is to get children to benefit from a school education but with our one-size-fits-all curriculum it is hard to captivate a child. Is this something we need to examine? Do we need to look at the apprenticeship scheme in Germany as an option?

Is there any language barrier in this area? We have very rich, diversified, international communities in our schools and this is something we must treasure and embrace. Are there enough supports for teachers? One might need to explain to a family that both the parents and children can benefit from this but what supports are provided where there is a language barrier?

What do the teachers feel about DEIS inspections? Have they experienced them? Has the Department gathered any data about what might be working well or what supports and resources may be lacking?