Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I thank the Department representatives very much for coming in and presenting to us today.

We have heard concerns about the calculated grades system from other members. I believe there were a few faults in the calculated grades system. It was done in a very short period of time and everybody was under pressure. As young people in working-class areas were able to reach their full potential, it is not all bad news. For example, a few young women in Ballyfermot got 600 points. Their teachers graded them at the level they know they were capable of. These are bright young women who will go on to become leaders in their own community and will go on to better our society.

We can look at some of the issues or flaws with the calculated grades. The experience with the leaving cert assessment shows that not all young people start on an equal footing within the education system. If anything, it has shown there was always a fault in how the leaving cert exam was done. Most Traveller children from my community do not complete second level education. Moreover, many studies have shown that achieving higher grades and good degrees depends on money and investment in a child over time.

In the middle of a pandemic we need to take into account factors such as halting sites, people's accommodation, homelessness, people living in direct provision, access to laptops and people in rural areas not having access to broadband never mind laptops. We are talking about young people's mental health and well-being. There is one solution for this. People might think I am a bit crazy for saying it, but I will say it anyway. We have an opportunity to put the leaving cert on an equal footing for all young people in Ireland.

Last night I was speaking to the vice principal of a school who believes it should be assessment based. If I were measured on my academic ability, I would not be here today. One of the teachers said to me last night on the phone: "If I was to look at you, Eileen, from your academic ability, I would never have pictured you being in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I learned from you as a student and how we must go forward believing in students." We must look to doing the leaving cert differently. We are talking about pressures. There is one way to settle all these pressures. Listening to Deputies and Senators, I believe it would be better to have continuous assessment.

What are we doing to address inequalities when we are assessing students' performance? That is down to accommodation and resources for young people. There is a bigger picture beyond what we are discussing today. I thank the witnesses. Based on the experiences of young people in working class areas, I am really happy with the calculated grades system.