Ms Arlene Forster:

To add to what Mr. Slattery has said, I will go back to a point that came up earlier. We are hearing much of this in the consultation, in terms of the points everyone has mentioned around encouraging uptake, wider implementation and systemic issues. We are hearing those. We are taking note of them and we will analyse and report on those in the consultation report. As Mr. Slattery said, our remit is specifically on the development of curriculum and assessment advice. While that is the key focus of our consultation, we will be reporting on the wider feedback we are receiving. That will be published early in 2022.

If the Department were to ask us to advise on something such as bonus points, we would approach that work in the same way in which we have approached the development of the draft specifications. We would be drawing on research, consulting on it and, as Mr. Slattery has already mentioned, there is little research in the Irish context on the impact of the use of bonus points. We only have it in the context of one subject. If we were asked down the line to advise on it, we would have to put that course of action in place. The council would deliberate on the matter if it were asked to advise on it, but we have not been asked.

In response to the wider point made about encouraging the uptake, the Gaeltacht policy references a number of possible measures or strategies that could be considered to encourage more young people to take up the T1 specification. The Gaeltacht policy references the possibility of some scholarships based on particular achievement levels within the leaving certificate examination. There is also reference to a number of places being kept on particular courses in higher education. There are a number of measures already mentioned that could be looked at but it is not within the remit of the NCCA to adjudicate on those measures.

That decision will be taken by the Department of Education, not the NCCA, but we will be reporting on what we hear during the consultation on those wider matters.

I will go back to something I mentioned earlier because I think it is very relevant to this point. At the June council meeting, the council discussed a second phase of consultation on the updated specifications, based on the work we would do on foot of the current consultation. In that discussion, the council was very much of the view that if we were to go out to a second consultation on the updated specifications, it would be important to have clarity on the wider issues that have been raised here today and that are emerging during the consultation. That is an important point in response to the points that have been made to us about those wider systemic issues.