Dr. Joseph Ryan:

I thank the Senator for the questions. They are much appreciated.

I referred to the question of transition year earlier. Transition year will certainly be a big part of the discussion. I anticipate that this will come through in the NCCA report, although we will wait and see. I was teaching at second level when transition year was introduced and I recall the great possibility and opportunity but also the question of how we were going to fill the year. Things have moved on a great deal since then. The question for the committee and for all who are interested in this is whether we could do more with the huge opportunity that is transition year. The committee may remember that transition year was introduced for a slightly different reason. Back then it was a time of very high unemployment and there was perhaps a different motivation to it. That has changed. We fully agree on that.

The mentorship approach is a helpful idea. The Senator is correct about the idea of bringing people in from outside and that connection back into real life. Maybe it is a question of how that might best be done.

I refer to the question of the number of subjects and greater specialisation. I am struck by the fact that when one comes into third level, if I could approach it from that angle, there are technical skills associated with every domain within third level but, beyond that, it goes back to the softer skills Senator Mullen was thinking about. What informs them all is the question of critical thinking and building a faculty for judgment, selection, etc. A good third-level programme will do that regardless of where the student is. Therefore, as to the question of the number of subjects at second level, if those particular skills are being inculcated, and if that can be done with a deeper dive in those skills that allows more space, including for critical thinking, it seems to me better to prepare someone for that transition. That will be the big focus, I would have thought, for the committee.

I thank the Senator for her questions.