Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 2 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Leaving Certificate Reform: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Pádraig O'SullivanPádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not a difficult question, it is just to take advantage of the Minister, Deputy Harris, being here. I have been reading through the submissions. Reference has been made in a couple of submissions to students with special educational needs. We have had internal debates about this in my party. Previously, there have been thresholds in the public sector with a target of 2% of employees being people coming from special educational backgrounds. Where are we at with that? I am having significant difficulty back in Cork in trying to get programmes off the ground with both local authorities whereby a certain percentage of people would be employed or taking on trainees as trainees or given placement. These people are highly skilled in their own way and the private sector in Cork seems to be doing an awful lot more than we as the public sector or State are doing.