Dr. Anne Looney:

I thank the Deputy. I would probably agree that this is the time. I describe myself as a veteran of leaving certificate reform. I was involved with some of the proposals that Dr. Gleeson spoke about, which were quite radical about reforming the senior cycle. At the time, however, there just was not the political will to drive those home.

How much will is there now for reform? The real risk is that we will find a balance - as my colleague referred to - between the various trade-offs that must be made in all public examinations, agree on them and then move on. In ten years' time, however, we would be back again with the same issues and trends to which Professor Collins referred. A set of circumstances has presented itself for a more extended debate. Professor Stobart mentioned the cultural embeddedness and that we have an historical system that was borne out of the British system we inherited. We can tweak around the edges and definitely improve it, but the fundamental issues that arise will not go away unless we have a bigger debate. Even if we do add pieces of continuous assessment and modularisation, they will be colonised by people who will sell a deal to get students a better mark in the continuous assessment if they attend a two-day course for €100.

We must address some of those issues and, as a society, say that this is not good enough for our children or our teachers because it puts them under undue pressure. We need to have that bigger debate and we have shown that we can do that. It is time to do it around education.