Mr. Neil McDonnell:

We substantially agree with both of those views. I would not want it read into what I said that the criticism of the leaving certificate is a criticism of the leaving certificate alone, because I am talking about graduates. Our experience is of graduates coming out with some of these difficulties. They are almost set up for failure as a result of some of the issues Ms Costello and Dr. Freeman identified, specifically the emphasis on rote learning rather than the skill of communication. Perhaps our ability to communicate digitally has also been reduced as a result of smartphones and techspeak. That can work very well on a peer-to-peer or youth-to-youth basis, but when it is inadequate and unprofessional to use it when putting something in print in a work-based setting. It is frequently not understood by the other person. The criticism is not exclusive to the leaving certificate, but the over-emphasis on rote learning certainly diminishes people's ability in the problem-solving area.