Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is a really good concept. I went to quite a small school and, as a result, we did not have a whole range of subject choices. One of the opening statements referred to maths and so on. Students need to do certain subjects.

I represent four offshore islands, one of which does not have a secondary school, another issue I have to raise with the Department at some point. The other three may have somebody who wants to study, for example, chemistry or something else, which presents a challenge. In this day and age, with virtual learning and so on, that should not be an issue. Students should be able to have that kind of access. Students living on offshore islands will not be able to go into Galway city on a Saturday morning to attend a grind school and spend extra hours studying to sit an exam. It prohibits them from being able to study something. That is really important. It is a really good initiative.

Another question I had may be for the next session. I refer to the concept of what we are doing to ensure that it is not just the private sector that is steaming ahead in terms of STEM and so on, while the public sector is in some ways left behind. Sometimes people do paid PhDs through the private sector and so on. We need to ensure the public sector goes along as fast as the private sector, if not faster.

I had another question on computer science for the leaving certificate, which the SEC's opening statement referenced. Last week, it said the uptake was quite small. I may not be correct, but I understood that the uptake of computer science as a leaving certificate subject was 14%. If that figure is correct, why is the figure so low? Surely, more and more young people are seeing the benefits and need for computer science and being able to learn about it. They and their families can see the jobs in the IT sector that are available. I did not study computer science for the leaving certificate. The opening statement said there is a practical as well as theoretical aspect. The success of project maths is based on the fact it is based in the real world and a practical subject. Does computer science need more of that? Is the uptake low because it is a newer subject?