Ms Evelyn O'Connor:

We start at early years and primary levels. We have developed the themes and principles of sustainable development in the redeveloped Aistear curriculum and they will also be part of the redeveloped primary curriculum. We will have a new specification, social and environmental education, as part of the redeveloped primary curriculum. The Deputy is right that we have to have connectivity at each stage. We are giving children a good foundation from junior level up and continuing it on. At junior cycle level, we have it in a number of cross-curricular subjects as well as a short course in the area and we have the new subject coming in at leaving certificate level. We also work very closely with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

I know the committee will be speaking to the Department next. We have a sustainable development strategy for education. We work together to ensure that the kinds of activities we carry out in each of the sectors are done on campuses at third level as well. The interests, skills, knowledge, dispositions and values are developed all the way up at each stage so that children will be more likely to have an interest and to continue on at third level and beyond.