Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

The leaving certificate examinations begin in two and a half weeks. There is an extraordinary amount of stress on young people. Is there any way the Minister can speed up the process he described, whereby the NCCA must make recommendations and agreement must be obtained among all the partners involved? Something must be done about this quickly so that young people need not go through this any longer. From what the Minister has said, it seems there are a number of years to go before we see any changes. Can the Minister inject a sense of urgency into his attempts to have a leaving certificate that will bring out the best in and provide for the needs of all young people, not just the high achievers and those who can afford grind schools?

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