Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

The Minister is putting her head in the sand. Some schools cannot offer all science subjects to leaving certificate level because of the number of teachers available to them. I am sure the Minister is sincere in wishing to see an improvement in the development of science, and resources are being allocated to ensure that. However, if students wish to take the subject but it is not available due to timetable problems, that must be addressed. The ultimate responsibility for addressing it lies with the Minister in terms of ensuring that the schools are adequately resourced and can offer the full complement of science subjects. If students cannot study science at second level, they certainly cannot attempt to catch up at third level.

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