Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

Cuidím leis an méid a dúirt an t-Aire ar an rún seo. Tá sé an-thábhachtach go mbeadh díospóireacht oscailte againn agus go mbeadh muid in ann anseo ár n-aigne a nochtadh i dtaobh conas mar is féidir oideachas a chur i gceartlár ár bpolasaí, ní amháin i gceartlár na tíre agus na daltaí, ach i dtaobh cúrsaí eacnamaíochta de chomh maith. Is as cúrsaí oideachais is mó a thiocfaidh saol nua agus postanna. Tá sé an-thábhachtach ar fad go mbeadh caighdeán níos airde agus níos fearr, más féidir é a bheith ann agus go mbeadh gach duine ag comhoibriú le chéile, idir an Rialtas, na múinteorí, na politeoirí agus muintir na h-Éireann.

Is áit í seo anois nach rabhamar ríomh inti. Tá an tír in áit uafásach ar fad ó thaobh fostaíochta de. Má tá muid chun rudaí a chur ar bun chun cúrsaí eacnamaíochta a fheabhsú, tá sé in am go mbeadh tuiscint níos fear againn ar cén fáth nach bhfuilimid ag déanamh chomh maith, sa PISA ach go h-áirithe. PISA measures the cognitive skills of our students compared internationally across OECD countries. At the heart of our economic recovery, there must be a better outcome for all of our students as measured internationally by PISA scales and by a radical reform of our education system.

The international literature emphasises the importance of cognitive skills for our 15 and 16 year olds at the end of compulsory education. These skills largely measure the effectiveness of primary and lower secondary levels, and these are the levels that lay important educational foundations.

They largely predict later university entry and success. Comparative national performances in PISA predict later comparative national economic performances. That is a very important point. The better we do on the PISA international measurements the better we will do economically. That is a fundamental issue which we have to address here. The proportion of high achievers in such tests also indicates how well we are going to do. Cognitive skill results outweigh years of schooling as predictors of national economic progress. This is really a key issue.

In the 2009 PISA tests, Ireland exhibited a major absolute and comparative decline in performance over the past decade. A fundamental review and reform of Ireland's primary and lower secondary education is required to raise these skills. This review should affect teacher education, qualifications and professional development and the reform of school organisation and curriculum. If our students are not doing as well as other students internationally of the same age, what do we need to change? What new interventions can we have in education that will assist in bringing forward students who are rightly and properly able to achieve the best they possibly can? Internationally there are many forms of remedial intervention to assist those who may experience difficulties in education. These include preschool and home-school liaison, remedial teaching at primary and second levels, and disadvantaged schools, such as, for example, the DEIS programme. All these are a very substantial help to students in this area.

Higher education institutions run second chance access courses as well. Remedial intervention and its effectiveness has been the subject of much research. Nobel Prize winner, James Heckman, and others state that the earlier the intervention the bigger the social and economic return. This should be a key part of our economic, social and educational policy. By targeting children at preschool level, especially those who come from disadvantaged areas, the incremental gain that can be made from increased investment will make a phenomenal impact on our PISA scales and on the ability of those extremely talented young people who, in many cases, leave school far too early. The literature indicates that it is mainly males who leave school, and that is where a significant reallocation of resources is needed.

There is also the question of male underachievement and lack of participation. The evidence for male comparative underachievement is overwhelming and is seen at all levels in our education system. In the PISA reading tests in 2009, a high proportion of males showed low reading skills. I stand to be corrected, but I believe the figure was something like 21% of males aged 15 or 16 who were not functionally literate. They were not able to read or write in a capacity that would allow them to carry out a normal job in a normal place of employment. That is not peculiar to Ireland and happens in other countries too, but with single-minded focus on this issue we can change how our children do at school and persuade more people, particularly young males, to stay in education. More males than females account for early school leavers. The entry rate for university is 60% female and 40% male. It is also a fact that the prison population largely comprises young illiterate males. Addressing male underachievement successfully promises major social benefits and strong comparative economic advantage, since this is an international phenomenon. Male underachievement is especially strong among males from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

One of the measures in which we are doing very poorly internationally, as the Minister indicated in his speech, is the results for languages, reading English and our capacity to be bilingual or trilingual. Finland, the most successful European country in PISA tests, has a successful policy of promoting trilingualism in its education system. Ireland, with its broad leaving certificate programme, has the potential, with effective language teaching, to confer active multilingualism on its citizens. In the PISA 2009 results Ireland showed a major disimprovement, with a decline which was the largest among the countries that participated in 2000. Ireland has as a major advantage the mastery and creative fluency in use of English. The decline in reading and writing skills as well as the high proportion of young males with low reading skills is not compatible with the exploitation of such an advantage. At leaving certificate level, fewer males than females take languages at higher level. A smaller proportion of these than the female proportion obtain higher grades. Promoting male language achievement must be part of our national language policy.

In the future there will be two other global European languages, Spanish and Portuguese. These will be of major economic and cultural importance. Spanish, although small, is growing in Irish schools. Portuguese, already the sixth global language, attracts few leaving certificate candidates. Schools and universities should have regard to the future importance of these languages. Many of our students attend school until whatever age and learn Irish. In many cases, however, they leave school without a fundamental grasp or speaking knowledge of Irish. I am a total gaelgeoir who spent all my summers in the Gaeltacht since I was very young and am a great supporter of all things Gaelic. However, there is something fundamental at the heart of our language which needs to be changed. One of the problems is that we have to open our minds to how we can improve the knowledge that young people have of Irish, particularly in primary school. I accept and acknowledge the great progress that has been made in our society in terms of the use of Irish in gaelscoileanna. These are very important and fruitful ventures. I would like to see the development of the gaelscoileanna and scoileanna lán-Gaelach after the primary level and believe there is a deficit in that regard. However, fundamental changes have to be made.

If we do this fundamental review and make these changes, as a country Ireland will be able to stand right in the top rank internationally as measured by our PISA score. If we do not do that, we shall never bring out the best in our children. Fundamentally, I would go back to those students who come from socially disadvantaged areas. If we really invest in preschool education, we can make a fundamental change for the benefit of our young people, nationally and internationally.

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