Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister and take on board her suggestion about bringing this to the attention of the relevant committee. We must recognise, and many young people do recognise, that despite the level of qualifications they may have achieved in these straitened times, there is a need to go beyond that. They must be complimented on that and rewarded in whatever way we can. To that end, I expect we will bring this to the attention of the committee and seek ways and means to support everyone who wishes to improve their education, be it at second or third level or beyond even a primary degree.

See this speech in context