Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

All I can say is that there was no appetite among the professional educators in my Department, even before the PISA results were announced, to extend the initiative to all primary schools. I raised the question of literacy and numeracy standards while in opposition. The Deputy's former colleague, Mary Coughlan, as Minister for Education and Skills, responded to the PISA findings with an undertaking that the Department would take action. A draft programme was published while the Deputy's party was still in government, which I was happy to support. In June last year, when the national strategy was launched, I was more than happy to support it and to pledge that I would make the resources available to implement it. That is what I am doing and why I took the decision that I did.

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