Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his reply. The person who was in contact with me subsequent to my tabling of the parliamentary question indicated that the problem was somewhat different, that textbooks were being introduced each year and that this added to the difficulty. Project Maths was rolled out originally in 2008 and it became a leaving certificate subject in 2010 in 24 schools, which was welcome. Ongoing professional development is important and the network of education centres, especially the education department in the University of Limerick, carry out important work for teachers. The initial information I received was contrary to what was indicated to me subsequently. The message from some in the educational community is that they hope a time will come when there will be a set textbook available rather than changes every year.

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