Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, this is a complex area. The existing model of allocation of resources and the way the system is functioning is effectively 20 years old, and much has happened in the areas of research and experience in similar administrations across the world. I asked the NCSE over a year ago to examine the allocation model we have discussed. I got a report in the middle of May, and I welcome the Deputy's party's support for its broad thrust, but it contains 28 recommendations which have major implications in terms of how best they should be implemented and the best model of allocation of resources.

There is also the question of considering outcomes as distinct from inputs in order to see whether the model is working in the way we want it to work and whether we are ensuring that youngsters in their mid-teens are developing the skill sets they require in order to continue in the mainstream system. All of these are specialist matters and I am not qualified to provide a professional opinion on them. We must depend on people examining best practice in other countries and, given the circumstances in which we find ourselves, recommending what we might do. Other than what I said with regard to what will happen in September, I am not in a position to provide any more definite information.

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