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

The issue of a debate or discussion on the Irish language strategy could be raised by the party Whips at the next Whips' meeting, or Deputy Dara Calleary and the Sinn Féin spokesperson could discuss it with the Chief Whip to see whether time could be made available, either tomorrow or next week but certainly before the recess.

With regard to Deputy Dara Calleary's comments on PISA, the results are welcome. We have recovered our previous position, which gives strength to the suggestion that the assessment in 2009 was not 100% accurate. I welcome the improvement which is the result of the literacy and numeracy strategy I launched in July 2011. The strategy had been in draft form, prepared by my predecessor, Mary Coughlan, in response to the revelations and concerns expressed in 2009. The good news is that in regard to the 65 countries surveyed and within the 34 countries in the OECD, we have improved our position considerably. We are in the second from top division but not in the premier league. My aspiration is for Ireland to be in the top division. It is clear from the data that the reformed science curriculum introduced in primary schools in 1999, with a knock-on effect on reform in the post-primary junior cycle, has led to a distinct improvement. The change in the data is significant and according to the professional interpretation of the educational research council, the change in the curriculum has had a positive effect. The fact that change was introduced in 1999 indicates how long the lead-in time is for improvements to take place. I hope we will see a similar improvement with the junior cycle reforms which will commence next September in one subject, English, for students entering first year.

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