Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

While the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, is not in the Chamber, he will read back the Official Report of the debate and consequently, I will focus on education although the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is present. I wish to touch on some of the issues the Minister raised in his contribution. I will be the first to recognise that due to the economic situation in which we found ourselves and in which the current Government found itself on entering office, huge challenges existed, particularly in respect of the bigger portfolios such as social protection and education. Moreover, given that the budgets have been cut on an annual basis since the Government took office, these challenges have been compounded by that fact. That said, I have put on record previously that some decisions taken by the Minister probably have led to some of the most radical and reforming legislation this House has ever seen in the area of education. I refer to the policy and legislation he has brought forward with regard to Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, the establishment of the education and training boards and the Further Education and Training Act 2013, on which I commend the Minister. Moreover, I pledge my continuing support for what he is doing, particularly in respect of further education and higher education and what he is trying to achieve for adult learners.

However, he also took some decisions that neither I nor my party would have taken had we been in his position. The position with regard to career guidance counsellors and removing the ex quota allocation was a retrograde step. Moreover, the evidence now is beginning to back up that analysis, when one notes the number of one-to-one consultations by students on career guidance is falling consistently. This will have a detrimental impact on student welfare and the longer this goes unchanged or not reversed, the greater that impact will be. The Minister has made a personal mission of junior cycle reform. It is a highly difficult area and I can understand from where the Minister is coming and what he is trying to achieve. However, the way he has gone about it has created a situation in which he now has difficulties in trying to implement what he set out to achieve. For all his good intentions, I believe he got off on the wrong foot when he completely disregarded the recommendations from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, and went on a solo run. Moreover, the lack of consultation at the very outset now has come back to haunt the Minister and the difficulties he is encountering in trying to implement this particular policy now are evident. I note that discussions are under way with both teaching unions to try to resolve some of those outstanding issues and one awaits the outcome of these discussions.

The Minister touched on three areas in his contribution and I wish to refer briefly to a couple of them before this debate is adjourned for Private Members' business. The first pertains to SOLAS and I am aware the Minister will take delivery of a five-year strategy from SOLAS in the coming weeks. That strategy will be highly important in respect of the provision of further education and training in this State. This strategy document will face huge challenges because if one considers the objectives of SOLAS, on the face of it a number of them are contradictory.

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