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

As Minister for Education and Skills, a responsibility the Deputy may well have himself some day, with a mandate from the electorate and accountability to other Deputies, one cannot be put in a position in which a stakeholder simply says "No, you cannot change the status of exams." That is what the unions have said. The two unions have said they are ultimately opposed to removing the State certification of the junior cycle. They want the junior certificate to remain as it is. That is the responsibility of people in this House. How we do it and how it is implemented is, of course, open to consultation. In that regard, I am still waiting for the unions to give me what it is they want in writing. The autonomy of the Minister for Education and Skills is an interest shared across all political parties. The Minister must be able to act on the basis of the best evidence. I refer the Deputy to an article published recently by Emer Smyth and Frances Ruane of the ESRI. This is the right way to go. How quickly we get there and all the other things will, of course, be discussed. I am open to discussion and we are still discussing it. However, the unions cannot hold a veto over the new destination for education in this country.

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