Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We must be careful not to lose faith in the professional capacity of teachers to independently, fairly and transparently verify the progress of their students. I am not suggesting the Deputy is making that charge. As parents, we receive reports on the academic achievements and social success or otherwise in the school setting of our children at the end of first and second year and the first half of third year. We have trusted this system for decades. Why should we not trust it now? That is one of the key questions for me. That said, if parents and the teaching profession, in which I have the utmost faith, are expressing concerns, we need to re-engage. Without that engagement and the support of parents, teacher unions and young people we cannot move forward together. The Minister has stated he is open to significant discussion on the independent assessment and verification of young people's achievements, academically and otherwise. His door and that of the Department of Education and Skills remain open. As I stated, we propose to engage again with parents in the next number of weeks. This engagement will continue until we arrive at a consensus on how to move forward together.

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