Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's response to the decision of teachers to strike, and I have called on teachers to call off the strike and engage with her, also requires her leaving the door properly ajar for discussions with them. Rather than being a progression, the Minister's U-turn, which brings us back to where we started, and her corresponding stance that any talks are dependent on the unions agreeing to 40% of the final examination being internally assessed, to which the teachers have a principal objection, makes those talks impractical in the sense that it has put teachers in the position where they have not been able to engage with her. For this issue to progress, the Minister must sit down and tease out the genuine concerns to allow a final agreement be reached, which will see a reformed curriculum put in place that is workable and will greatly improve the way students engage and learn at junior certificate level. I urge the Minister to do that because striking is unnecessary, and I believe the approach taken by the Minister has led to it.

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