Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As a lapsed teacher, I am sure the Taoiseach will agree with me that learning and education are pillars of society. Many of us, myself included, can point to a teacher or teachers who had a pivotal influence on us as we were pointed in certain directions in our lives' journeys. The teachers do not want to go on strike, but that is what will happen tomorrow, causing great disruption for students in particular, as well as for their families and teachers.

The core of the issue, as the Taoiseach indicated, is reform of the junior cycle. It has boiled down to the key issue of teachers assessing their own students for certification purposes. Broadly, Sinn Féin supports all of the progressive reforms and proposals the Government has brought forward, except on the one issue of assessment. It makes sense that assessments should be impartial, external and standardised. The Minister has conceded that principle by saying teachers do not have to assess 60% of their students' work. We are in this bind because she insists on imposing a veto whereby teachers must assess 40% of their students' work. Sinn Féin agrees with the Minister's strategy of moving away from rote learning, but the intransigence shown on this issue has made a strike inevitable. The Taoiseach will acknowledge there needs to be agreement. Teachers are fundamental to how we progress. If they do not embrace this change, it will become a series of disruptions, especially for the young people involved. I ask the Taoiseach to review what he has said on the matter. We have tabled a Private Members' business motion on it and asked the Minister to review what she is doing, postpone further implementation of the junior cycle reform and return to the negotiating table to seek a reasonable agreed - not imposed - resolution of this important issue.

See this speech in context