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

We are going back over a previous question by Deputy McConalogue. The issue, as Deputy McConalogue outlined, was that we got off to a bad start. The way the previous Minister went about trying to railroad junior cycle reform was counter-productive. It got people's backs up and there was a loss of trust with the Department. That was unfortunate because nearly all political parties in this Chamber support the concept of junior cycle reform. When the Minister came to office, she tried to rectify some of that and she has done that to a certain degree.

The fact that the TUI is now supportive of it is a recognition of the steps that have been taken by the Department but we still have a situation where one of the main stakeholders is opposed to what is being implemented by the Department. The Minister says she is determined to carry on with the implementation, but how realistic is it to carry on with that if she does not have the co-operation of one of the main stakeholders?

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