James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I pointed out, the issue around school completion is far more complex than the school itself. It also involves parents and their influence on the children, as well as having other activities going on in the school. I have visited some of the schools involved and they have wonderful initiatives around cooking, art, sculpture and other pragmatic programmes involving hands. For those children who have given up on the reading, writing and arithmetic side of education, this entices them back with other subjects that interest them and reintroduces other educational skills. It shows that one needs arithmetic if one wants to be good at certain elements around cooking, such as adding and subtracting ingredients. Similarly, having good literacy skills is important if one is interested in woodwork. It is about understanding these additional skills are helpful to pursue the other subjects in which the children are interested. I have heard the Deputy's points before, but I believe this programme is best placed in an agency which has a remit over a much broader area than just education itself.

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