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

The Minister referred to junior certificate reform. Some of the lessons from junior certificate reform should inform the legislation, the amendments we are proposing and the Minister's approach to them. The Minister said one of the unions had accepted junior certificate reform while the other had not. The failure to deliver effective reform dates back to the Government's approach and the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, who, without consulting the unions, unilaterally announced his intention as to how it was going to operate. His intention was to abolish the junior certificate as a State exam marked by independent examiners. This approach led to the Government's failure on junior certificate reform, with only one union on-side.

Proper engagement with staff representatives from the outset can ensure a much more successful outcome overall. Last night, the TUI protested outside, and there will be industrial action next week. There is a very definite opinion on the part of staff that there has not been appropriate engagement and consultation. Putting it in the legislation would ensure there is a requirement to have everybody on board and could ensure a much more successful outcome to the technological university process compared with the junior certificate reform process, which the Government has handled over the past three or four years.

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