Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree that we should always consider reform and that is the reason we said that, within a decade, we would have the best education training service in Europe. We are looking at exemplars of good practice using bodies such the OECD, etc., to examine what we are doing and identify where we might make improvements. I do not think we need to establish baccalaureate schools for us to hold a mirror up to ourselves.

I take the Deputy's point about the slow pace of reform. As he knows, the junior cycle is the first significant step in changing the way in which we assess pupils. Although it has met with considerable resistance, I think it is now being rolled out and is proving itself. I hope that confidence in the junior cycle will build, in time, to a point where we will be in a position to examine whether further reform further up the cycle can arise. However, I am also conscious that the leaving certificate attracts huge public confidence in respect of being fair, objective and so on. We are open to good exemplars of better assessment and teaching methods. Recently, I met representatives of Atlantic Rim Collaboratory, ARC, including those from Scotland, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Ontario. They are doing very exciting things from which we are learning. We are trying to test our model against good practice elsewhere.

See this speech in context