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

The position is that this has been the approach to getting a masters or other postgraduate qualification for people who have done either a primary degree or who are coming from outside the sector into the teaching profession. While that decision was made before my time, I recognise this is creating obstacles, specifically for our ambition to expand teaching in the STEM area. I have actively addressed it in providing new routes for people to get into the teaching of STEM. I have also set up a group to look specifically at what is implicit in the Deputy's suggestion, namely, that we need to make it easier for people to take that postgraduate route who have perhaps worked elsewhere and for whom the fees would be a financial obstacle. We are looking specifically at that. The inference that in some way I am ignoring it or do not understand it is inaccurate.

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