John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a brief contribution to this debate. I welcome the Minister's decision. Fianna Fáil has consistently campaigned for the downgrading of history to be reversed. My daughter will sit her leaving certificate examination this year and history is the subject into which she puts most time and effort. Her history teacher, Ms Barry in Presentation secondary school in Tralee, has been very vocal in requesting a reversal of this decision. She is, along with all of the other history teachers throughout the country, delighted with the Minister's decision.

I take this opportunity to mention geography, which is also a very important subject. Given the importance of climate change, migration, studies of population, ice caps, glaciers melting and so on, which are central to the geography syllabus, the Minister should seek to reverse the decision to remove geography as a core subject. There is an old saying in politics that every good deed deserves the appropriate punishment. The Minister will be punished for today's decision. Many times I have approached him looking for an extra teacher or SNA or have called for the retention of a teacher who is in danger of being lost to a school and he has stated that he cannot go against the recommendation of the Department because it is not within his remit to do so. Today, the Minister has gone against the recommendation of the NCCA. As a result, I will be reminding him tomorrow of the three teachers that are needed in Kerry and will be giving him the details forthwith.

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