Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I concur with all of the sentiments we have heard from across the House. It is all about the leaving certificate, and rightly so. The point has been raised that not everyone has connectivity through good broadband and Wi-Fi, particularly in rural areas where people are lucky to have phone reception. The children there cannot even participate Skype or Zoom. It has been rightly said that secondary school is not all about the leaving certificate and that it is also about fifth year. Fifth year is as important as sixth year. In the context of practical subjects, most of the work is done in fifth year and the final six months of sixth year involve revision. For many classes, such as art, the students need to be in the school.

Parents who are now off work might be back in work - if it is available to them - when the exams take place. Depending on their job situation, they may have to work. This will cause a problem for them. There has to be a happy medium when it comes to the leaving certificate. As Deputy Michael Collins stated, if people want to sit the leaving certificate, let them do so. If they do not, let them, as has been stated, obtain grades pro rata.

As important as the leaving certificate is when moving from second level to third level, sixth class in national school also marks a massive changeover. Primary school pupils are in one classroom from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. When they go to second level education, their classes are broken up with different teachers.

It is huge for sixth class children, who have lost out on the integration before starting first year of second level education. We also have to look at what we want to introduce for them in the aftermath of this to allow them to integrate in first year. The move from sixth class to first year will be overwhelming for many, including in regard to mental health, and they will need support. We also need support for fifth year and sixth year students and this need will go into 2021.

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