Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé ag roinnt mo chuid ama leis na Teachtaí Christopher O'Sullivan, Cathal Crowe agus Flaherty.

The Minister's speech seems to mark a sea change in activity and attitude by the Department. I am not happy with everything that is happening but I detect in his speech a much greater openness from the Department in how it is dealing with educational issues. We are still seeking clarity and certainty on many issues, but I have always accepted that certainty is not always possible in this pandemic and that things will change. What I wanted the Department to do at all times was to consult and engage as widely as possible. It was not evident whether that was happening but it is evident from what the Minister has said tonight that significant engagement is taking place.

Schools in particular will look forward to getting the system of calculated grades and how that will work. I very much welcome that an independent person, Dr. Áine Lawlor, has been asked to chair the independent steering committee on this issue. That is an absolutely critical step. I also welcome that members of the State Examinations Commission are to be seconded to the Department. That is a very sensible thing to do, given that we cannot currently change the legislation. In regard to the reopening of schools, it is welcome that the Minister is, of course, consulting and engaging with the education partners. The Minister has outlined to us a list of other partners directly outside of education which he and the Department are also consulting. That needs to continue.

There are changing opinions on the public health side and they must be considered at all times. They swing all the time from one side to the other- from hope to despair - in terms of what would be possible. It is important that the Minister keeps up to date with everything that is happening in that regard, as I am sure he is doing. It is to the benefit of the Department and the students that the widest possible engagement is ongoing.

There are many issues relating to the leaving certificate which I am sure the Minister will continue to address as they arise, particularly students outside school and the certainty they need, if possible. In addition, there is my call to provide greater numbers of college places for the class of 2020. I sincerely hope the Minister will work on this issue. It is critical for that to happen to recognise the difficulties experienced by the leaving certificate class this year. We hope there will be extra places. There may not be a large number of them, but there will be some. I refer to the pressure young people have been under in recent months.

I welcome the detail provided by the Minister on the reopening of schools. I accept that he cannot give a reopening date tonight in the House and I am not asking him to provide one. It is critical that once robust public health advice allows the reopening of schools, there be no other blockages in the system to prevent or delay it. The way to unblock such blockages is to consult as widely as possible. That will involve a significant number of students. There are certain classes which have significant concerns. Some fifth year students have raised issues that affect them. I very much welcome fifth year and sixth year students having their voice in the political sphere.

They are very effectively represented by the Irish Second-level Students' Union, ISSU, but they have also had their individual voices heard by politicians in this Chamber and throughout the country. I really welcome the fact that they have engaged on this issue, whatever their particular viewpoint. Indeed, there has been a range of different viewpoints. The issue of sixth class students has been discussed previously.

There are lessons to be learned and the Department seems to be adopting a different approach now. Too much of the discourse around the leaving certificate focused on maintaining the integrity of the process, which is obviously important, with not enough focus on the welfare of the child. It is true that second level students are well represented by their representative organisation, but it is also crucially important that primary school students have their voice represented. The Ombudsman for Children would be well placed to engage with the Minister, and I am sure the Minister will engage with him. The Ombudsman for Children should be involved every step of the way. I note that the ombudsman for children in England is commenting publicly with regularity on this issue.

The issue of the secrecy and confidentiality that surrounded the leaving certificate engagement was detrimental to the process because things leaked out anyway. It is better to have a fully open and transparent process because that will give the greatest level of confidence to people. It is important that sufficient time is allowed to implement any guidance that is provided. That is critical so that schools and teachers know what is going to happen.

Some of my party colleagues will be speaking about children with special needs. I am glad that the Minister has expanded on what he said previously about July provision. The statement he made last week engendered hope, and while I accept that people know that miracles are not possible, the Minister has set out what is there at the moment. We need to keep engaging with all of the partners on this because the situation is very difficult for these children. They do not have their regular school which is really important to them. I want to pay tribute to teachers, SNAs, the management bodies of schools, parents who are teaching at home, and the kids themselves. Everybody is doing tremendous work in the best way that they can.

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