Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to do so. The Deputy raised a number of issues and asked why we do not have the guidelines today. We do not have them today because the engagement with stakeholders is happening tomorrow. A central ingredient in this process, whether it relates to the junior cycle, cancelling written examinations or calculated grades, was to get buy-in from stakeholders. It has been an incredibly positive process which will continue, and it is the only way that we will get to the other side for September. The Deputy is correct that the decisions can be slow. If he considers, however, that we cancelled the leaving certificate in their 95th year and then, within a few weeks, came up with an entirely new system of calculated grades for which we secured buy-in from teachers and schools, he will agree that while it is not the perfect system, we were not slow. I know in the real world of politics that we can work on an hour to hour or day to day basis, but the reason the decision on the cancellation of the leaving certificate examinations was slow was quite evident. One does not announce the cancellation of the leaving certificate examinations without having a proper alternative plan. That is why it was important that the day the stakeholders agreed to cancel the examinations, they also had to be walked through the calculated grades system.

The picture in September will be the picture in September. We hope to be in a much stronger position if the country continues to have such a positive outcome of keeping Covid at a low level. We want to continue to move but we are monitoring countries such as Denmark, which is saying it wants everybody back in the classroom in September. It is the same in France and Northern Ireland. There will have to be close collaboration to ensure that we get to that point. If the Deputy wants me to paint a picture, I am confident that, in September, we will have all students back in class, studying and preparing for the year ahead.

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