Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The leaving certificate class of 2020 have suffered unacceptably because of a series of mess-ups. It is quite unconscionable that they are going to suffer yet again as a consequence of a gigantic and inexplicable cock-up. After all they have gone through and suffered, we now have this situation of uncertainty which could have very severe implications for those already in third level courses, those who may have missed out, and those who got the wrong grades. It is truly extraordinary. The Minister must come into this House today to make a statement explaining what the hell went on and what she will do to rectify it.

The fact that outsourcing may have played a role in this is very telling. That speaks to the general lack of investment in education, which is at one of the lowest levels anywhere in the western world. These are the sorts of consequences that inevitably flow in difficult situations from a lack of investment in education. The class of 2020 are going to suffer as a consequence. We need explanations and we need to know what the Government is going to do to rectify the situation in which thousands of leaving certificate students now find themselves.

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