Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government is committed to education and to improving education in Ireland at all levels over the coming years. Education is the great leveller. It raises people up, gives them opportunities and allows them to learn more, earn more and build a better life for themselves and their children. That is why I am proud to have been a member of governments that introduced two years of free preschool education for all children. Investment at that age provides the best return and I am really glad that we prioritised that. I am also proud to have been a member of governments that ensured that more people can now access further and higher education than was ever the case before, these people coming from more diverse backgrounds than was ever the case before. I am glad to have had the privilege to be part of the governments that achieved that. As the Deputy will know, we are now investing in increasing the number of apprenticeships and types of apprenticeships. We now offer employers further incentives to take apprentices on. That is what we are actually doing.

We can, however, only do things that are realistic, practical and affordable. While I understand the motives behind the Deputy's party's motion tonight, and I can certainly see how they would be very appealing, I am not sure it is very realistic to abolish the leaving certificate and fees and to give everyone access to any course they wish. That is not practical. Not having a leaving certificate or some other form of assessment at the end of school would create great difficulties. I do not know how we would sustainably fund third level and higher education of the quality we would like. When countries such as Italy have attempted to introduce open access, they have ended up with very high drop-out rates. That is not desirable either.

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