Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to go back to the issue of the algorithm, in respect of which, I believe, the necessary detail is distinctly lacking. I wrote to the Minister about this last year as well. While the algorithm is a central aspect of the exam, it appears in the Bill as only a passing reference in the context of the standardisation process. This does not make any sense. This year we need absolute transparency. The passing reference to the algorithm does not in any way absolve the Minister from her responsibility to publish details of it in advance. Indeed, if the algorithm to be used had been published before the results last year, the errors could have been discovered in time, thereby preventing the stress and trauma to many students, their families and their teachers, as I saw in my constituency, Kildare North. We just cannot have a repeat of that this year. I therefore ask the Minister to publish the algorithm in advance, with detailed examination invited and scrutiny welcomed. I urge her to commit to that and to the necessary transparency. Transparency itself needs to be standardised across all Departments. I ask the Minister to take that on board.

See this speech in context