Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

A leaving certificate student at the gate today asked me in this debate to ask that all of the windows in the Dáil Chamber would be opened up so that all the Deputies can see the conditions that they have to work in. It is in all weathers, including freezing cold. Of course, I cannot ask that that be done because there are no windows in the Dáil Chamber. However, the basic idea is good. What he was saying to me was that we should put ourselves in the students’ shoes. They missed months of direct classroom teaching time in fifth year. They have real mental health pressures bearing down upon them. They have just gone back to school at the start of a new year. Some have not been able to go back because they had Covid-19. Some have not been able to go back because they were close contacts. Some did not go in because their parents kept them home, fearful of Covid-19. Some of their teachers did not arrive. My question to the Minister is why, given all of this, has she still not shut down the option of an unwanted traditional leaving certificate?

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