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

Since we agreed the Order of Business last week we have had the really shocking announcement of the Government's bloody-minded insistence on going back to a traditional leaving certificate, which ignores the clear call of leaving certificate students for an alternative. Before that decision is finalised we need to have a serious discussion in this House, because there are alternatives. I heard the Taoiseach say earlier that we have not outlined our alternatives. Give us the chance to do so in the House this week. We have set out clearly our view the leaving certificate should be scrapped and that it is an unfair gatekeeping exercise limiting access to higher and further education. Let us discuss that. Has the Government looked seriously at it? Has it looked at expanding the places in further and higher education to do away with the need for the pointless-----

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