Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy McDonald raised the issue of the OECD. GDP is not the correct metric. GNI* is a more appropriate metric given the particular composition of the Irish economy and the influence of foreign direct investment, FDI. In the OECD Programme for International Student Assessments, PISA, the Irish education system stands up pretty well in respect of literacy, numeracy and so forth, but we need to continue to develop. That is why we will have a record number of new school buildings and extensions completed this year and into 2023. The pupil-teacher ratio has been reduced for the past three years in a row and that will continue. The DEIS scheme is also being widely expanded.

On Deputy Bacik’s point on junior certificate students, which was also raised by Deputy Cathal Crowe, I do not have a specific date on the junior certificate examination results yet. It seems the State Examination Commission, which is responsible, concentrated originally on the leaving certificate and then the appeals arising from that examination because students would be depending on the appeals outcomes for progression to third level. I will speak to the Minister and revert to the Deputies on a potential date for that.

Deputy Bacik also mentioned the pathfinder programme. The Department of Education is at the forefront of design with respect to sustainability in school buildings and its performance has been recognised at both national and international levels, winning sustainable energy awards for excellence in design and specification. The schools that are designed and built in accordance with the Department’s schools technical guidance documents must achieve an A3 building energy rating, which is typically a 20% higher performance than is required by the current building regulations, along with 10% of primary energy being provided by photovoltaic and infrastructure provision for electrical vehicle charging.

Since 2017, the Department of Education and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, have been involved in an energy-efficient retrofit pathfinder programme for schools built prior to 2008. To date the programme has retrofitted 41 schools across Ireland with work on an additional nine schools added in 2021 under way. In 2022, six additional schools are undergoing deep retrofit to a building energy rating of B with renewable heating systems. This is jointly funded, with a €28 million budget from the Departments of Education and the Environment, Climate and Communications. It is administered by the SEAI and the planning and building unit of the Department of Education.

On the issue raised by Deputy Boyd Barrett, I am aware of the issue in respect of education psychologists and counsellors and I will follow up with the respective Ministers in respect of the issue.

Deputy Paul Murphy raised the issue of the Gaeltacht. We have to proceed with care on this matter and perhaps with a greater degree of deeper analysis. Labhraím Gaeilge, bainim an-taitneamh as na Gaeltachtaí agus baineann an-chuid daoine taitneamh astu. Caithfimid a bheith réalaíoch chomh maith. Is ré nua-aimseartha atá ann anois leis na meáin chumarsáide atá againn agus ní féidir aon áit a dhaingniú lasmuigh de gach aon bhall den tír, nó is é sin an tuairim atá agam féin, ar aon nós. Caithfimid níos mó áiseanna a thabhairt do scoileanna sna Gaeltachtaí, do na státseirbhísigh agus, gan amhras, níos mó Gaeilge a chothú. Caithfimid, áfach, a bheith cúramach gan an iomarca brú a chur ar dhaoine ag an am céanna mar go dtarlófaí go mbeidh siad i gcoinne na Gaeilge sula i bhfad má dhéantar é sin. Táim sásta déileáil leis na grúpaí éagsúla chun an cheist seo a phlé in terms of Irish for everybody, Gaeilge for all. It is much more challenging and complex than just a simple mantra.

Deputy Pádraig O’Sullivan raised the issue of the school completion programme, which was also raised on the margins of the recent public sector pay agreement. I spoke on it at the IMPACT conference. I am anxious that the programme move back to the Department of Education because it is an integral part of the education agenda and objectives. It was also part of the 1998 Act, with both the educational disadvantage committee and the idea of school completion being a core aim of education. There have been moves in that direction between Tusla and the Department of Education. I will provide more detail if I can get it in respect of completing that move.

Deputy Cathal Crowe raised the issue of the junior certificate, on which I have already given an answer. He also raised the school transport scheme. We should endeavour to continue that, not least because it is a cost-of-living measure that saves families about €650, but it also gets people out of cars and into buses. That is good for climate action, the environment and towns and villages as it reduces congestion. There always has to be balance when we start providing free schemes because capacity and affordability become issues. In respect of schools, however, we should work towards a model that takes the cost out of it and incentivises the utilisation of buses and trains as opposed to cars.

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