Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am absolutely committed to working with teachers and their unions to ensure we get this right. Today, following weeks of engagement with all the unions, I invited the ASTI and the TUI to engage intensively to see what more I can do to support them. Everything I outlined here, from the training and funding that is being provided, the papers that have been outlined, the further training that will be provided, the guidance that will be given around AI and what I am doing now in engaging with them further, I hope extensively, to see what else I can do, is to make sure this can be rolled out and that students will benefit from it. Thousands of students, as I mentioned, have taken up their subjects and thousands of teachers are preparing for this. I know from talking to students that they want this. They feel it will benefit them because the focus will not just be on one or two exams at the end of the year. This will assess other skills they have and make sure that is done throughout the year so that there is not just a focus on the end of the year. I am absolutely committed to working with the unions, teachers and students to make sure this can be rolled out and that everyone can benefit from it.

See this speech in context