Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the transformative effect further and higher education can have. Having worked as a lecturer for many years in what is now Technological University Dublin, which the Minister visited last week, I have seen at first hand how education, particularly third level education, can open up opportunities for everyone. However, I must express my dissatisfaction with the fact that in scheduling this debate, its title does not refer to further education. Fine Gael's two previous Ministers in this Department, Simon Harris and Patrick O'Donovan, recognised the importance of that sector and the need to ensure it is not again neglected. Will the Minister, Deputy Lawless, ensure that he and his Department continue to prioritise the apprenticeship sector and do not allow to return the narrow approach to third level education that Deputies Harris and O'Donovan worked so hard to break down?

Many of those who speak for the third level sector have long proven the benefits that further and higher education can bring. However, although progress has been made and a variety of supports are in place to help students, there are still barriers. Having been appointed Fine Gael spokesperson for further and higher education, I visited schools and spoke to principals in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown last week. I wanted to find out what challenges students face in their transition to third level. The number one barrier they raised was the leaving certificate points race. It has been said many times in this Chamber that we need reform of the leaving certificate examination. The advisory report on the review of senior cycle states that "some of the negative impact of the current assessment reporting arrangements could be mitigated by... reviewing the existing CAO points system". The Department of Education and Youth has embarked on a senior cycle redevelopment programme, which I welcome. I also welcome the work the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has been doing in this field in recent months.

The advisory report also notes that redeveloping senior cycle will require the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, to "collaborate with relevant organisations and structures to ensure coherence across stages of education and to support lifelong learning". That hits the nail on the head. The third level sector cannot continue to look at the leaving certificate as a problem for the second level sector. I want to see third level institutions, with the Minister's encouragement, looking at how they can assist in making the transition from second to third level more navigable. There are some courses in universities that allow for supplementary work, with students being able to submit essays or portfolios to demonstrate their ability in their chosen field. Such approaches must be further extended. As a lecturer, I saw new students enrol in my classes having achieved the required number of points in the leaving certificate. They were excited and enthusiastic in starting a new chapter in their lives. After a few weeks, however, some discovered they had no affinity with the course content, with a few dropping out after several months. This happens because the leaving certificate is not an accurate representation of students' aptitudes. Those working in the third level sector recognise this but they lack the tools to help incoming students to make better choices. Will the Minister support third level institutions in devising methods that encourage students to demonstrate their interest in and affinity with the course content? This will not only reduce stress in the long term for students but also for their parents.

In its current format, the leaving certificate does little to encourage or engage students who have an aptitude for or wish to seek apprenticeships. This should not be the case. Second level education should supplement and assist entry to third level, whether colleges or apprenticeships, and not stand as a placeholder. We must expand and simplify pathways to apprenticeships as the skills required for apprenticeships are equally important to other skills in supporting a dynamic economy. Many young people are keen to play their part to address climate change. We can give them a path to that by developing apprenticeship courses in the green skills that are essential to support the growth of our renewable sector, especially offshore wind and solar. This will enable Ireland's transition to a green economy. Leaving certificate reform can enable access to third level. It is important that the Minister remembers that the Government's main obligation is to our students and young people. They rely on our third level education sector to define their future. We must keep doing everything we can to ensure we do not neglect to invest in that future.

I note today's announcement that the Minister is to bring a memorandum to the Cabinet on the creation of a global talent initiative to attract researchers and academics from the US. I applaud him for seizing this opportunity. I particularly welcome the focus on the fields in which we actively need to build up Ireland's research base. However, it is incredibly important that in facilitating this initiative, the Government also reviews the conditions of junior academic staff across the third level sector, who face pay issues, insecure employment, temporary contracts and hours of unpaid work outside of teaching hours. We do not want to find ourselves in a situation whereby in our eagerness to welcome these brilliant academics from abroad, we end up alienating and taking for granted the hundreds of researchers, academics and lecturers we already have across our island. We will not attract skilled researchers from abroad without competitive packages but, at the same time, we could well risk losing our homegrown researchers due to oversight and the mounting difficulties they face. Currently, the starting salary for an assistant lecturer is €46,000 a year. That might sound fine at face value but it comes after years of unpaid work as a PhD student and possibly doing post-doctoral work as well. It also does not take into account the precarity most new lecturers face. Lecturers on an hourly rate are paid on a per semester and per module basis, with no guarantee of future work. I know a number of lecturers who are forced to work across several third level institutions. They are all dedicated to their work but they are not doing this for the love of the job. They are doing it because it is the only way to get by. Will the Minister ensure that under this great new initiative, our homegrown talent are respected and retained and not neglected?

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