Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I absolutely agree and the Labour Party agrees that reform of the leaving certificate curriculum is necessary. I say that also as a secondary school teacher whose subject, namely, business, will be rolled out in September. It has been just under a week since the vote. Has the Minister spoken to the general secretary of the ASTI since the vote last Friday? There has been an overwhelming majority from the ASTI. Some 68% do not agree with the support measures proposed by the Department and 67% of the 70% turnout of voters stated they are willing to go as far as industrial action to stop leaving certificate reform being implemented in September. This is a clear sign that those on the ground in our classrooms do not agree with leaving certificate reform. Surely the Minister can agree that teachers, who are not in this Chamber and are not policymakers but are the ones teaching the students at the centre of this, do not agree with leaving certificate reform. Does the Minister accept that?

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