Results 2,281-2,300 of 3,957 for speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I always think back to my wife who may not appreciate my saying this. She comes from a science background and works in a hospital setting. She always thought about coming back into teaching through that route. We had a big discussion about it and I put her off the idea. I am interested in any figures or trends, if the witnesses have them. It is grand to say that we are going to try to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Is there research or data specific to people who have come from outside of the teaching sector or have been attracted back into it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: No thanks. The reason I asked the question is that I am one of the 118,000 teachers still registered with the Teaching Council, but obviously I am not teaching.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I will ask one last, possibly contentious, question. This is to do with second level in particular and the postgraduate diploma. This shows that I was a teacher. Is the two-year study programme justified? Is it really necessary? The unions and many teachers will say that two years is too long when we are experiencing shortages of teachers in certain key subjects. Is there anyway that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I thank the Chair. I welcome everybody here this afternoon. I have a couple of questions for Mr. Brownlee but I believe I should start with somebody else to give them the opportunity to come in first. I might return to Mr. Brownlee at the end of my contribution. Dr. Patterson commented that we have to be responsive to labour market needs. The blunt question is whether we have we been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Dr. Cullen said earlier that there is something of a renaissance going on with regard to apprenticeships, which I acknowledge. Dr. Patterson gave us figures showing the increased number of students and courses offered, which is impressive and encouraging. I might be nit-picking here but she said the number of people dropping out increased from 8% to 11%. Is that a natural fall-off that is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: That is interesting.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Of the 11% of students who drop out, do they typically stay within STEM or take a totally new course of action? Is there any research or data on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: My next question is for Mr. Brownlee. We spoke about cybersecurity at a previous meeting, which is something in which I am interested. I have spoken to a few people in higher education who say they would like to see more course offerings in this area in different parts of the country. Does Mr. Brownlee have any idea how many courses there currently are in place dealing with cyber safety...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Is that accredited?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I might finish up with Mr. Brownlee. Going back to the waiting lists, I understand the Covid stuff but when does SOLAS anticipate that it will catch up with that 7,000? I believe the figure has gone from 12,000 to 7,000. When will SOLAS catch up?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Mr. Brownlee mentioned that there was insufficient exposure. I believe he was making reference to women in particular.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: In my second level school we offered tasters to everybody in first year up until Christmas so that they would have some experience of most subjects. Is Mr. Brownlee advocating more of that kind of approach?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I think that is me done. I may come back in after the Chair if I have anything else to say.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: It is that time of year again. The school transport deadline is this Friday. I welcome the enhanced programme we have run since Covid began. We have extended the programme. I also welcome that the extension for the eligibility, from closest to second closest school, is to be maintained in this year's programme. However, the full review is not complete and will not be complete in time for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: How is teacher supply specifically for those types of subjects? What are the projections? This question is not for a specific witness; any one of them can respond. Is the projection trending upwards in terms of the number of people who are qualifying? Will we meet the demand from the student population or are there particular subjects in that area that are more concerning than others in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: The Future of STEM in Irish Education: Discussion (Resumed). (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Is any body or organisation doing research in this area? People might consider a career change and we might get people in from engineering backgrounds to pick up some of the subject shortfalls that exist.