Results 1,481-1,500 of 3,777 for speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council (25 Apr 2023)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: We have nine speakers listed so I ask Deputies to stick to 40 or 45 seconds and that way it is hoped we will get a response for everybody.

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

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I apologise for being late. I listened to proceedings in the car on the way up. I want to follow up on one or two questions asked by Deputy Farrell. Ms Feeney mentioned that there has already been a focus on computer science. Subjects such as computer science, which is still tech crafts to me-----

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

Pádraig O'Sullivan: Ms O'Connor is satisfied that the steps being taken can meet the demand.

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

Pádraig O'Sullivan: I welcome the steps being taken on substitution. I should have said that I was a teacher for nearly 15 years. Many of the measures are very welcome but my focus is specifically on projected numbers and whether we will have the teachers to meet that capacity, particularly for new subjects such as computer science.

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?