Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Brian Hayes asked if I would give a commitment that there will be no new legislation on the matter we are discussing today. I cannot give such a commitment but I am aware that matters are being examined in a painstaking fashion. The Senator disagreed with the CAO's decision and said there are many vested interests which do not allow parents to get information on school results. This is a serious issue. If a complete school assessment was involved, it would be fine, because it would include character training, sport, cultural activities and so on. Merely examining the barren details of who got what place is not the correct way to look at education. However, there should be a debate on the matter. The Senator also wondered when the Minister for Finance was going to cap barristers' fees, and said the Fine Gael submission on the matter had been accepted. It seems like a good move.

Senator O'Toole agreed there should be whole school results rather than the current way in which they are published. He also asked for a discussion on decentralisation, which would be worthwhile as we could find out the stage we are at in the process.