Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

Since the introduction of post-leaving certificate courses 20 years ago, hundreds of thousands of students have taken advantage of the opportunities offered to go back to school and retrain. Last year, I spoke in this House about the McIver report, which was completed four years ago. The report was published as part of an attempt to strengthen the adult education sector and increase the number of students who take post-leaving certificate courses. It dealt with issues like teaching, class sizes and accommodation. The Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, told this House last year that he would examine the report, but we have heard nothing about its implementation since then. As other Senators have said, it is important in the current economic climate to invest in aspects of education such as retraining and upskilling. Will the Leader ask the Minister of State for an update on the McIver report?