Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

As Seanad Fianna Fáil spokesperson on education I am very glad to speak on this most important issue about college places and CAO applications. This is a very difficult time every year for students who are facing the leaving certificate and must decide on a choice of course and college. I am anxious that the process of decision-making is made as easy as possible. To that end, I have been continually asking that the grant application process be brought back to the date of the CAO application so that students can complete all the paperwork at this point in the year or preferably in January, to allow them apply for their preferred course and college as well as their grant aid. The Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, has indicated that he is in favour of pulling back the CAO application dates to assist in the processing of applications. It is vital that the smooth running of the process can only be achieved when the grant applications have also been included at the start of the year, thereby allowing students to concentrate fully on exclusively academic issues. I would like to see the student support scheme being fully operational as soon as possible so all the dates would coincide, with paperwork kept separate from the academic work. This would allow for a more efficient system which would be in everyone's interest, the people processing the applications and working in college administration as well as the students and their families who endure the trauma with them.

Many students who sat examinations last year may be repeating examinations this year in an attempt to achieve the few extra points for their chosen course and many other students will be attempting the leaving certificate for the first time. Newspaper headlines in recent weeks have highlighted there will be two students for every college place and more points needed for courses as a result. This news may have frightened many students. It is fair for journalists to report an increase in pressure but the way the information is being presented in the media will scare the life out of every student. We need to reassure those students and work to maximise their opportunities. The Minister of State in his contribution stated there will not be capping and that every effort will be made to expand the flexibility of the courses on offer. The Government has been proactive in delivering what students need.

The number of people applying for courses has increased over recent years and this is not a phenomenon of this year in particular. In 2007, a total of 61,961 people applied to the CAO process and in 2008 that number was 63,868; by 2009, the number was 67,634 and in 2010 it looks as if it will be 71,867. This is an increase of 4%, 3%, 6% and 6%, respectively in each year. These statistics are important in the context of this debate. When I filled out my CAO form, I had virtually no intention of taking up any of the places for which I applied. I applied to UCCA to get into a number of colleges in the North because I wanted to study music and the Northern Ireland system provided free tuition in a number of instruments. After I had gone through the hoops and hurdles of various interview processes, etc., I knew I would be going to college in the North if I did well in my leaving certificate. I was able to use the CAO system as a back-up. I also deferred a PGCE year at one stage. I remind those who think they will not be included because of the 1.6:1 ratio that I never thought I would be wasting the time of the CAO or deferring courses. That is the reality of what happens. In that context, it is worth asking why instrumental tuition in music is not a fundamental part of music degrees in this jurisdiction. Perhaps the House can debate that matter on another occasion. Why should one have to pay for such tuition separately?

I remind the Senator who made an off-the-cuff comment about those who have to go to another jurisdiction that many students do not mind having to do so. We are working in co-operation with the University of Ulster in Jordanstown, Coleraine and Magee College as well as with Queen's University and the other third level institutions in the North. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and the Northern Ireland Minister, Caitríona Ruane, MLA, spoke at last Thursday's meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. The authorities on this small island need to co-operate to maximise the opportunities associated with the courses that are presented in third level institutions and to minimise the obstacles to student mobility. Ultimately, we should seek to establish a university of the north west that would straddle the Border so that we do not have to talk about different jurisdictions. We would not be talking about the north, the south, the east or the west; we would be talking about the best way of meeting the needs of students.

The Department of Education and Science must take seriously the research being undertaken by Forfás and the implementation body on future national skills needs because it comprises a vital piece of basic infrastructure. At times, governance in this country is too departmentalised. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment can give one all the statistics one might want about the needs of those who are or are not employed. We need to ensure such statistics are taken into account when the Department of Education and Science makes decisions on what is taught, how it is taught and the manner in which young people are driven. I am not talking specifically about this topic when I say we sometimes wear hats. If it is the hat of the Department of Social and Family Affairs, it cannot be the hat of the Department of Health and Children. If it is the hat of the Department of Health and Children, it cannot be the hat of the Department of Education and Science. It is often the case that hats should be shared by the various Departments.

Many students know exactly what they want to do. They are clear in their goals and in how to get there. I refer to the colleges they choose, the CAO and the points they are striving for. Other people may not have decided what they want to do, even at this stage. We should give such students directions on the basis of our skill needs. We should ensure they are guided into courses that will yield jobs and careers for them in the short and longer terms. Social engineering is often referred to but the reality is that jobs are scarce and opportunities limited. By the time the current cohort of students comes out of college, traditionally strong sectors such as architecture, planning and construction may have recovered. While I agree that young people should follow their dreams, there are opportunities to widen the scope of what they tend to aim for.

Ireland has not maximised the strengths associated with being an island nation. Jobs on the water, for example, are available throughout the world. I refer not only to fishing, but also to merchant shipping, etc. Many fishermen are in limbo at present as a consequence of the lack of fishing rights. If their expertise is drawn on and deployed in our fisheries colleges in Cork and Greencastle, we will produce qualified mariners for Ireland and the rest of the world. We need to ensure we are sufficiently innovative. I understand that 500 qualified people are needed to man ships in high-ranking positions in the merchant navy and elsewhere in the marine sector. No country is producing such workers with the necessary speed. As an island nation, we need to ensure we offer such opportunities and drive new ideas. Given that boats have to be laid up for short or long periods of time, it is obvious we should develop a marine car park. There are opportunities to provide berthage or boat parking along our coastline. While such examples might seem odd, surely it is by looking to our actual strengths as an island nation that we can become productive in a new way.

Entrepreneurship is a vital cog in our economic regeneration. I recently compiled a report for the Council of Europe on the issue of getting college places to match the numbers and needs of students. I examined how history is taught in areas of recent conflict. I suggested we need to teach certain subjects, specifically history, in a multi-perspective manner that develops the critical and creative thinking of students. If young people become more rounded adults, they will be able to push boundaries in college or in life as employers or employees. To that end, we need to strengthen the links between preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary levels. I have said that links between Departments can sometimes be bad, but the links between the pre-primary, primary, post-primary and tertiary sectors can be just as problematic. I appreciate what Senator Healy Eames has said about mathematics and science, but I remind her that we cannot have mathematicians or scientists if we do not have people with creative thinking. We are getting rid of the arts as quickly as we can. We are not placing the necessary emphasis on them. The Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, is probably fed up listening to me talking about the arts. I reiterate that if we invest in the arts at preschool and early primary school levels, we will achieve much better results in mathematics. That is not just my opinion; it is what international best practice suggests.