Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I agree with what Senator Quinn stated about Northern Ireland. It was a very worthwhile debate last night. This Chamber should be utilised for more of that kind of debate. We would welcome an up-to-date report on how we are making progress on the many issues which affect north and south of the Border such as health, education, transport and current infrastructure, if we start thinking with an all-Ireland approach.

In some of the contributions this morning Senators asked whether we should have the young unemployed graduate engineers brought back into the education system to teach mathematics for the leaving certificate. The idea is good, but I am a little wary. While a person might be qualified in a subject, he or she may not be a good teacher. That is the point. We need to be careful, if we are putting on a course, that we are selective about whether such persons would be able to impart knowledge.

That brings me to another point, that we need to look again at the courses in college and why young students are not pursuing mathematics as a subject. It says something about why they are apprehensive about taking a course in mathematics. We do not have enough teachers who have qualified in the mathematics area at that stage——