John Gilroy (Labour)

It was stated in the House yesterday that the points system for university entrance is fair and transparent. It is probably fair for many students and families who can afford to go to the third level education, but I am not sure if it is fair for those who cannot. The points system has narrowed the learning opportunities for a great number of students in that the leaving certificate is an extremely result-focused process, a matter to which the ESRI report, published yesterday, draws attention. I met a student a couple of weeks ago and asked how she got on in the leaving certificate. She said she got 460 points. However, that was not the question I asked. When I boorishly pointed this out to her, she looked at me blankly and said points are all that matter. From her point of view, she is right. It is an awful indictment of our education system that after 13 years one is judged in two weeks at the end of it. The report also points out that students who get grinds do better in examinations than those who do not and, of course, grinds are available only to those who can afford them.

A conference taking place today in University College Dublin is discussing the future of education. Given that we need a debate on our education system here, I ask the Leader to ask the Minister to come to the House and address the issue. We need to stop codding ourself when we say that our education system is fair. We all know that if we can afford it, it is probably fair; otherwise, it is not.