Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

None of us in this room will make that decision, it will be decided by the people. We will live with whatever change they give or do not give us.

The way in which we assess and trust teachers and schools is important. There is a wide variation in how schools respond. Schools are circumscribed by their own circumstances in some cases in that if they have a limited number of pupils, particularly in the post primary curriculum, they are limited in respect of the number of subjects they can offer and the levels at which they can offer those subjects, where there is more than one level. In those areas we may have to find ways in which history can be shared in a town where there are three or four schools and there is one really good teacher.

We need to change the relationship. As part of the legacy of the centralist establishment of the Department of Education and Skills there is a direct line vertically from Marlborough Street to each individual school. The school only goes through that line of communication by circular. That line of communication, important as it is, must be complemented by a horizontal communication with other schools in the area and in the community. I hope the 16 new education and training boards will facilitate a far greater regional engagement in the harnessing of educational facilities and resources, including history.