Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to be associated with the job announcements in Oranmore and Galway. This good news was mentioned earlier by others. I live in Oranmore. Job announcements are always good news.
I would like to raise the question of junior certificate reform. Around 350,000 kids will be at home again tomorrow. They are losing time at school. The 27,000 teachers who are striking will not be at work. I am sure the Leader heard, as I did, the president of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, Mr. Gerry Quinn, saying on "Morning Ireland" this morning that another strike day will be organised if necessary. This has to stop in the interests of education and in the interests of our children. We are lucky that they can go to school. Both sides, particularly the union side, are entrenched. It appears that they are prepared to stop at nothing, even if it means kids lose out on going to school. I would like to appeal for two things to happen. First, I want the Minister to move to reassure people - parents and students - that an appeals process and a second opinion will be available in the event of a grade dispute. This would ensure no one is losing out if the teacher is doing the assessment. I think the teacher might also feel better about that. Second, I want the unions to be reminded that they cannot always have everything their own way. Our kids matter. Education matters. Learning reforms matter. I have written a piece on this issue in today's Irish Independent. If teachers have to be paid an extra stipend in the interests of introducing good reform, reforming learning and moving kids on to be more independent learners and to negotiate what is good learning with their teachers, so be it, but we should not stop reform.
I apologise for going over time. Could the Leader give us an indication of the timeline for the children and family relationships Bill, which is urgent and important? Complex issues such as donor conception, surrogacy and IVF for straight and gay people will arise when the debate on that legislation takes place. It is a very important debate, because identity always matters, as does where we come from.