Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a former teacher and a current member of my local school's board of management, I want to raise the removal of history and geography as core subjects for the junior cycle. This a regressive step. I am not going to stand here and be hypocritical as I stood here before looking for the inclusion of farm safety, along with other things. I know the logistical nightmare that is timetabling in schools and that three will never go into two. If we include one thing we have to remove something else. History and geography, however, are two of the subjects that form the nation's psyche and give us uniqueness. If we do not know our history and where we came from it blinkers our focus and our vision as to where we are going. The Minister should come in and discuss this issue. I hope it is not a fait accompli. Perhaps we can think outside the box. If it not possible for these two subjects to be part of the core timetable, perhaps we can incorporate them into other core subjects.

For example, there could be a brief synopsis of our history in literature form. It could be used in English for reading, spelling and grammar. While students study English or Irish, they would also get knowledge of our history. It could be likewise within IT, a relatively new subject in many schools. Why not incorporate history and geography research as part of IT training? I hope we can think outside of the box. It would be regressive if we lost history and geography as core subjects. My fear is the next generation in my end of the country might never even know where Cork is and the great historical role it played in the formation of our nation. We need the Minister to come to the House to talk about this and not just let this happen. If it is to happen for the logistical reasons I have mentioned, perhaps we can come up with some alternative so that future generations know the great history of this country. It formed us as a nation and will influence our formation into the future.