Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The recommendation of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, that history remain an optional subject, a matter also raised by Senator Horkan, bothers me greatly. The Minister for Education and Skills has received the review which he is considering very carefully. History gives us a sense of perspective. Diarmaid Ferriter, who is a professor of modern history, has said we cannot lose this subject and if we do so, the children of the future will not be equipped to be able to understand where we are now and how we got here. That is important because we need to be mindful of the State we have and how we got here. We need to make sure children in the future do not go through what some people in this country went through in the past. We will not be able to do that unless children study our history.

History also gives children the opportunity to have an opinion and engage in discussion in class. It gives people an interest in general knowledge and politics, which is very important. I urge the Minister not to accept the recommendation and to make history a compulsory subject up to junior certificate level at least. That is vital. As many people as possible should engage with the Minister and encourage him to stand up on this issue in which I think he believes. It is vital that everybody has the opportunity to study history. When I was a youngster in the 1980s I went to the UK and I was shocked by the level of knowledge among young people about their history. I remember having a conversation about partition and how it happened, the differences between the North and South of Ireland and figures such as Michael Collins, De Valera and Lloyd George. People of the same age in the UK did not know who Lloyd George was. We do not want that here; we do not want to dumb down our curriculum. It is vital we keep history as a compulsory subject, at least at junior certificate level. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House to discuss this issue.