Seanad debates

Friday, 17 July 2020

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

10:30 am

Photo of Annie HoeyAnnie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind for students and the education sector. Yesterday saw the launch of the further education and training, FET, strategy, which I warmly welcome. I look forward to working with the Minister and the further education sector on vital issues relating to upskilling, training and skills. Yesterday, too, the Labour Party launched its July stimulus which called for significant investment in retraining, upskilling and lifelong learning to provide people with real work opportunities. Many of us are concerned about the impact the Covid-19 crisis is going to have on jobs, so we must ensure that people are ready for the challenge ahead. We had a great moment for further education and I am optimistic about the new Minister driving that Department forward.

On the other hand, however, we had a quite abysmal situation yesterday with the revelation that the leaving certificate results will be delayed until 7 September. This revelation only occurred because my party colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, asked the Minister a direct question about when the results would be issued. Incredibly, she did not answer it and instead it emerged two hours later in a press release. There was a desperate lack of consultation on this. The Irish Second-Level Students' Union, the national body for students, was not consulted about it, which is absolutely incredible. One would think that students were not our future. I am worried that this is a sign of things to come. What engagement occurred with key stakeholders such as the higher education institutions, the further education sector, parents and teachers?

Frankly, it is unacceptable that this has happened. I am worried about the Minister declining to answer that question. I reiterate the call from this House for the Minister for Education and Skills to come to the House to answer a number of questions. I also echo the call from my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, for that Minister to come to the Dáil on Tuesday to answer questions about the delay, why she failed to inform the Oireachtas, and what stakeholders were consulted about this. I hope this is not a sign of things to come for the education sector in the future.

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