Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have been contacted by ten concerned primary school principals in Ennis and its environs. They are calling on the Minister for Education, school patron bodies and the National Educational Welfare Board to find a solution to this continuing crisis regarding second level places. I know from personal experience that many students and parents cannot find a second level place. It happens year after year, notwithstanding additional accommodation having been provided in recent years. It is putting enormous pressure on students who want to progress to second level despite knowing from an early stage that they will not have a place in their local secondary school and that they may have to find school accommodation in a village or town 15 km, 20 km or 30 km away, while many of their classmates will go to the local schools in Ennis. That is not acceptable in this day and age. We have to find an appropriate method of allocating accommodation in secondary schools whereby all the bodies come together.

What is particularly sad is that some students will receive an allocation for each of the four secondary schools in the town. They will be sitting there with four letters of offer, while the kid beside them will have none. If there exists a more negative impact on the mental health of a child at that early age, I do not know what it is or what could cause greater distress. It is putting pressure on teachers, students and parents alike. We have to find a better method. I would have hoped that through the offices of this House, we could bring all sides together to try to find a resolution.

As we are talking about education, I am pleased the Government is moving quickly to address the issues of the leaving certificate and junior certificate. I have campaigned for the past month and a half to ensure that the leaving certificate class of 2021 will be given their predicted grades and an opportunity to sit a written exam if they so wish, when it is safe to do so, and I am hopeful it will be possible. They are a class that has lost so much face-to-face teaching time. They lost three months last year, and they have lost a month this year and will perhaps lose more. They cannot in good conscience be expected to sit the traditional leaving certificate examinations. I hope the Government and all the education partners will work towards providing predicted grades, with the opportunity for students to sit the traditional leaving certificate examinations at a later stage.