Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is very fitting today, as we celebrate the legacy of Seán Lemass and all he did for education, that we have the opportunity to discuss this legislation and to talk about what a future legacy can be. What Senator Ruane has raised and indicated in her amendment is certainly worthy of debate. It is a debate on which we need to have a full sitting and perhaps it is an issue on which we can invite the Minister back to our Chamber. There is nothing more important than education in terms of equipping our young people with all they need to find their way in today's world. While the leaving certificate is a measurement of attainment of a result that will enable a young person to go forward into the world of work, the world of further education or the world of apprenticeship, it should be about so much more. It should be about equipping our young people with everything they need to deal with all of the challenges and conflicts that life shows. While the world of the leaving certificate has certainly changed far more in the past 14 months than it had since it first came in, the reform of the leaving certificate is hugely important, and the education committee is taking this on as a piece of work, in conjunction with the Citizens’ Assembly. We are on the cusp of a great debate and I am very gratified it is the Minister, Deputy Foley, who is going to lead that debate. This amendment needs to be taken out of what we are dealing with now and brought to a wider and bigger forum.