Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to have the Minister and Deputy Kehoe here. Having served previously on the education committee, it is an area close to my own heart. I am still involved in a school in Limerick. I read the report and found it very interesting. It took an amount of work on the part of the committee so I compliment all who were involved in putting this report together. Two or three things stood out for me. The first related to special needs assistants, SNAs, and the support around them. The report also suggested SNAs, principals and school boards should be consulted on decision-making. That was one of the recommendations in the report.

The expansion of hot school meals is also mentioned in the report. The pilot scheme has been expanded. There is a recommendation that it should be expanded further and that is something I would like to highlight.

I turn to consider bullying and online bullying. We saw the episode of "Prime Time" last night to which Deputy Kehoe referred. It is frightening. The school I am involved with in Limerick has used iPads as a method of learning since the very start of the pandemic and it has been very successful. However, because the students have been using iPads from day one, it is part of their education and they see it as an educational tool. The challenge is to find ways to show students that media and IT equipment are forms of education and how they can be used for the purpose of education.

One line in the report that stood out to me was, "Trauma and mood disorders such as depression have been identified as being significant factors leading to early school leaving." We have all heard various reports in that regard. The families of children who have been self-harming or with whom there have been issues have come to me. Covid has contributed to an increase in some of those behaviours. It is about increasing well-being and support to students who end up in this situation. Some schools have wellness classes. I know they have been rolled out to many schools but not all of them have embraced those classes properly. Perhaps the Minister could think of ways to encourage schools to embrace them fully.

My last point refers to blended learning. I would like to see an early decision made on the leaving certificate. I have been inundated with calls from students from across Limerick and the country. They want to see a hybrid leaving certificate.