Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I concur with the comments made by Senator Dolan relating to the leaving certificate. As she said, the advisory group met recently to discuss proposals. One group that is represented on the advisory group is the National Parents Council Post Primary, which comprises the Catholic Secondary Schools Parent Associations, CSSPA, representing 342 schools, or 40% of the total; the Education and Training Board Schools National Parents Association, representing 271 schools; the National Association of Compass, which represents 22 schools that promote Protestant or minority religions; and the Parents Association of Community and Comprehensive Schools, which represents 91 schools.

The NPC does not represent all the smaller organisations within it, which means not all parents in all schools are represented. This issue has been raised with me in my home county of Longford by representatives and parents, who have stated they are not getting the opportunity to feed in their views to the discussions that are taking place. We need an organisation that represents all parents' views, and the people who are members of that organisation need to be parents themselves in order that they can understand the issues that exist for youngsters on the ground.

In a letter issued roughly 12 months ago, the executive of the CSSPA expressed a lack of confidence in the leadership of the National Parents Council. This issue has been ongoing for 12 months. I raised it about nine months ago and it seems to be persisting.We need an organisation that represents all the parents in all of the schools throughout the country when these important discussions take place.