Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Deputy Leader. I have a couple of issues. I concur with the comments by Senator Black with regard to the INTO. I also met its representatives at their presentation in Buswells Hotel yesterday, and not to repeat it, but I would like to support their very genuine and realistic ask. They are asks that are needed for the education of our youth. One of the proposals was about reducing class sizes and that is something we had in our report yesterday with regard to the Joint Committee on Autism, and reducing the class sizes due to the larger number of children on the autism spectrum who are in mainstream classes. I concur, and support it. I would also like to welcome one of the proposals regarding mental health supports in schools. I know the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, announced what I think was €5 million in funding for seven counties, and I am delighted that my own home county of Longford is one that will be taking part in that trial to give counsel and supports in our schools.

Separately, I suppose I am around a long number of years more than I care to think about sometimes but I have never had as many phone calls on issues with regard to one examination as I did last weekend. That was the leaving certificate maths examination, and I assume everyone had the same number of phone calls. Something happened and something was wrong. I talked to parents whose kids left, walked out, and were not even able to write anything on the paper. I do not know what mechanism can be put in place or if anything can be. These kids did not actually sit a junior certificate because of Covid-19, so to go and dramatically change a leaving certificate, which was their first State examination to do, was ill-thought, in my opinion. I do not know what can be done, or if anything can be done, but I would ask the State Examinations Commission, to which I have written, to take due cognisance of some of these issues that happened. If it is a case of some pupil who actually did not do anything in the examination, would they have an opportunity in July to repeat that examination? I ask that this be considered.