Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to say respectfully to the Minister of State that I am heartened by his saying that this issue has been incorporated into a policy statement that was published yesterday. There is an onus on boards of management and the primary curriculum is new in this regard. I agree with the Minister of State about the differentiated teaching approaches.

However, I say respectfully to the Minister of State that all of this is a theoretical framework. It is there in writing but, truthfully, in reality in schools across this country, there is not an adequate focus on this 10% of children. They are potentially the leaders of our country. They will lead the economy. They will lead every facet of our society and, indeed, the world. While we have a theoretical framework, we do not have it in reality, but I am proud that we have that reality in Breifne College in Cavan.

Can the Minister of State please bring this issue to the Cabinet and Minister of Education? We need a proactive approach by the Department of Education. We need every school to be like Breifne College. We need every second-level school in Ireland to focus on this cohort of children. Of course, there is rightly a big focus on the weaker students, who are an absolute priority. That is something we do well. We need to do it even better and we need to keep doing it. Yet, I am speaking about something we are not doing well regarding the top 10% of students. I respect the Minister of State's response, as well as his sincerity, but we need to get this practical expression on the ground.