Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 189: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will confirm the veracity or otherwise of a newspaper report (details supplied); if she will further confirm that her Department has been in contact with interested parties; if arrangements have been made with these parties to meet in the coming weeks; if she will confirm her attitude towards changing the structure of training currently being practised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11397/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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At the launch of the OECD report, Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers, in May of 2005 I indicated that the report provided an opportunity to examine the overall area of teacher education and development. At the launch I signalled it was my intention to formally engage with the colleges of education, the education departments of universities and colleges and wider stakeholders on some of the key issues that emerge from these reports and the wider changes.

The Deputy may recall that I set out a number of areas to be addressed in this engagement, which can be summarised as: whether the content covered on pre-service teacher education programmes has adequately kept pace with the changing demands now facing teachers in our classrooms; the appropriateness of the current focus on academic studies at primary pre-service teacher education; and the requirement to align the allocation of H.Dip. places more closely to identified needs such as languages, the sciences, Gaeilge and mathematics. A series of meetings has since been held by my officials and representatives of the colleges of education. The other education sector stakeholders will also be consulted.