Vol. 432 No. 1
14 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Education the persons or groups she intends to invite to the Education Summit which she intends to convene this autumn; the matters that will be discussed at the summit; the format the event will take; if she intends to present any papers for discussion at the summit; when, following the summit, she expects to publish the White Paper on Education; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
I see the National Education Convention, which I announced recently, as a potentially historic event in the history of education here.
As I indicated in Malahide on 19 May, when I announced my intention in this regard, I will be issuing a paper later this month which will set out a detailed scheme for the convention and will cover many of the issues raised by the Deputy.
My overall objective is to provide an opportunity for all the partners in education to engage in a full exchange of views on the future direction of Irish education, taking account of their own particular concerns and objectives while in addition, very importantly, taking account of the objectives and concerns of the other partners in the process.
I wish to take this opportunity to further expand on the announcement I made in Malahide. I am actively addressing this at the moment and will issue a paper shortly setting out my detailed views.
I can say the convention will have an independent chairperson, and a secretariat headed by an independent secretary general and an independent report, prepared by the secretariat, under the authority of the chairperson, will be published following the convention; the format will seek to maximise constructive dialogue among the partners; key issues will be discussed, particularly those where there are significantly divergent views in order to explore fully the possibilities for real consensus; it is highly likely that papers will be prepared by the secretariat to facilitate the work of the convention and, on the question of participation, I hope that all the major partners will take part.
This convention represents a very important development of the debate which has been taking place. Organisations and individuals throughout the country have invested an enormous amount of time in debating the issues and making formal submissions to me and my Department. This is immensely helpful and has significantly advanced the climate for real reform of our educational system. I wish now, through this initiative, to offer the partners the opportunity to engage in meaningful multi-lateral dialogue taking account of each other's positions. This holds considerable potential to significantly influence the future direction of Irish education.
Following the convention, I will proceed without delay to publish the White Paper, taking full account of the deliberations of the covention and, of course, of the hundreds of submissions received.
I welcome the Minister's initiative in convening the National Education Convention. Will the paper she intends to circulate deal with policy issues which have been the subject of submissions for the Green Paper? In view of the fact, that the National Education Convention will have a secretariat, is it intended that it will be a permanent body and continue to meet? Is it intended to invite all those who made submissions for the Green Paper to participate. Finally, it was originally intended that the White Paper would be published by the end of this year. As the National Education Convention will not meet until September, does she expect the convening of the National Education Convention to delay the publication of the White Paper beyond the end of this year?
I do not anticipate a delay in the publication of the White Paper, which is promised for the end of this year. I set myself a timetable which will allow me to publish a White Paper within a year. Although I have not announced the format for the running of the convention, I do not see the secretariat as being permanent. There have been approximately 1,000 submissions and if we are to move forward in a multi-lateral way, nobody could expect that all those who made submissions would be invited. There are what I would call the partners in education who deliver education at the coal face, the parents, teachers, management and owners. There should also be a role for students who are not in the school system but who are below the age acceptable to make a contribution to the dialogue. The management groups, teachers, owners, trustees and patrons are the basic partners delivering education at the coal face. I hope to spell out within a fortnight the format for the convention and the specific groups who will be involved. I made the initial announcement in this regard on 19 May and therefore, even within the time frame I set myself, I still have more time.
Would the Minister confirm that the date for the publication of the White Paper has been rescheduled? It is my understanding that the White Paper was to be published in September, but the Minister is now talking about publishing it within a year. In relation to the submissions, has she or the committee met with any groups individually in regard to sensitive issues? In relation to the Minister's promise to take on board the social partners — the division A players — she should ensure that none of the people who might be perceived as division B players but have a legitimate input is left on the education sidelines. A national debate on education should involve everybody; people who were not involved until now have a legitimate input to make. Finally, could I ask the Minister to have a debate in this House before the publication of the White Paper? We had an excellent all-day debate on the Green Paper on Education and, as most of us have access to many submissions, I would ask the Minister, before she puts pen to paper regarding the heads of a White Paper, to provide time for another debate here on education from the point of view of reaching a consensus.
It was never the intention to publish the White Paper in September. It is my understanding — and I believe this was stated here on a number of occasions — that the White Paper would be published within a year.
The former Minister, Deputy Brennan, made that commitment; but that was then.
Of course, I have met with individual groups. Any new Minister is inundated with invitations to meet with many people. I met with as many groups as was feasibly possible. In regard to the social partners and the division B players, it will not be possible to invite more than 1,000 people to participate. We must be reasonable if this initiative is to be successful. Many concerns have been expressed, some in very short submissions, and this is where the secretariat will come into play. The concerns of organisations that have been expressed publicly should be raised with those participating in the convention through the secretariat. It will be possible to do that and I do not see anybody as a division B player. However, some people deliver education at the coal face and they are what I would call the partners in education. All taxpayers have an interest in the education system. The Minister has bilateral discussions but that does not foster debate; we need to have multi-lateral discussions. Once the debates on the Green Paper throughout the country were completed there were no proposals that those debates should be continued in a new forum. This is a new step. I am satisfied that I have fulfilled the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government that the discussion on the White Paper would be open and democratic. This forum will involve various partners and will allow consensus building to take place if that is what the partners want.
The Minister stated that she set herself a timetable and I welcome that, because the time must come to put an end to all discussions. In that context could she put a time on the introduction of an Education Act?
I want to complete the White Paper. We have the heads of Bills, but I do not want to say at this stage when that will happen. I have stated that the White Paper will be published within a year and I hope I will be able to meet that deadline.
The Minister appears to be confining the invitees to management, parents and teachers. Does that mean that she intends to invite the Catholic management body but not the Catholic hierarchy to the convention? Does it mean that bodies like the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and IBEC who have an interest in education will not be invited?
I note the points made by the Deputy about who should participate. I will issue the invitation list within a forthnight and at that stage I will have information as to the format of the convention and the partners whom I feel could contribute at that level. At the same time the concerns of those who have made submissions but who may not be invited will be duly reflected at the forum.
I compliment the Minister on this initiative. Will she invite the Union of Students in Ireland to participate in the forum? As a large number of student organisations throughout the country in third level institutions are not affiliated to USI, will the Minister ensure that each third level institution not so affiliated will also be represented?
Again the Deputies are anticipating the invitation list. I will be able to spell out the details within a fortnight. I would, however, like to thank the Members on all sides of the House for their good wishes for this initiative. It will, I hope, be of historic moment for us as we go forward in the education field. I hope we will be able to work together to ensure the success of this initiative.
There is no commitment to the students.
