Before dealing with the specific issue raised by the Deputy, I want to briefly say that the position on the ASTI dispute is that the Labour Court was asked by the Labour Relations Commission at the end of January to hear the issues in this dispute, acting on an ad hoc basis. The court held a formal meeting on 7 February at which it received both written and oral submissions from the ASTI and from the Departments of Education and Science, and Finance. The court's examination of the issues in dispute is nearing completion. I do not think that further public debate or comment on the issues by the parties to the dispute, while the matter is being considered by the Labour Court, would be helpful.
All parties should await the outcome of the Labour Court's examination and give full consideration to its recommendations when they are received. I am sure everyone will agree that this is the best way forward in seeking a resolution of this difficult dispute and ensuring that schools will be able to operate as normal and that the certificate examinations will not be affected in any way.
I have already made it clear in this House and I avail of this opportunity to assure the Deputy and all students and their parents that the 2001 certificate examinations will proceed without any diminution in either the integrity or validity. As I have already indicated the results may issue a little later than usual. There may be some unavoidable delay in the case of the junior certificate. The priority will be to ensure that standards are maintained. It is essential that the high reputation enjoyed by our public examinations continues and that public confidence in the examination system is preserved.
Regarding contingency arrangements, I have already made it clear that I consider it incumbent on me as Minister to safeguard the examinations, and to that end I have had my Department continue to develop contingency plans for conducting and marking the examinations, having regard to the necessity of maintaining a quality approach to the marking process. It would be inappropriate to make further comment on this matter while the Labour Court process continues.
I emphasise to the House that a resolution of the dispute remains my top priority. Preparation of alternative arrangements is simply prudent in the interests of the students. It is my sincere hope that there can be a resolution of the dispute through the work of the Labour Court and that there will be no need to activate the contingency plans.