The IDA chief executive, Mr Séan Dorgan, delivered a thought-provoking address last week on the state of our education system. Mr Dorgan said that education in this State needed to be more "connected" to the needs of wider society.
He spoke of an education agenda which was dominated by the needs of the "providers" - teachers, college lecturers and so on. He expressed regret that the landmark report of the Task Force on Science - designed to combat the fall-off in student interest in the subject - has been allowed to gather dust.
The speech justifiably received a good degree of media coverage. His decision to speak out - even in measured terms - was noteworthy. It reflected the exasperation felt among the business sector in this State about what one might term the relaxed official response to a growing crisis in our schools and colleges.
The plain fact is that thousands of our students are turning away from science subjects at second level and turning away from computers and related disciplines in college. The implications are potentially grave for a State which has marketed itself as being at the cutting edge of the new technological frontier. As some of our hi-tech companies have pointed out, there is a real danger that the flow of qualified graduates required in such industries could soon dry up.
The issue here is not just about providing graduates for industry. It is also about the need to rekindle student interest in the study of science. This in itself is something that policy-makers and educationalists now need to address.
Despite the importance of Mr Dorgan's address, it has sparked little in the way of a detailed response from the Minister, Mr Dempsey, from the teaching unions, or from the wider education community. In a sense, the lack of such a response underpins what Mr Dorgan was saying about the way in which education policy often appears to be introspective. There is no reason why this should be the case. The issues which Mr Dorgan is addressing - the need to build a skills base for our modern economy and the need to have an education system in tune with the society it serves - are of fundamental national importance. They are not the preserve of any one sector.
Mr Dempsey, thus far, has impressed with his reforming zeal. But he is still sitting on the Science Task Force report and has given no clear indication of how he intends to deal with the crisis in science. It would be good to hear his detailed response to the Dorgan speech. How does he intend to address the issues raised?