We need more ambitious policies on education if Ireland is to succeed in the future, writes David Pierce.
Ireland continues to have one of the best-performing economies in the world and the Leaving Certificate students who receive their results today have lives of great opportunity ahead of them.
This is largely true regardless of how good or disappointing today's results are - the Leaving Certificate is no longer a finishing line but rather a gateway into what must be a lifelong process of education and learning in a knowledge-based society.
One of the strengths of our current education system is that it now offers each student a vast range of opportunities to progress along their individual paths to personal development and career success.
As they begin to think about their choices we would point out to students that OECD research shows that the average difference in earnings in Ireland between someone who left education after secondary school and someone with a third-level degree is in the region of 63 per cent.
To the Government we say that the abolition of third-level fees has not done enough to address the under-representation of students from lower-income groups in our universities.
Chambers Ireland, the business organisation with 60 member-chambers throughout Ireland, continues to favour the Australian system, which does not require fees to be paid up-front but does require university graduates to begin to repay the cost of their tuition when they start working and their income reaches a certain level.
Such a scheme would free up exchequer funding and increase investment in third-level and fourth-level (post-graduate) education as well as providing proper financial incentives to stay in education.
If we want to attain a more balanced social mix of students in our universities, while also delivering on increased numbers graduating with technical degrees, then the Government may need to pay those students who take up third-level education in fields identified by the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs as being relevant to Ireland's development in the future.
The Government needs to be more ambitious in this regard as well as ensuring that incentives are not too tightly focused. Our economy is heavily dependent on elements of the social sciences in sectors such as international financial services as well as IT, science and engineering.
Furthermore, the strategic development of fourth-level education is vital if we are to meet the goals set by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for Ireland's future economic growth.
We acknowledge that there has been a massive growth in public spending on education over the past decade, reflecting higher salaries, larger capitation grants and greatly-expanded capital investment. What is less clearly evident is the return on this money.
A key issue from a business perspective is the lack of an effective management capacity within the education system. We see this as a clear systemic failure rather than a failure by individuals within the system.
The recent establishment of new educational trusts by a number of religious orders engaged in teaching may prove to be a significant development in this regard, but managerial weaknesses remain a core strategic failing in overall education policy, and this impacts on issues of quality as well as value for money.
There is a worrying decline in the standards of literacy and numeracy among a significant - and possibly growing - minority of pupils in our education system; reforms of the marking systems in examinations up to and including the Leaving Cert are failing to reflect this.
We believe that the introduction of standardised testing of mathematical and verbal aptitude from primary to Leaving Cert level would significantly improve quality control within our education system and anchor tighter management processes.
Curriculum reform appears to have concentrated on broadening the learning agenda at the expense of depth, particularly at primary level. Many of the new programmes - although welcome in themselves - are displacing the content of more traditional programmes, particularly the 'three Rs'.
Getting this balance right is critical. We believe that it would be best addressed in the context of extending the school year.
More must also be done in the area of early childhood education at pre-primary level. Research is unequivocal that by investing in this area economies will reap significant benefits in the long run.
Furthermore, providing education facilities and resources to less-advantaged children at a young age reduces the risk of these children under-achieving in future years and ultimately maximises their potential both as individuals and as members of society.
Human capital and brain power will be central to Ireland's economic and cultural success in the 21st century. If our current competitiveness and attractiveness is to be sustained, the Government needs to act quickly. To borrow a phrase - much done, much more to do.
Meanwhile, we congratulate today's students on their results and wish them every success in their lives and careers.
David Pierceis president of Chambers Ireland