Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Up to 15,000 customers had gas and electricity cut off in 2013 after non-payment of bills

  

A leading charity warned far too many families are being left without light and heat. 

More than 15,000 customers had their gas and electricity cut off last year because they couldn’t afford to pay their bills.

 Misery: The reality of being cut off

While the number of homes being disconnected is down, a leading charity warned far too many families are being left without light and heat.

The Commission for Energy Regulation revealed 10,122 electricity customers and 5,895 gas customers were cut off in 2013.

But there was some good news as there was a sizeable fall in the number of disconnections for non-payment from the previous year.

The CER figures show there was a 31% reduction for electricity customers and around 16% for gas users.

Much of this fall is being put down to a rise in agreed settlements and greater use of pay-as-you-go meters.

But St Vincent de Paul said the number being cut off is still far too high. A spokesman added: “There are a very troubling number of households who must resort to payment plans.

“In Great Britain, for example, there were just 453 electricity disconnections in 2012 and in the same year SVP provided €11.1million in helping people in Ireland meet their energy costs.

“SVP has long stated to the minister that the crisis is about arrears, the inability to pay bills, as opposed to disconnections alone.”

The CER has confirmed the number of electricity customers accepting a meter jumped by 80% to 26,591 last year.

Across all companies in the gas sector another 18,519 customers were given a meter, up 45% on 2012.

The St Vincent de Paul spokesman called for wider use of PAYGO systems and for payment plans to be made less costly.

There are growing fears that the introduction of water charges later this year will make it even more difficult for those on benefits and low incomes to pay their utility bills.

The spokesman said in some cases families had to choose between heating their home or providing food.

He added: “We see it every day where people are having to make choices, often between eating and heating.”

It is not only domestic users who are finding it difficult to pay their bills as a recent report showed the price of electricity to industrial users has risen dramatically in recent years.

The National Competitiveness Council revealed yesterday that electricity costs in Ireland are among the highest in the EU.

Ireland and what we can learn from Silicon Valley

(THE SMALL BUSINESS SHOW)

  

The Small Business Show examines how Ireland is embracing innovation that is the hallmark of Silicon Valley and how SMEs are at the forefront of this.

This is one of the most exciting times in Irish business, although it may not seem like it as many SMEs still raise questions over their futures. This week’s Small Business Show is centred on the question of whether Ireland can emulate Silicon Valley?

When you break down where Irish SMEs are now to where they were a number of years ago, it’s clear to see things have changed, not least in mentality and in innovation. That latter word of innovation has long been misdirected at the technology sector here in Ireland. Innovation is the trademark of technology — of that there is no doubt. But trademarks are representations of something; what defines them is not exclusive.

On last week’s show and in these columns, I spoke to Doireann Barrett from the Gluten Free Kitchen Company in Tralee, Co Kerry, a great example in food innovation.

Now, spiral out to sectors such as agriculture, professional services, retail, and even construction: Innovative ideas have come to the fore to help drive these industries forward and, as such, demand for them has not only increased in Ireland but across the world. Necessity really is the mother of invention.

Silicon Valley in California is the place to be for innovation and entrepreneurs. It’s where the capital investment is, where the movers and shakers are in world technology and thinking. Coupled with an ability to fuse together nations and races from around the world in the same place and you have an equation for top end success. This is what the ultimate innovation hub looks like.

However, we’re not capable of something like that in Ireland, are we? Actually, yes, we are. We see that we are already on the road to creating businesses that are innovative for their own reasons.

Venture capital, one of the biggest drivers of innovation, is becoming a standard sight here in Ireland. The likes of SOS Ventures and Atlantic Bridge are putting investment capital into Irish businesses and getting results to match.

For so long, we have stood and looked across the pond with envy, wondering what they have that we don’t. The reality is that we have it — we just need to nurture it. The venture capital is here, the thinkers are here, the entrepreneurs are here, and, what’s more, the hunger is here. Never before has Ireland seen so many entrepreneurs so enthused about its future.

There are many challenges ahead for the economy and small business. But with fresh thinking and new approaches, we are slowly creating the solutions to things that for so long have just been problems.

If Silicon Valley is the dream, then Ireland’s reality needs to be this road of new ideas. If you will it, it is no dream.

Irish country house prices rise by up to 3% for first time since 2007

  

A new report shows property prices outside Dublin went up in the first three months of the year.

According to Daft.ie, it is the first quarterly increase outside the capital since mid 2007. Today’s figures ending a run of 26 straight quarters of falling values outside Dublin.

Cork and Galway city centre properties rose 2% and 3%, respectively.

Meanwhile, prices in Dublin are 15% higher.

Daft says there are currently fewer than 2,300 properties listed for sale in Dublin, the lowest since June 2006.

Fewer than 800 Dublin houses are coming on the market each month on average, or 10,000 homes over per year.

Daft’s in-house economist Ronan Lyons said: “In a city of roughly half a million households, this translates to just 2% for sale – a healthy market would see at least three times this amount coming on to the market each year and perhaps as much as six times.”

He added: “The end of price falls around the country is unsurprising when taken together with the figures on supply.

“The total stock of properties sitting on the market fell from 54,000 in March 2012 to 43,000 in March 2013 and to 33,000 in March 2014.

“To put the last two years into perspective, between early 2008 and early 2012, that figure had been stuck persistently above 50,000.”

Update 9.30am: Meanwhile, MyHome is tracking a slight fall in prices outside Dublin, of .7%.

Both MyHome and Daft, as well as DNG, all confirm that prices in Dublin are continuing to rise, though by varying amounts.

Irish adverse weather symposium set for NUI Galway

  

A recently-published report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes dire predictions about the adverse effects and impacts of climate change.

The Irish Met Society and NUI Galway have joined up to organise a Symposium on ongoing work in Ireland in researching and monitoring of our atmosphere.

The Symposium, which will take place in the Martin Ryan Annex Lecture Theatre in NUI Galway, includes presentations on atmospheric monitoring and research activities of national bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Met Éireann and the Marine Institute.

It will be held on Saturday next, 5 April from 10.45am and will be followed on Sunday by a trip to the NUI Galway Atmospheric Research Station at Mace Head in Connemara. All details are available on the Irish Met Society website athttp://www.irishmetsociety.org.

The Symposium should be especially relevant to bodies such as local authorities, farming and other organisations where the weather can have an impact on their work. The aim of the Symposium is to encourage more synergy between the various agencies that are active in atmospheric monitoring and to promote greater use of the data collected.

It will provide an opportunity for members of the public and individuals directly involved in Atmospheric Research and Monitoring to inform themselves on current activities in those areas.

A highlight of the day features Dinah Molloy, a researcher with the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. She uses the weather records kept by captains of whaling ships in the 1700s and 1800s to describe the climate at that time. This is of interest in the light of this week’s IPCC report, which refers to how recent weather events such as melting ice caps, more intense rains, more frequent storms and heat waves were brought about by climate change.

A presentation on the work of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) in monitoring air pollutants and their effect on the weather brings an international flavour to the event. Other presentations highlight the work of scientists in NUI Galway at an international level, through their work at Mace Head since 1958.

This work is led by Professor Colin O’Dowd, a recent recipient of the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal for outstanding contribution to the Environment and Geosciences. Aspects of their work will include research on the impact of aerosol particles on the sunlight reaching the earth.

Other organisations that will be describing their work are Met Éireann, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, the Marine Institute and the Environmental Protection Agency. The monitoring of radiation levels in the atmosphere, in particular in an emergency situation, is the focus of one presentation.

Other presentations describe how data on the atmosphere are gathered at sea using buoys and on land through a network of observing stations. Improving the accuracy of air quality forecasting is addressed in a presentation by the Environmental Protection Agency.

These are the ten counties with the highest rates of bowel cancer in Ireland

 

The Irish Cancer Society has highlighted these ‘hotspots’ (left map picture) as Bowel Cancer Awareness Month gets under-way.

The Irish Cancer Society has revealed the ten counties with the highest rates of bowel cancer in Ireland.

Today marks the start of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, during which the charity is hoping to advise people on what lifestyle changes to make to reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

These include more exercise and a healthier diet, both factors that can reduce the risk by between 30 and 40 per cent.

Research has estimated that between 30 to 60 minutes of exercise can offer the “best protection” against bowel cancer.

Bowel Screen is also advising those aged between 60 and 90 to be screened for the cancer.

Figures from the National Cancer Registery show that Cork has the highest rate at 57.90 cases per 100,000 people.

These are based on studies between 1994 and 2011.

A number of the counties with the highest rates are centred around the north-west of the country.

“The high levels of bowel cancer incidence in certain parts of the country could be due to lifestyle or genetic factors,” a statement from the Irish Cancer Society read.

Here’s the full list:

•          Cork – 57.90

•          Leitrim – 56.39

•          Louth – 54.97

•          Dublin North – 54.49

•          Westmeath – 54.23

•          Dublin South – 53.87

•          Cavan – 53.44

•          Mayo – 52.98

•          Waterford – 52.29

•          Sligo – 52.28

Norfolk Storks could be first to breed in the wild in Britain for some 600 years

 

A pair of storks which have built a nest on top of an 18th century chimney in Norfolk could become the first to breed in the wild in the UK since 1416

The storks have built their nest on an 18th century chimney at Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens

In Britain they are usually confined to the walls of nurseries carrying baby bundles in their beaks.

But now a pair of white storks is set to make history by producing their own offspring in this country for the first time in nearly 600 years.

The female bird is expected to lay her eggs in the next few days after building an impressive nest of twigs on top of a 35ft high disused chimney.

If the eggs hatch they will be the first storks known to have successfully bred in the wild in Britain since 1416, the year after Henry V celebrated victory at the Battle of Agincourt, when a pair nested on top of St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.

The four-year-old birds have built their traditional elevated nest on an 18th century chimney at Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

They were also spotted “copulating furiously” a few days ago, according to hopeful staff at Thrigby Hall.

Other storks which have had their wings pinioned to stop them flying away have been successfully bred in zoos in recent years.

But the pair at Thrigby Hall are semi-wild as they are able to fly and can come and go as they please.

White storks, which are a traditional symbol of childbirth, breed mainly in continental Europe in summer months before migrating south to Africa in the winter.

They often nest close to human settlements but rarely visit the UK with only about 20 spotted each year.

They often nest on top of manmade objects like chimneys, rooftops and telegraph poles.

Ken Sims, 72, director of Thrigby Hall Wildlife Gardens, said the birds on his chimney had been bred in captivity in Cumbria and the Cotswolds.

He said: “They are resident at the wildlife gardens, but they can fly and they are allowed their semi-liberty.

“They go off into the countryside and the Norfolk Broads to feed and they come back here.

“We gave the storks a helping hand, by building a structure for their nest on the hall’s front chimney, but they turned their back on our handiwork and have built their own nest on one of the rear stacks.

“They have been seen mating several times and are very busy adding twigs to their nest so we’ll be keeping a close eye on them over the next month or so to see if they begin feeding activities, which will mean that chicks have arrived.

“We attempted to encourage stork breeding in 2008, but sadly the hen disappeared and the male stork flew into a powerline and died.

“We are hoping to have more success this time. It will be a day for great celebration if our storks manage to breed successfully in their traditional way.”

A previous attempt by a pair of storks to nest on an electricity pole at Horbury Bridge in the Calder Valley, West Yorkshire, ended in failure in 2004.

Mr Sims said it had been his policy in recent years to not pinion birds at his wildlife park to allow them greater freedom.

He added: “The building of a nest together is part of their courtship display and an indication that eggs are on their way.

“They were seen copulating furiously around five days ago and we think they were doing it a couple of days either side as well.

“We are pretty confident that we will get some young storks. It could be that eggs have been laid already, but we can’t see as the chimney is so high.”

WHITE STORKS FACTS:

• White storks are tall and slender birds with a distinctive long neck, bright red bill, long legs and black wing feathers.
• They grow up to 125cm (50ins) tall with a wing span of about 155 to 200cm (61 to 79ins) and feed on worms, amphibians like frogs, reptiles, insects and small mammals including voles.
• They usually breed in the warmer parts of continental Europe and spend most winters in Africa before returning north in the spring.
• Some occasionally visit the UK in spring, but only around 20 are spotted on British shores every year.
• Once they have built their nest the same pair will often return to the same site every year to breed.
• The nests can weigh between 60 and 250kg (130 to 551lb) and sometimes cause chimneys to collapse.
• Storks have long been associated with fertility and fidelity and the myth the birds delivering babies down the chimney is known worldwide.
• The story was popularised by a 19th century Hans Christian Anderson story called The Storks.
• Adult storks continue to care for their young even after they have fledged which led to a belief the young birds were taking care of their parents.

This is thought to explain why an ancient Greek law about taking care of your parents was called the Pelargonia, from pelargos, a stork. 

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Irish Government sets out its priorities for remainder of it's term

 

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste pledge to step up job creation efforts as they mark their third year in office.

Partners in arms: Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore at a joint press conference at Government Buildings on Tuesday.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he recognised many people have no sense of change in the recovering economy as he and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore pledged to step up the Government’s effort to boost job creation and economic growth.

Publishing a positive assessment of the Coalition’s performance in office in the last 12 months, Mr Kenny said said the end of the bailout in December meant the Government had “some little flexibility” to focus on jobs creation and the lack of credit in the banking sector.

The Government’s aim is to boost 2 per cent anticipated economic growth this year to 2.5 per cent in 2015 and to 3 per cent by 2016 with the long-term objectives of eliminating the budget deficit by 2018 and restoring full-employment by 2010.

“I’ve often said it’s the fallacy of fools in politics to look for any credit. This is a work in progress. We’re not going to grade ourselves. Obviously in the spring of 2016 all grades will be known,” Mr Kenny told reporters at Government Buildings.

“Clearly the bailout was not an end in itself, it’s the start of implementing now two priority targets, create more jobs and the fact that so many people in the country do not feel any sense of change in their lives for the better.

“While the unemployment figure is down from 15.1 per cent to 12 per cent, still much too high, the Tánaiste and I are committed on behalf of the parties in Government to have a continued relentless focus this year now on job creation.”

Noting that this month marks the beginning of the Government’s fourth year in office, Mr Gilmore said 2014 was the year in which decisions would be made as to how the people share in the recovery.

“If March 2011 was a critical moment in Ireland’s crisis, then 2014 is the pivotal moment in our country’s recovery,” he said.

“The test for our country and for the Government is how people are going to share in that recovery.”

Recovery should meant that people looking for work should be able to find it and that people who work for a living should be able to afford to live. “It should also mean that as our public finances allow that we can ease the burden on hard pressed families,” Mr Gilmore said.

The 2014 “Annual Report” on the Programme for Government said the Coalition will complete a second comprehensive expenditure review in the first half of the year and publish a revised capital plan.

There will be new measures in the coming weeks to boost employment in the construction sector. Draft legislation will also be published to establish a €6 billion Strategic Investment Fund.

A 7.1% VAT Irish Exchequer returns signals an increase of rising consumer confidence

  

The amount of VAT collected so far this year is up 7.1% on the same period in 2013, signaling people are starting to spend again.

But despite strong jobs figures showing employment increased last year by 61,000, the amount of income tax collected in January and February is roughly the same as the first two months of last year.

The Department of Finance described the income tax data from the latest Exchequer returns as surprising given the strong jobs figures.

A spokesman said officials are examining the issue and suggested it could be as a result of changes to payments systems that have been delaying some returns.

He said a number of income tax receipts for last month were received today, meaning they were too late to be included in the figures for last month.

“There is something going on and we’re not quite sure. But it’s only February and we’ll wait for March,” the spokesman said,

“They’re not as high as they should be. All of the other (economic) indicators are pointing the right way.

“It is surprising to see that income tax is basically flat in February.”

The first Exchequer data for 2014, released last month, was heavily distorted because of delays in receiving tax receipts due to the switch-over to a new European-wide payments system.

The latest Exchequer returns show €2.1bn was brought into the state’s coffers in VAT up to the end of last month. This is up from €1.98bn in the first two months of last year.

But overall, the tax take for the first two months of this year is flat compared with the first two months of 2013.

€5.8bn came in through tax in the first two months of the year, down €4m on the same period last year.

Public spending, at €7.1bn is down €236m or 3.2% year on year.

The deficit, the gap between how much the state spends and takes in through taxes and other revenue, widened to €1.7bn compared with €0.9bn at the end of February last year.

The Department said this was due to the sale of the Bank of Ireland Contingent Convertible Capital notes for over €1bn in January of last year and a loan to the Social Insurance Fund of €300m last month.

Passive smoking causes lasting damage to children’s arteries

 

Passive smoking causes lasting damage to children’s arteries, prematurely ageing their blood vessels by more than three years, say researchers.

The damage – thickening of blood vessel walls – increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes in later life, they say in the European Heart Journal.

In their study of more than 2,000 children aged three to 18, the harm occurred if both parents smoked.

Experts say there is no “safe” level of exposure to second-hand smoke.

This study goes a step further and shows it [passive smoking] can cause potentially irreversible damage to children’s arteries increasing their risk of heart problems in later life”

The research, carried out in Finland and Australia, appears to reveal the physical effects of growing up in a smoke-filled home – although it is impossible to rule out other potentially contributory factors entirely.

Hidden damage

Ultrasound scans showed how children whose parents both smoked developed changes in the wall of a main artery that runs up the neck to the head.

While the differences in carotid intima-media thickness were modest, they were significant and detectable some 20 years later when children had reached adulthood, say the investigators.

Study author Dr Seana Gall, from the University of Tasmania, said: “Our study shows that exposure to passive smoke in childhood causes a direct and irreversible damage to the structure of the arteries.

“Parents, or even those thinking about becoming parents, should quit smoking. This will not only restore their own health but also protect the health of their children into the future.”

The results took account of other factors that might otherwise explain the association, such as whether the children went on to be smokers themselves, but the findings remained unchanged.

However, if only one parent smoked the effect was not seen – possibly because exposure was not as high.

Dr Gall said: “We can speculate that the smoking behaviour of someone in a house with a single adult smoking is different. For example, the parent that smokes might do so outside away from the family, therefore reducing the level of passive smoking. However, as we don’t have this type of data, this is only a hypothesis.”

Regardless, experts say all children should be protected from second-hand smoke.

Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “The negative health effects of passive smoking are well known, but this study goes a step further and shows it can cause potentially irreversible damage to children’s arteries increasing their risk of heart problems in later life.

‘Avoid scaremongering’

“If you’re a smoker, the single most effective way of reducing your child’s exposure to passive smoke is for you to quit.

“If this isn’t possible, having a smoke-free home and car offers the best alternative to help protect your child from the harmful effects of passive smoke.”

Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ group Forest, said: “We must avoid scaremongering because damage to arteries could be caused by a number of factors including poor diet and other forms of air pollution.

“While it’s sensible and considerate not to smoke around children in a small confined space it’s far too easy to point the finger at smokers when the issue is extremely complicated.”

To get equality in politics participation is no excuse for the promotion of women into the front-line

  

Michelle O’Donnell Keating is not a household name in Ireland, but perhaps she should be.

She, along with Niamh Gallagher, is founder of Women for Election, a non-profit, non-partisan organisation whose vision is of an Ireland with balanced participation of women and men in political life.

Their mission is to ensure an equal playing field for both sexes and, in particular, to inspire and equip women to succeed in politics in Ireland. They deserve our support and admiration.

They have an uphill battle, though. Despite the fact that it was an Irishwoman who became the first woman elected to the British House of Commons, the active participation of women in Irish politics is abysmal.

The charge was led by Constance Gore-Booth, the Countess Markiewicz, who won a Commons seat for the constituency of Dublin St Patrick’s as one of 73 Sinn Féin MPs elected in December 1918.

Constance did not take her seat and, along with the other Sinn Féin members elected, formed the first Dáil Éireann. She was also the first woman in Europe to hold a cabinet position, as Minister of Labour of the Irish Free State. It is ironic, therefore, that Ireland now stands a lowly 88th in the international league table of women in politics, the same as South Korea, below Morocco and Libya and just ahead of Mongolia.

As we approach International Women’s Day next Saturday, perhaps it is time to reflect on where we are and where we wish to be in terms of equal opportunity for women in politics. Our poor record of female participation is despite the fact that, unique among western democracies, Ireland elected two women in succession as President — Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese. Both — in their own way — did us proud.

So, why is it that, while we celebrate female presidents we seem reluctant to elect, or even select as candidates, a greater number of women as local representatives or members of the Dáil?

As the website womenforelection.ie records, since the foundation of the State, just 91 women have been elected and the Dáil has never been less than 85% male. In the 2011 general election, only 86 of 566 candidates were women (15%) and 25 of 166 of those elected were women (also 15%).

Looking ahead, the number of female candidates for the May local elections remains pitifully low, with a clear urban/rural divide. Women candidates are most concentrated in Leinster (27.8%), followed by Connacht (23.6%) and Ulster (18.8%). Munster has the least with 16.7%. Dublin has one of the highest number countrywide — 34.9%. Galway has 29.4% female representation, and Cork 21.4%.

That is hardly anything to shout about. In a report published yesterday, the National Women’s Council says women have not been properly integrated into the Oireachtas and this has had a negative impact on society. It is not as if women have not proven their political skills. The world’s two most powerful women are Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazil’s President Dilma Rouseff. Some of our best parliamentary performers in Ireland are women.

Why not a woman Taoiseach? Why not indeed, but that may not be enough. Even Nordic nations such as Denmark, where the leaders of its three main political parties are women, still struggle for full female representation.

We started the process of political equality almost 100 years ago. History demands that we finish it.A total of 1,000 patients and nearly 700 doctors were surveyed by the Medical Council.

NUI Galway now to offer extra CAO points for elite Irish athletes

 * * * * 

SOME FIFTEEN Irish ATHLETES WILL RECEIVE 40 POINTS ON TOP OF THEIR LEAVING CERT RESULTS.

FIFTEEN IRISH HIGH LEVEL athletes will be offered bonus CAO points for courses at NUI Galway.

The scheme announced yesterday will see elite athletes given 40 extra points as they apply for courses.

The plan is an extension of the university’s Elite Athlete Scholarship scheme which includes a subsistence grant, performance supports, gym membership and medical support.

It will only serve those under 21 who are applying for undergraduate courses who meet strict criteria in a number of identified sports.

The points will be added to a minimum requirement of 350 points from a single sitting of the Leaving Certificate in six subjects.

President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne said that the scheme will support athletes in their learning.

“NUI Galway has a long and proud tradition of sporting success. Our success has fuelled our ambition.

“We aim to be leaders in research, innovation and learning and as a university we are proud to support the next generation of elite athletes as their ambition and dedication leads them to sporting success.”

Ireland rugby player Robbie Henshaw is a second year arts student at NUIG, he says that the supports offered can be vital.

Performing at the highest level means you can’t take your eye of the ball, so it’s great to see NUI Galway rewarding elite athletes for their dedication through this scheme.

“University support like this allows you to concentrate on getting the best results both on and off the pitch.”

Focus on Rote learning causes problems for Leaving Cert students

 

Conference hears of ways of improving transition to third level.

Universities complain the Leaving Certificate points system affects students’ capacity for independent thinking.

The focus on accumulating CAO points causes Leaving Certificate students to struggle with the transition to third level education, a conference has heard.

Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education Mary Doyle said the transition of students from second level to onward education must be improved.

“You can’t get further and higher education right until you get second level right,” she told the Association of Principals and Deputy Principals national symposium.

Projected growth in demand for second level places will bring greater challenges for schools and policy makers in an area which already accounts for 16% of Government spending.

Earlier, the president of the association Pádraig Fallon said Ireland had a high level of secondary school participation but it was important to improve access to further and higher education, especially among students from disadvantaged, Traveller and foreign backgrounds.

By 2018 an extra 70,000 students are expected to be in secondary education with enrolment due to peak at 990,000 in 2024. “Whichever way you look at it, it’s going to be big and it’s going to be expensive,” Ms Doyle said.

The transition to third level could be made easier if upward pressure on CAO points was eased by reducing the number of grade bands in the Leaving Certificate; addressing “problematic predictability” in the exams and reducing the number of specialised degree programmes in higher education, she said.

These factors push up CAO points requirements which then puts pressure on teachers to encourage rote learning among senior cycle students. This, in turn, leads third level institutions to complain that students lack the capacity for independent learning when they enter college.

“Using the Leaving Cert to decide who goes where in third level may have a negative effect on teaching in fifth and sixth years,” Ms Doyle said, adding that evidence suggests some students make subject choices based on what is easiest to rote learn.

Trinity College vice-provost Professor Linda Hogan agreed with Ms Doyle and said educators had to co-operate across the sector to bring about reform. It is “all too easy” for stakeholders to demand reform but to believe it should start somewhere else, she said. “If we are really going to reform education then we really do have to start working together and stop pointing the finger.”

She added the third level sector bore a significant level of responsibility for the problems besetting education in Ireland.

“The single biggest issue we are trying to address…is the emphasis on rote learning,” she said. A “byproduct” of the points system. Third level institutions are “dismayed” by that system but ignore the role they play in it and the power they have to change it.

She added that Trinity was trialing a new admission route which would consider a broader range of achievements rather than a single set of exams. “Every college wants to admit the best students,” she said. “But we have to move away from equating the best with a simple points score.”