Donogh O'Malley's announcement of free second-level education laid the foundation for economic success, writes Mary Hanafin
Today we are marking the 40th anniversary of one of the most important decisions ever made by an Irish government - free second-level education for all. This decision not only dramatically improved the opportunities available to young people in this country, but also laid the foundations of our recent economic success.
1966 was the year in which the 1916 Rising was commemorated, Nelson's Pillar was blown up, Cork beat Kilkenny in the All-Ireland Hurling Final and The Sound of Music swept the boards at the Oscars.
It was also a time when one in every three children left school with only primary education and only 20 per cent sat their Leaving Cert. Family circumstances forced them into low-paid jobs and generations of our young people had their youth cut short by having such responsibility. Their educational prospects were poor, their employment opportunities limited.
Then on September 10th, Donogh O'Malley announced free second-level education for every child. Against the backdrop of Lemass's brave economic reforms, a new, more hopeful Ireland was emerging.
The announcement revolutionised education. The option of finishing school went from being the preserve of a minority who could afford to pay for it to being an opportunity for all.
The political debate had begun a few years earlier when Paddy Hillery, as minister for education in 1962, commissioned the OECD report Investment in Education, which advocated free second-level education.
There were, however, those who did not immediately accept the idea. Whereas the Christian Brothers and some religious orders had been providing free second-level education or education at a low cost for generations, Archbishop McQuaid had to persuade others to join the scheme.
The Department of Finance, true to form, was concerned that decisions should be taken only in the context of Estimates and the Budget, but it is clear from correspondence between the Taoiseach and the minister that the decision had his approval.
Three days before announcing the new policy, O'Malley had outlined in a memo to Lemass the poor levels of education at the time and the imperative of changing this through free second-level education.
He chose the occasion of a meeting of the National Union of Journalists in Dún Laoghaire on September 10th to unveil the plan. In his speech he described the fact that 30 per cent of children left education after primary school as "a dark stain on the national conscience".
He spoke of how people with such a poor level of education were "condemned - the great majority through no fault of their own - to be part-educated unskilled labour, always the weaker who go to the wall or unemployment or emigration".
Following on from that, new schools were built, the choice of schools expanded, free school transport was introduced, regional technical colleges were developed and new opportunities in education were provided. This investment prepared Ireland so that it could benefit from membership of the EEC in 1973.
The foresight of that Fianna Fáil government is well acknowledged. Today we are equally proud of our economic success and the contribution that our well-educated workforce makes to that.
Forty years on, not only have we above-average completion rates at second level, but our under-35-year-olds are amongst the most likely in the world to have completed third level.
This year 70 per cent of those who finished their Leaving Cert will go on to higher education. Some 30,000 extra places have been created in the lifetime of this Government. And with the range of opportunities now available in the second chance, apprenticeship training, further and adult education sectors, the options available to the other 30 per cent have never been better.
But our challenge today is not to rest on what has been achieved to date, but to reach ever further. We are conscious that there are still children who do not benefit fully from the education on offer. And we are determined, through the DEIS Action Plan for tackling disadvantage, being implemented this year, to put in place the supports and resources needed to achieve a major breakthrough in the educational achievement of children from disadvantaged areas.
We are committed to curriculum change at second level that builds on the strengths of our existing system, while responding to the needs of today's society and economy. A curriculum that nurtures creativity and imagination, encourages enterprise and develops skills and produces confident young people with a real sense of the value of participating fully in our society.
And we are ambitious, not just for even greater participation in third-level education, but for the creation of a new fourth level of advanced research education that will play a vital role in driving our future economic development.
For the global economy is changing rapidly, shaped by exciting new advances in knowledge and technology. Ireland's future success will depend on the strength of our research and development base and its ability to produce new and better products and technologies. It will also depend on the continued availability of highly educated, creative people to fill jobs in the ICT, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and to attract further foreign investment in these areas.
The new multi-billion euro Science Technology and Innovation Strategy launched by the Government two months ago will be central to Ireland's future social and economic prosperity. This will see a dramatic increase in Government investment in research and development over the coming years. It will involve a doubling of the number of Ph.D students and the achievement of ambitious targets for expanding researcher numbers, advancing industry collaboration and developing Ireland's reputation as a leading international research location.
Indeed, just as the expansion of second-level education has had such a positive impact on Ireland's economy over the past 40 years, I believe that growth in our research output will be just as crucial over the coming decades.
Inspired by the vision of O'Malley, Hillery and Lemass, we continue to prioritise education as the key to our future success.
Mary Hanafin TD is Minister for Education and Science