asked the Minister for Education why the advertisement for examiners recently issued by his Department did not refer to examiners for the intermediate certificate examination; and what plans, if any, his Department has for examining the intermediate certificate papers this year.

The recent advertisement for examiners referred only to the leaving certificate examination because my first concern was to ensure that the correction of papers for that examination would begin with the least possible delay.

When arrangements for the leaving certificate have been completed the correction of the intermediate certificate papers will then be undertaken.

Can the Minister give this House an assurance that the youthful people seen entering Marlborough Street this morning, and who obviously had neither the necessary academic qualifications nor the requisite teaching experience, will be prevented from touching the scripts so that the parents of Ireland can be assured that their children's scripts will competently be examined?

I have assured the people concerned—the students and their parents—that the papers will competently be examined. I do not accept that there are any grounds for what the Deputy has said.

These youthful beardless wonders who entered Marlborough Street this morning cannot be competent——

Despite every effort by the Deputy and his party to undermine the confidence of the parents and the students, the students can rest assured that their papers will be properly marked in this examination. I have already assured them of this and given good reason for it.

I am calling on the people to doubt the Minister's assurance.

Of course, the Deputy is.

And with good reason.

Certainly not with any reason.

What experience have these people?

What experience have these people?

I want to say, first of all, in relation to those who contracted to mark these examinations originally, a very considerable number of them have elected to continue to mark the papers and of those who have been appointed all have the necessary qualifications and about 90 per cent of them have teaching experience.

Can the Minister now give an assurance to this House that he has a sufficient supply of examiners for the leaving certificate papers particularly in view of the fact——

The question of the leaving certificate does not arise on this question.

I submit it is very relevant.

It is totally irrelevant. The question relates to the intermediate examination and to no other examination. Question No. 30.

This is very relevant, Sir, because the Minister has now invited examiners appointed for the intermediate certificate papers to mark the leaving certificate——

It does not arise on this question.

As I have said here before, my main concern is to ensure, in relation to the leaving certificate examination on which so much depends, that the marking is carried out in a manner which is at least as satisfactory as it has been in previous years——

1964?

——and to ensure this we have put on far more supervising examiners than in previous years.