The Minister for Education says industry in this country needs to be reassured that standards are not slipping.

Two separate inquiries are underway amid concerns over the quality of our graduates.

The Education Minister launched the investigation into so-called ‘grade inflation’ at Leaving Cert and University level, following concerns from a number of groups.

Research has shown first class degrees have nearly trebled in number in recent years, while the number of students getting the ‘perfect’ Leaving cert is up 500%.

Minister Batt O’Keeffe was speaking in Cork this morning.

“If our education is being described by one of the foremost industrialists in the country as being ‘average’, then I think we always believed that our education was above average” he said.

“It is my job to ensure that we get back to a situation – if it’s narrated – that we would establish Irish education, and the quality of that education” he added.