Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 October 2025
898. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the redress available to a person (details supplied) who appealed their leaving certificate results and then had enough points to qualify for their first choice university course, but were precluded due to the time involved in the appeal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56845/25]
View answerUnder legislation, higher education institutions (HEIs), such as universities, have autonomy in relation to their admissions. Irish HEIs utilise the CAO, a non-profit private company, to centrally and impartially manage the admissions processes and instruct the CAO to make offers on their behalf to applicants. Neither I nor my Department has a role in matters relating to these processes, or in intervening in individual admissions cases.
I would, however, encourage the student and their family to continue to engage directly with the Admissions Offices in the university of interest, which is best placed to advise on possible admissions options. It should be noted that the CAO handbook states that if an applicant is deemed entitled to a place on a course based on their upgraded Leaving Certificate results they will receive an offer. However, if all of the places for that course have already been allocated, they will receive a deferral of the offer for the following academic year. The decision to offer a place is made by the HEI in question and not the CAO.
It should also be noted that the Leaving Certificate appeals process is the responsibility of the State Examinations Commission (SEC). The date of issue of the appeal results, five weeks after the date of issue of the Leaving Certificate results, has been designed to integrate with the final round of the CAO process. This follows discussions in 2019 between the Department of Education, the SEC and representatives of Higher Education when seeking to shorten the timeframe from the previous eight week period.
Students who are uncertain about their next steps should not be discouraged, as many options remain open to them. Supports are available from websites such as www.careersportal.ie.
