Vol. 565 No. 4
77 Mr. Cregan asked the Minister for Education and Science the details of persons or categories of same who are exempt or entitled to a waiver from fees for sitting the leaving certificate; and if there is an appeal system for other families to make a case on hardship grounds. [11162/03]
The fee exemption scheme for the certificate examinations applies to students and dependants of parents or guardians who are holders of a medical card. It is considered that this is sufficiently flexible to allow for cases in need, and there is not currently an appeal system. Some 26.5% of students benefited from fee exemptions in 2002. On foot of a Government decision on 6 March 2003, the State Examinations Commission was established with a statutory responsibility for operational matters concerning the national certificate examinations. Application forms are issued by the commission to schools for distribution to each candidate. These forms provide for either the processing of payment of the fee, or the claim of an exemption by recording the medical card number and date of expiry, as appropriate.
