The Central Applications Office is a company limited by guarantee which was established in 1976 to accept applications for admission to undergraduate courses in higher education institutions in Ireland. It is an organisation representative of higher education interests and is controlled entirely and jointly by them. I have no function in relation to the operation of the CAO. However, the CAO has kindly supplied the following information in relation to the Deputy's inquiry.
All closing dates are set by the board of directors of the CAO after widespread consultation with the higher education institutions and other relevant bodies such as the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. The policy of fixed-date deadlines was set 22 years ago as it was believed that this would avoid any confusion that could arise if dates were changed from year to year. For example, for two decades it has been widely known that 1 February each year is the closing date for receipt of applications. In 11 of those 22 years, one or more of the CAO deadlines has fallen on either a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday.
With regard to the current year, all applicants were supplied with change of mind documents by 8 May, giving them almost two months in which to take action. Deliveries could be, and were, made to the CAO on Saturday, 30 June, and Sunday, 1 July. Documents arriving in the post on Monday, 2 July were treated as being on time.
The closing date of 1 July should not present difficulties to students wishing to consult colleges. Each year from September onwards higher education institutions devote substantial resources to providing potential students with all relevant information. Applicants are advised on numerous occasions to research their choices fully and in good time.
The CAO has indicated that any change to a policy which has worked satisfactorily for almost a quarter of a century would require the most careful consideration by their board of directors. They also indicated that there could be very considerable confusion if a deadline that has been widely known for many years to fall on 1 July were suddenly changed to, for example, 29 June.
