I thank the Office of the Leas-Chathaoirleach for affording me the opportunity to raise this important matter. I understand it has not been raised in either House until today because we were in recess.
The conduct of the examinations seems to be going well this year. Unlike last year, there virtually were no errors in this year's papers and it seems the examinations are running smoothly. There was one error in the leaving certificate honours mathematics paper but those concerned were notified a number of days in advance and it did not cause any difficulty.
According to my information from around the country, schools are happy with the examination papers and the way examinations are being conducted. I congratulate officials of the Department of Education, school authorities and those responsible for supervising the examinations. All these functions are being carried out to the highest standard.
Allegations were made three weeks ago that certain leaving certificate examination papers were leaked and were being sold to students in Dublin. I understand a Garda investigation was carried out, but it did not reveal any concrete evidence that this occured. I am dissatisfied with the amount of information I got. The public would be disturbed by the fact that an investigation was necessary and that the Minister did not make a statement to either House of the Oireachtas about this important matter.
We are all aware of the way examination papers are set and stored; they are prepared, proof read, printed and stored in the Department of Education. If a leak did occur, it would have emanated from within the Department. I am disappointed that the Minister did not speak first because I am conjecturing at this point as to what he might say. If a leak did occur, it would be a criminal offence. I believe this matter was treated flippantly; it was not treated with the seriousness it deserved, although the Minister may tell me otherwise in a minute. Was there a full and complete review of the security arrangements within the Department three weeks ago? Was every exam paper accounted for? Were any English or German exam papers missing? I hope the Minister will set our minds at ease in that regard. Was the Garda investigation complete? We need to know the details of that as well.
This is a serious matter. I know for a fact that many of the students who sat the English paper in the leaving certificate are somewhat disturbed. Traditionally there was a question on Yeats on the leaving certificate paper. This year there was not. The paper they sat was obviously a replacement paper and students feel aggrieved and are saying that if they had the original paper at their disposal, Yeats would appear on it.
I want the Minister to give me a full report today on all the actions taken by the Garda and the Minister and by her officials in the Department to produce a definitive result in this case. The matter is very serious. The whole question of confidence in the examination system and the whole question of how the Department of Education carries out its security operation must not have a question mark hanging over it. I will listen to the Minister's reply and I hope it will be entirely satisfactory for everybody.
