Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1427. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he has reached out to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service in the UK and the European University Central Application Support Service to inform them of the delays to Leaving Certificate results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39663/22]
View answerOfficials in my Department have been working closely on this issue with their colleagues in the Department of Education and the Irish Embassies in key countries of interest to Irish students. This work has been informed by the experience of the 2021 Leaving Certificate.
The main countries of interest for Leaving Certificate students who wish to study abroad are the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Denmark.
In the context of those students seeking to study in the UK, I note that, following the announcement of the publication date for the Leaving Certificate results by the State Examinations Committee, the CAO have now confirmed the date for the first round offers as 8th September 2022. Within the UCAS system, the current date for the acceptance of final offers is 7th September, on which date the UK Higher Education Institutions start working through clearances (similar to the rounds system in the CAO). Therefore there is no issue in terms of Irish students meeting the UCAS deadline. I can confirm that officials from both my Department and the Department of Education have been in touch with UCAS on the matter.
In addition, I understand that Minister Foley has written to all EU Ministers for Education and has advised them of the date for issue of the Leaving Cert results this year. The Minister has also requested that they give consideration to Irish students who may not have their Leaving Certificate results in time to complete the processing of their admissions at the usual time in the systems of each EU country. For this reason, engagement with EUNICAS has not been necessary.
It is important to note that the European University Central Application Support Service (EUNiCAS) is an independent commercial support service that facilitates UK and Irish students who are looking to study in Europe. Neither I nor my Department have any role in the operation of EUNiCAS, and it is not within my remit to intervene in its support service.
