Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
510. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the cost of permanently abolishing fees for sitting the Junior and Leaving Certificate for 2024; the projected number of students in each year, by exam; the cost of waiving the fee in 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37018/23]
View answerExamination entry fees paid by candidates help defray the cost of delivering the state certificate examinations. Fees are also charged for other services such as appealing results (noting that successful appellants have their appeal fees refunded) and for certified copies of statements of examination results.
You may wish to note that, recognising that not all candidates are in a position to pay examination entry fees, the State Examinations Commission, which has responsibility for the operation of the State examinations, operates a fee alleviation scheme. Candidates who hold a full medical card or who are covered for all services on a parent or guardian’s full medical card are not liable for examination entry fees. In a normal year, approximately 39% of candidates are exempt from fees.
In 2019, the last year in which all examinations ran as normal, a total of €10.2m was collected in fees from 123,118 candidates, net of medical card exemptions. In 2019, a total of 41,183 candidates, about 33% of the total examination cohort, were exempt from paying examination fees on the basis that they, their parents or guardians held a medical card.
Given the extraordinary arrangements which applied to examinations in 2020 and again in 2021, fees were not charged. 2022 saw the welcome return of written examinations for all candidates, and on 3 February 2022 I confirmed that fees would not be charged for the 2022 examinations. Examination entry fees for the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations are again being waived for 2023.
The number of candidates who sat State Examinations in 2019, are entered for 2023 and the projected number of candidates for 2024 is outlined in the table below which includes external candidates:
|
Academic Year |
Junior Cycle |
Leaving Certificate* |
Total Candidates |
% Increase |
|
2019 Number of Sits |
64,331 |
58,787 |
123,118 |
- |
|
2023 (number entered to sit) |
71,494 |
63,539 |
135,033 |
+9.7% |
|
2024 (estimated Entries) |
72,224 |
65,480 |
137,704 |
+2% |
*includes Leaving Certificate Applied
Examinations fees have not been collected since 2019; the exact amount to be collected annually is dependent on the number of candidates and the number who qualify for exemption from examination fees. The SEC has estimated the income from examination fees for the next three years based on fees collected in 2019 as follows; 2023 – €11.3m; 2024 - €11.4m; 2025- €11.6m.
