Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 September 2023
102. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will review the CAO process to ensure that students do not get excluded without warning due to clerical errors, such as missing exam numbers. [40748/23]
View answerThe CAO is an independent body, its function is to process applications for undergraduate courses and some postgraduate courses on behalf of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Enquiries regarding the CAO applications process should be addressed to the CAO directly. Neither I nor my Department have a role in the operation of the CAO.
I am aware of some instances in which an applicant hasn’t received a CAO offer due to missing or incorrect information on the CAO application. Where the CAO is notified of an error in an application after offers have issued, they will update the account information and ask the higher education institutions to consider them for the next available round of offers. It is critical that the CAO is informed of such an error as soon as possible. Where the error has resulted in an applicant not receiving an offer they would otherwise have been entitled to, every effort will be made by the CAO and HEIs to facilitate these applicants in the next round of offers.
I understand this can be very distressing for students when this happens and I would encourage the CAO to be as flexible as it possibly can be when these circumstances arise.
