Vol. 531 No. 3
451 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will outline the emergency contingency plan he has for the running of the leaving certificate and junior certificate in the event of the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland withdrawing its services; whether accountancy firms are drawing up lists of applicants for correction and/or supervision of these exams; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5947/01]
I consider it incumbent on me to safeguard the examinations and to that end I have had my Department continue to develop contingency plans for conducting and marking the examinations, having regard to the necessity of maintaining a quality approach to the marking process. It would be inappropriate to make further comment on this matter while the Labour Court process continues.
I have not asked accountancy firms to draw up lists of applicants for correction and-or supervision of the certificate examinations, nor am I aware that they have done so.
Resolution of the dispute remains the top priority. It is my sincere hope that there can be a resolution of the dispute through the work of the Labour Court and that consequently there will be no need to activate the contingency plans.
