I have not met with the Northern Ireland Minister for Employment and Learning, in the period since 16 February, 2010 but I have received a letter from Minister Empey dated 16 March 2010 which refers to a meeting between the Irish Business and Employers Federation, the Confederation of British Industry (IBEC-CBI) Joint Business Council and Universities Ireland which took place on 16 February 2010. I have not received any correspondence from either the IBEC-CBI Joint Business Council or Universities Ireland on the issue of student flows between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
A number of factors account for the differential in the flows of third level students between the Republic and Northern Ireland. These include for example, a long tradition of students from the border counties here attending higher education courses in the north, a lower rate of acceptance by students in Northern Ireland of places in Irish universities compared to Leaving Cert students, a concentration in demand from students in Northern Ireland for a small number of programmes such as medicine for which there is a very high overall level of demand and intensive marketing by U.K. universities (including those in Northern Ireland) here while some Irish universities may focus promotional efforts more on non-EU countries.
In relation to the evaluation of the Leaving Certificate Examinations and the A Level examinations for the purposes of entry to Irish universities, it should be noted that universities are autonomous academically independent institutions within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997 and my Department does not have any functions in relation to their admissions policies and criteria. However, I understand that the Irish Universities' Association (IUA) in the Republic and the Council for the Curriculum Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in Northern Ireland have recently corresponded about how the seven universities in the Republic will score the new A* grade at GCE A2 level. The IUA has confirmed that in 2010 the seven universities in the Republic of Ireland will be allocating 150 points to the A* grade, and 135 points to the A grade, and has conveyed its understanding to the CCEA that the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) will also be allocating the same points to these grades.
This information has been made publicly available by the universities to which most students from Northern Ireland apply through their websites, and has also been communicated directly by university admissions officers to students and guidance counsellors in Northern Ireland at various events. These decisions have been taken by all seven universities in the light of a number of trends in the GCE system and within the overall framework of university admissions processes in the Republic of Ireland.
