The Deputy will be aware that the HEAR scheme is operated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) www.iua.ie. The IUA set the policy criteria for the scheme. Admissions under the schemes are regulated by the higher education institutions themselves. Each institution determines its own admissions policy in relation to the schemes, the number of places they reserve and the allocation of those places.
Applications to the scheme are submitted to the Central Applications Office (CAO) who coordinate the scheme for participating institutions.
As such, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has no role in the policy criteria or operation of the scheme.
HEAR use a Review and Appeals process to make sure that all HEAR applicants are treated fairly and the assessment procedures have been applied consistently. Further information is available at www.accesscollege.ie/hear/making-an-application/hear-review-and-appeals/.