Mr. Graham Doyle:

My colleague will deal with Deputy Daly's questions, and I will deal with the question on CAO alignment asked by Deputy O'Brien.

As part of our data sharing we receive information directly from the Revenue Commissioners so bringing the date back to February would not necessarily work. The Revenue Commissioners have their own job to do and other information they need to obtain. The information may not be available to us at that time of the year. In the vast majority of cases involving leaving certificate students we cannot award grants until the end of August at the earliest because the students must receive their leaving certificate results and their CAO offers. The earlier the process is open, the longer people will wait for a decision. I know from experience I will receive queries through the Oireachtas helpdesk as to why people have been waiting for so long. We have brought the date back to mid-April. The current year, 2014 to 2015, has been very successful for the organisation. The extra month will make a big difference.

My colleague, Mr. De Faoite, has statistics for Deputy Daly.