Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not wish to encroach on the space of the Minister for Education and Skills but as a member of the Government and somebody whose Department has a direct role in what happens after the leaving certificate examination, we may not disagree as much as the Deputy thinks in this regard. We might disagree on what we call it but the idea that we would not review and learn in relation to this year’s calculated grades would be bizarre to me. I do not speak for the Minister, Deputy Foley, but I am quite sure there will be an openness in the Government to making sure that any lessons that need to be learned are learned. This was done in real time and in crisis mode and people worked in good faith but one would be pretty stupid not to review it and see what went well, what did not go well and what needs to go better.

From my perspective, my job is to make sure that when a leaving certificate result, however it comes about, is processed and given to the Central Applications Office, CAO, that we have the maximum number of opportunities for people. One of the challenges, to which I am sure the Deputy will hold me to account, is that we have greatly expanded the number of places in college this year. That helped a lot. These are not just numbers; they did get more people into college. We need to try to make sure we do not create a bubble effect next year. There are budgets coming up and so on but I need to try to maximize the number of places available for the class of 2021. I assure them that is what I will do.