Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. The calculated grades system was far from ideal, but we were in far from ideal circumstances. I acknowledge that it did not disproportionately affect disadvantaged children, which I was concerned about. I state that because we were hearing reports from England regarding children from disadvantaged backgrounds being adversely impacted by the process and system used in that country. It is good to see that did not happen here.

I have some questions, however, and one concerns the number of appeals. It was stated that appeals are outstanding and there may be a delay in the review coming to light as a result. How many appeals are outstanding and what efforts are being made to resolve them as soon as possible? Several students in my constituency also studied subjects with a tutor outside of school. The decision regarding those students happened late in the day, as did proposals to deal with the situation.

The uncertainty caused most of the anxiety for the students. If they had known they would be going through the calculated grades process sooner, maybe they would have adjusted sooner and come to an acceptance.

On those students who studied outside of the schools, are there many of those affected in terms of appeals and downgrading? What methods were used to ensure those students were treated fairly in the calculated grades system?