Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If we are sending a message from the House, the important thing is that we give the assurance that no student can be disadvantaged as a result of an error on the examination paper. I doubt any student is watching these proceedings but if their parents are watching or if this debate is reported, it is important to give them a sense of confidence that whatever errors occurred will be reflected in the marking scheme in a way that ensures students are not put at a disadvantage. I am confident that will be the case vis-à-vis how the State Examinations Commission will handle this matter. I have confidence in it in that sense.

I take on board what is being said in respect of a review. We need to get the students over the line for the remaining exams and give them a sense that this will be sorted out. There must be a degree of accountability and whether that involves an entire review is not something to go into at this stage. One must allow for some margin of error in anything one does in life. That is not to justify anything that happened but we must ensure that errors such as those in question 8 and in the CSPE exam, for example, do not happen again. Where fundamental errors occur, checks and balances should be put in place to ensure they are weeded out at an early stage and that there is a proper filtration process. At this juncture, I wish to reassure people that the marking scheme will reflect the difficulties students experienced in the exam and the time lost in terms of answering questions. That must be reflected in some compassionate way and I am confident it will be.

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