Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this case. I will respond in two ways. First, I am the mother of somebody who is the same age as Rebecca. I have children at home who have just gone through the leaving certificate examination and who are going through it. The smile on that young lady's face yesterday was worth €1 million, and the pride and happiness of her parents show the determination that young woman has to achieve and succeed in what she wishes to do. I am delighted for her and wish her every success. The Ceann Comhairle should watch this space because that young woman is going to have a bright future.

Speaking as a politician, what happened in the past number of weeks is regrettable. From the perspective of the Department of Education and Skills, we watched and noted what happened as it was played out in the High Court over the past couple of days. We will review what happened with a view to ensuring that something similar does not happen again. The specifics of the review have not yet been released because the High Court judgment was only made yesterday, but I guarantee that the terms of reference of the review will be reviewed in the next couple of days. Tens of thousands of people sit the State examinations. The mistakes that can be made are human. It is not because people are under pressure or they do not have pens, as the Deputy's colleague suggested. It is because people are human and they make mistakes. However, there is a fundamental need to ensure there is enough time after the errors have been recognised to have them corrected before somebody's place is taken from them in the given academic year. If Rebecca had not gone to the High Court, she would have had to defer her application until next year, which is not a situation anybody can countenance or stand over. I certainly cannot, and neither can the Government.

The review will take into account the number of people sitting examinations, the average number of appeals and the duration of those appeals. Perhaps, as has been suggested by some commentators this morning, we need to address the recruitment issue for that time in the appeals process when most secondary school teachers have gone back to work in their normal day job and are not available. The review must be thorough and ensure that when it is completed cases such as Rebecca's never happen again.

On the Deputy's final question, I am not aware of any other cases. That does not mean there are no others, only that I am not aware of them.

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