Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hope I understood the question correctly. To be clear, the State Examinations Commission will have nothing to do with this process. Our legal advice states it cannot have anything to do with it, so that is the reason we are setting up the new group.

There are two major stages; the first of which is the school-based stage involving teachers and their teaching colleagues. For example, there may be two or three geography teachers in a school. If there is one art teacher, for example, that teacher must link in with the deputy principal and the principal then has a role. There is an all-school evaluation in determining the calculated grades and then that goes to the Department of Education and Skills. They are the steps and that is the way the process will work. I think that answers the Deputy's question.

I thank Deputy Gino Kenny. He and a few of his colleagues were very clear in the previous debate here that they wanted the exam cancelled. I will come to Deputy Barry in a moment as he had ten points.

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