Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is very worrying and upsetting for the students concerned. Of that there is no doubt. Covid-19 has had an extraordinarily negative impact on their educational year. In the first instance it resulted in the cancellation of the normal physical leaving certificate exam as we knew it.

In May, it was decided to proceed with a calculated grades process which in itself was a unique approach to dealing with the leaving certificate results and, critically, students' progression to further courses, particularly at third level. It was an enormous logistical exercise. Outside expertise was brought in in terms of the coding and all of that. It was examined internally by the Department and through a parallel process.

The key error appears to have been in the coding and has given rise to this issue primarily. Given the questions that have been asked, the Minister, Deputy Foley, will make a comprehensive presentation. That is why, when the Department first became aware of this, it was important to ascertain comprehensively what is involved so that when a public statement is made, as many questions as possible can be answered to reassure students, do the very best for them in terms of their situation and ensure mechanisms and portals are in place to enable individual students to access new grades as a result of results being upgraded. The nuts and bolts of the rectification of this and the presenting of this to students were uppermost in the priorities of the Minister and the Department, which is correct. When an error of this kind is discovered, it is important that its full implications are ascertained. In addition, the external independent audit was introduced. A separate company from the United States has been brought in to go through the entire system again. That has to be done.

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