Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the chance to speak on this issue. The Bill is long overdue. I understand that several amendments were tabled in the Seanad by my party colleagues but were not taken on board. I urge the Minister to take another look at those amendments.

We need to give students the right to be heard in the event of a review. We also need to shift the blame in circumstances where an approach is made to a teacher without the knowledge of the student. These are basic principles of natural justice and should be included in the Bill.

We need to remove the provision of the Bill which narrows the grounds upon which an appeal can be made. As matters stand, an appeal can only consider the technicalities of how estimated marks are transferred from the school to the State Examinations Commission. As the system is relatively new, appeals should have a far wider scope.

Finally, I know the Bill relates to the leaving certificate, but we must not forget junior certificate students. We need clarity on whether junior certificate results will be based on results data from the year group or on the individual students' own results.

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