Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am not pressing the amendment. I appreciate the Minister's response. Overall, I am broadly reassured by it that the results of the cohort will be used rather than the results of individuals.

I am not entirely convinced that it makes sense for an individual student who is an out-of-school learner and who is not part of a cohort to have his or her junior certificate results used. I have in mind circumstances in which somebody had a bad experience at a school, went through a difficult time and did a poor junior certificate but when they went to a different school such as a post-leaving certificate, PLC, type of institution and did significantly better in the leaving certificate. In such a case, I do not understand why the individual's junior certificate results would be used, given that his or her circumstances may have changed very significantly. If there is to be a national standardisation against the traditional bell-curve standardisation that is used, I imagine that it would probably be more reliable in standardising those results than an individual's junior certificate results. It seems to me to be potentially problematic. In any event, I accept the Minister's point and I will not press the amendment. I am encouraged by her statement that the approach of the Department will be that the results of the cohort rather than the individual will be used.

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