Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask the Minister about supports. What supports will be offered to students with long-term illnesses that might prevent them from sitting the examination on the assigned date? A student with epilepsy who experiences a medical emergency such as a seizure immediately before or during the examination and is unable to complete that examination, should be given the opportunity to re-sit the examination within the same examination cycle or before such time as the CAO offers issue. Such a provision has been introduced in recent years for students who experience a bereavement during their examinations. Stress and anxiety can be more acute during the leaving certificate examination cycle for a student with long-term illness such as epilepsy, Crohn's disease or cancer. They have the heightened anxiety and worry about being unable to complete their examination. Is their only option to repeat the examination a year later? What supports can the Minister look at for these students? For those in fifth year anxiously watching this space and waiting to hear how the examination will take place next year, what challenges will be there for them?

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