Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 477: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the parameters used in deciding on the persons who should qualify under the access programme operated in schools in Cork for admission to third level education. [3509/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Students in second level schools in Cork linked to the access programmes of University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology are encouraged and supported in applying for admission to third level education through the Central Applications Office. Applicants to the CAO are assessed for entry on the basis of performance in the leaving certificate examination and the meeting of admission requirements of individual higher education institutions and courses.

Students in schools linked to the access programmes of UCC as well as those in schools linked to the access programmes of six other higher education institutions — UCD, NUIM, TCD, UL, DCU and DIT — may also apply for a number of third level places through a collaborative entry scheme operated between those institutions. Applications for entry through this scheme are assessed on the basis of attendance at linked schools as well as the achievement of minimum academic entry requirements. A number of socioeconomic criteria are also considered which are family income, parental occupation and parental education levels. The motivation of an applicant in studying at third level is also assessed. Numbers entering the seven participant institutions through this scheme have grown from 300 in 2001 to 700 in the current academic year, 2004-05.