Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 564: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason the 2005 exam fee for the leaving certificate was €90 while the repeat leaving certificate exam fee was €236; her proposals to reduce the repeat leaving certificate exam fee to €90 in 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35617/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Special fees were introduced in 1987 for candidates who remain in school with a view to repeating the leaving certificate examination. A course fee is also payable in respect of such candidates. The fees were introduced on the basis that it is not unreasonable to expect those who have already benefited from the normal course of second level education and who wish to take an extra year to make a contribution towards the cost of providing the necessary resources. There are no proposals to reduce the level of the fees. Generally, examination fees cover just a fraction of the cost of running the examinations. Such costs have been spiralling in recent years as new methods of assessment have been introduced in various subjects. There is an alleviation scheme in place whereby current medical card holders and their dependants are exempt from the payment of fees. This exemption applies to approximately 30% of all examination candidates each year. This alleviation scheme also applies in the case of repeat candidates in respect of the course fee and the repeat examination fee.