Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 576: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the case of a person (details supplied) will be examined and an explanation provided as to the reason leaving certificate results from separate years cannot be added together for the purposes of points for third level courses; when this rule was last reviewed; if flexibility exists for persons who have a learning disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17488/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The responsibility for managing access to third level places rests with the Central Applications Office (CAO) and the third level institutions generally. Therefore, the student is advised in the first instance to contact the disability or access offices in the third level institutions they are applying to for advice on how to further progress their application to study in higher education.

The Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD) advise that in general performance in a single sitting of the leaving certificate is the standard measurement of academic ability and many applicants with a disability attain the minimum criteria for admission on this basis. AHEAD also advise that when an applicant indicates through the CAO that they have a disability, the supplementary admissions process by each higher education institution will include consideration of the accommodations that are required, including any accommodations for the purpose of admissions. This process will include consideration of the impact of a disability on the prior education of an applicant and whether the minimum standards for admission have been met on the basis of one or more sittings of the leaving certificate or a leaving certificate in conjunction with another post-second level qualification.