Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kildare has to pay six hundred euro for an assessment in relation to exemptions for their leaving certificate examinations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23181/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations and determining procedures in places where examinations are conducted including the supervision of examinations.

I can inform the Deputy that the Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. Applications for such accommodations are submitted by schools on behalf of their students. These applications include a range of pertinent information supporting the case including attainment tests undertaken by the school and relevant samples of the student's work. This documentation is examined by psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) who make a recommendation as to whether an accommodation is warranted under conditions set out by the Commission. If such a determination is not possible from the material provided in this regard, the NEPS psychologist will seek to have it augmented or clarified and may visit the school to undertake relevant observation and tests of the student up to and including full assessment.

There is no imperative for an assessment to be undertaken prior to submission of an application for an exemption in the Leaving Certificate examination. For the Deputy's information, I have been informed by the State Examinations Commission that an application for an exemption has not been received by the Commission in relation to the student in question.