Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 96: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to a recent report (details supplied) which suggested the replacement of the CAO points system with a lottery system coupled with an aptitude test; her views on whether the CAO points system is unfair and that the Government should consider adopting the model used in the Netherlands which has a weighted lottery system for medical, dentistry and veterinary science students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28487/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of recent public comment in relation to the operation of the CAO system. In my view, the CAO system has been a long standing success of the Irish education system. In addition to its core task to serve as a clearing house for the institutions in the allocation of higher education places to applicants, the CAO has, since its creation, earned a well deserved reputation for integrity and fairness in the conduct of its business, which has served students, institutions and Ireland well.

There have been considerable efforts over time to review the operation of the CAO, and the points system which underpin the operation of the CAO, most notably in the Points Commission report of 1999, which considered and rejected the concept of a lottery approach. However, I am concerned that the points system can, in some cases, lead to undue pressure on students to attain perfect or near perfect performance in the Leaving Certificate in order to gain access to particular third level courses, particularly medicine. I do not believe that is good for students or for the second level system. Accordingly, as part of the Fottrell reforms for medical education which were accepted by the Government, new procedures to reform access to medicine are currently being finalised.

It is planned to introduce the new procedure in 2009. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to evaluate the success of the new alternative entry arrangements for medical education with a view to determining if similar changes should be made in the application procedures for other high-points courses.