Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the responsibilities he has in consultation with the State Examinations Board in making changes in the leaving certificate timetable; if he was consulted on and approved the changed schedule which this year placed chemistry on the same day as English paper two; if he will evaluate the impact of this change upon those pupils who sat both exams; if he will publish his conclusions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26098/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The new Leaving Certificate examination schedule for 2008 was agreed with a working group representing the Partners in Education, and was designed to reduce the demand on students especially during the first week of the examinations. It advanced Chemistry, which is sat by some 7000 students, and Geography, sat by some 25000 students, to Thursday and Friday respectively of the first week, which, along with Home Economics which is sat by some 12000 students, ensured that the majority of students got a break of at least one half day during this intensive phase. The new timetable was designed to reduce the writing burden on students by introducing a new mix of subjects between those that involve concentrated writing and those that involve less such as mathematical or scientific papers.

I am delighted to say that the new timetable meant that there were only 64 students who did not get a half day off in the first week of the 2008 Leaving Certificate exams. This is a vast improvement on 2007 where there were 11,080 students who did not get a half day.

I met with more than 90 students on Tuesday last who have just completed the Leaving Certificate to hear their views on the new timetable. The very valuable feedback which I received from the students will be taken into account in our consideration of any future changes to the Leaving Certificate timetable.