Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 470: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if the State Examinations Commission intends to issue the 235,000 leaving certificates that have not been given to students as a result of a recent court case between the years 2005 and 2009; if she will give details of when and the way in which this will be done; if she is confident that the State Examinations Commission has current and up-to-date addresses for all affected persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26444/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The State Examinations Commission has responsibility for the operation of the certificate examinations. The recent High Court judgement confirms the earlier view of the Circuit Court in October 2007 that the actions of the State Examinations Commission in annotating certificates where a core element of a subject is not assessed, is permissible under Irish law and is not discriminatory.

After the ruling and the legal issues relating to it have been examined, and the logistical, ICT and workload issues associated with this year's peak examination period have been considered, the State Examinations Commission will make an announcement regarding the arrangements for issue of the formal certificates for the period 2006 to 2009. While all students received provisional results, their final certificates were not issued pending the outcome of the court proceedings. However, candidates who required formal certification were issued with certified statements of results on request.

Candidates are generally entered for the examinations by their schools. Hence the SEC does not hold details of candidates' home addresses, except for external candidates. In view of the elapse of time, it is unlikely that these could be used for the latter candidates as a basis for issue of the certificates. This is one of the factors which is being considered by SEC in determining how best to approach the matter. The SEC will discuss the issues arising with school management bodies. I am advised that an announcement will be made by the Commission as soon as possible. The announcement will be posted to the SEC website at www.examinations.ie and be the subject of a Press Release.