James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 188: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) in County Longford who is a repeat leaving certificate student, is being compelled to sit their exams in the school in which they are studying for their repeats, despite the fact that school transport will have finished in June and they will have no means of getting to the school, which is a considerable distance from their home and that they have been told by the exam commissioner that they cannot sit their exams in their previous school, which is near their home and does not require transport, despite the fact that the principals of both schools assured them that this would be in order, as it has been heretofore for other students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6821/12]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Schemes, on behalf of my Department, has advised that the service referred to by the Deputy is not a school transport service; in general, school transport services operate for the duration of the state examinations.

As regards the issue of whether or not the person referred to can sit his/her state examinations in the school where he/she is studying or an alternative location, this is a matter for the State Examinations Commission. The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations, supervising the examinations, making arrangements for the marking of work presented for examination and determining procedure to enable the review and appeal of results of examinations at the request of candidates. In view of this I have forwarded this part of your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.