Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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96. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his assessment of the 2013 leaving certificate results; if there were any aspects of these that caused him concern; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42241/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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With the exception of Irish and Mathematics, the overall results were in line with previous years. The results in Irish and Mathematics differed from previous years due to a significant increase in the number of candidates taking the Higher Level papers and due for example, to a greater weighting (40%, up from 25% for the examinations in 2012 and 2013), being allocated to the oral component for Irish, and the recent allocation of bonus points for Higher Level Mathematics.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) was established as an independent agency in 2003 to deal with all operational issues relating to State Examinations. There was concern about errors in some Leaving Certificate papers, particularly in Mathematics. These errors were the subject of a report provided to me by the SEC in August. The SEC has set out a number of measures which, when put in place, are intended to minimise the risk of errors in the future. The SEC will brief me on the outcome of these measures in the coming weeks.