Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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241. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will extend the exemption for students who fail an examination by a slim margin and who are entitled to a spelling and grammatical exemption to honours mathematics students, given the potential limitations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43237/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The State Examinations Commission (SEC) operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations for candidates with special needs in the Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations. The scheme is designed to support candidates who cannot show attainment in an area of the examinations system, for example a waiver from the testing of spelling and grammar for candidates who have a specific learning disability in the area of written work.

Waivers from spelling and grammar only apply in language subjects, as spelling and grammar are tested in these examinations, such that candidates are awarded, or may lose, marks based on their performance in this area of the examination. This only happens in language subjects, as marks are not awarded or lost in other subjects, such as History, Geography or Mathematics, in respect of spelling or grammar.