John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to review an application for reasonable accommodations at the leaving certificate examinations in 2016 for a person (details supplied) as a matter of urgency; if dyslexic students are entitled to the same opportunities as regular students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11155/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.

Currently the SEC operates a Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at the Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations for candidates with special needs in the examinations. The Scheme applies to candidates who have a physical or medical disability, including visual and hearing impairments, or a specific learning difficulty (dyslexia is one such specific learning difficulty). All applications for reasonable accommodations are considered within a published Framework of Principles established by an Expert Advisory Group.

Reasonable accommodations are not intended to compensate for a possible lack of achievement arising from a disability or to compensate for difficulties arising from a candidate's general intellectual functioning. Reasonable accommodations are intended to;

(a) to remove, as far as possible, the impact of the disability on the candidate's performance and thus enable the candidate to demonstrate his or her level of attainment and

(b) to ensure that, whilst giving candidates every opportunity to demonstrate their level of attainment, the special arrangements will not give the candidate an unfair advantage over other candidates in the same examination. The range of accommodations includes, inter alia, provision of modified, brailled and enlarged papers for visually impaired students; access to readers, scribes, word-processor, tape or voice recorder for student with physical conditions or dyslexia or other types of SLD; exemptions from components of the examinations such as the oral or aural or the waiver from spelling and grammar in language subjects. Some students may apply for and be granted more than one type of accommodation.

I have forwarded your query in respect of the person whose details you have supplied to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills how he is ensuring that all students sitting State examinations are being treated in a fair and equitable manner with regard to reasonable accommodations. [11164/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Currently the SEC operates a Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at the Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations for candidates with special needs in the examinations. The Scheme applies to candidates who have a physical or medical disability, including visual and hearing impairments, or a specific learning difficulty (dyslexia is one such specific learning difficulty). All applications for reasonable accommodations are considered within a published Framework of Principles established by an Expert Advisory Group.

Reasonable accommodations are not intended to compensate for a possible lack of achievement arising from a disability or to compensate for difficulties arising from a candidate's general intellectual functioning. Reasonable accommodations are intended to;

(a) to remove, as far as possible, the impact of the disability on the candidate's performance and thus enable the candidate to demonstrate his or her level of attainment and

(b) to ensure that, whilst giving candidates every opportunity to demonstrate their level of attainment, the special arrangements will not give the candidate an unfair advantage over other candidates in the same examination.

The SEC has an Independent Appeals Committee to which applicants if they are not satisfied with the accommodations provided or denied may appeal to.

In addition, applicants when not satisfied with the decision of the Independent Appeals Committee have applied to the Ombudsman or the Ombudsman for Children to consider their complaint.