Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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270. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding points; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35101/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Admission to third level courses are decided by the higher education institutions and my Department does not have a role in setting the criteria for course entry. The Central Applications Office (CAO) manages the graduate entry to medicine on behalf of the participating institutions, and the Graduate Medical Schools Admission Tests (GAMSAT) is used in this regard.

The CAO handbook states that applicants must hold (or expect to hold by July on year of entry) an Honours Bachelor's degree with a minimum a 2.1, in any discipline. For candidates who meet this requirement, the GAMSAT is then used to select students. A minimum score of 55 was required in 2016 to receive an offer of a place. The level of points required depends on the demand for places. Details of the GAMSAT application process and the issuing of candidate results are available on the CAO website.

The Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) offers reduced points places to school leavers with a disability, under the age of 23 as of 1 January 2017, who have been educationally impacted as a result of that disability. Each participating institution has a reserved number of places to offer eligible DARE applicants at lower or reduced Leaving Certificate points. Applicants must meet the minimum entry requirements and any specific programme requirements before being considered for a DARE reduced points offer.

The reduction in points for DARE places can vary each year. The number of points a particular course is reduced by is dependent on a number of factors, such as the overall number of places on the course, the number of reserved DARE places and the number of DARE eligible applicants competing for these reserved places. Information on the number of reduced points places available per course and the method used by colleges for selecting eligible DARE students for those places is available on participating HEI websites.

Undergraduate Medicine is provided in UCD, UCC, NUIG, TCD and the RCSI. All of these providers are part of the DARE scheme and some have additional places reserved for mature students. It is understood that the number of places reserved for DARE students for 2017 entry will be the same as for 2016 entry.

The third level institutions, as part of the Transitions Reform group have been working in partnership with my Department to improve the transition from second level to third level. The Transitions Reform Group comprises stakeholders from my Department, the Irish Universities Association (IUA), Higher Education Authority (HEA), Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), State Examinations Commission (SEC) and the Technological Higher Education Association (THEA). A large part of work of the Transitions Reform Group has been the reform of the Leaving Certificate Grading and the Common Points scale for admission to higher education. Following extensive research and consultation, it was agreed to broaden the Leaving Certificate grading bands. The number of grade bands was reduced from 14 to 8 to ease the pressure on students to achieve marginal gains in examinations and to encourage better engagement with each subject. The broader grade bands also bring Ireland more in line with international best practice in other countries. The Common Points Scale, which is used by the CAO for entry to higher education has also been revised. The new Common Points Scale will apply to all applicants in 2017, so it will be a level playing field for everyone applying through the CAO system for a higher education place.

The points for Medicine may be different but not necessarily lower, it depends on the number of applicants, and all candidates will be competing using the revised Leaving Certificate points system.