Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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535. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the specific provisions he is putting in place in conjunction with third level colleges for CAO applicants who sat their leaving certificate examinations in a year prior to 2020 to ensure that they have an equal opportunity to access a college place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23399/20]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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540. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if measures can be introduced to ensure that students who sat the leaving certificate in 2019 or earlier are not subjected to the obvious unfairness caused by grade inflation in the 2020 leaving certificate results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23619/20]

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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542. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the process in place for students who deferred their CAO applications until 2020; the way in which they will be dealt with under the standardised grade system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23834/20]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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560. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which he plans to provide sufficient places on third level courses for the commencement of the 2020-021 academic year for persons who sat the leaving certificate in summer 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24055/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 535, 540, 542 and 560 together.

The CAO system is a system that works on the assumption that grades obtained in the Leaving Certificate by candidates determine their points. It is on this basis that the CAO system allocates places to applicants including those from different years.

For the 2020 CAO system to proceed to pave the way for entry to higher education for the majority of applicants within the current timelines, and in a manner than can be properly upheld, 2020 results and the results of leaving certificate examinations from previous years must be treated equally in the CAO system.

In order to help mitigate the impact of the changes to the grading system, I announced the creation of an additional 2,225 places on high-demand courses in Higher Education Institutions. These places have resulted in the highest ever number of applicants receiving a CAO offers, with 53,815 CAO applicants receiving round one offers on Friday.

Nonetheless, there were fluctuations in CAO points this year, as there are every year. These are dependent on the volume of applications, the number of applicants who meet the entry requirements, the number of places available and the grades received by applicants. As we are in the midst of a global pandemic and economic flux, there is more uncertainty than usual this year due to factors such as reduced opportunities in the economy, students seeking to defer or re-apply in subsequent years and uncertainty around students travelling internationally both to and from Ireland.

The full picture of the CAO 2020 application cycle, taking account of all supply and demand variables, will not be known until all places are filled at the end of the CAO process.My Department will continue to monitor developments closely in collaboration with the higher education sector and the Department of Education.