Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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351. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the way the leaving certificate process in 2020 impacted Disability Access Route to Education and Higher Education Access Route students; the supports that will be put in place for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29784/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The HEAR and DARE schemes are operated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) who set the policy criteria for the schemes. Admissions under the schemes are regulated by the higher education institutions themselves. Each institution determines its own admissions policy in relation to the schemes, the number of places they reserve and the allocation of those places.

Applications to both schemes are submitted to the Central Applications Office (CAO) who coordinate the scheme for participating institutions. As such, my Department has no role in the policy criteria of the schemes.

However, my officials have made some enquiries to the IUA and have been advised that offers to those who were affected by the errors in the Leaving Certificate 2020 Calculated Grades process will be made through CAO in Round 4. Some of these students were deemed eligible through the DARE and HEAR schemes. These students will also be included in this round of CAO offers.