Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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276. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on working with third level institutions to amend the CAO system to allow students to use their best three grades to apply for courses in view of the challenges faced by the 2020-21 leaving certificate cohort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3188/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The CAO process applications for undergraduate, and some postgraduate, courses on the behalf of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Decisions on admissions are made by the HEIs who then instruct the CAO to make offers to successful candidates. It is not within my remit to instruct the HEIs in relation to criteria for admission to higher education.

My officials have met with representatives from the further and higher education sector to discuss the potential impact of COVID-19 on entry to further and higher education in 2021. All bodies involved are committed to working together to ensure that the transition to further and higher education for this year's school leavers can proceed as smoothly as possible.