Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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22. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he has taken to ensure that students in this jurisdiction looking to study outside of the CAO system are not disadvantaged by the late issuing of leaving certificate results in 2021; and the engagement he has had to ensure that students from Northern Ireland looking to study through CAO are similarly not disadvantaged. [36691/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am working to ensure that we do everything we can to support students who wish to study outside the State.

Officials in my Department have been working closely on this matter with their colleagues in the Department of Education and the Department of Foreign Affairs, and liaising with administrations in the countries of interest to Irish students. This work has been informed by the experience of the 2020 Leaving Certificate.

The main countries of interest include the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Denmark. My officials have contacted the Irish Embassies in these counties requesting that they engage with the main Higher Education Institutions of interest to Irish students in the countries in question.

With respect to the UK, the UCAS deadline for acceptance of conditional offers is 8th September, which allows for Irish students wishing to study in the UK to submit their Leaving Certificate results in a timely manner. Furthermore, as the CAO First Round Offers will be available on 7th September, Irish students will be able to make an informed decision on their choices. There are a small number of courses where an earlier deadline applies, and I would urgent students to make early contact with those institutions.

I do not anticipate any issues in respect of students from Northern Ireland in terms of their applications with the CAO. The publication of A Levels results takes place on 10th August, and in common with Leaving Certificate students, they will receive their First Round Offers from the CAO on 7th September 2021.

Not all countries have a centralised application system, and there are some institutions which operate to different deadlines to the centralised system, so early engagement by students and their families with their chosen higher education institution is important. From last year's experience, matters relating to the timing of the results can usually be resolved through such early contact, and I would encourage all students to make contact with their chosen higher education instiution in the first instance.

My Department will continue to monitor to situation to ensure that we do all we can to support students and their families, including where specific issues arise.