Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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513. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address a matter regarding students wanting to study medicine (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37275/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are governed by the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technologies Acts 1992 to 2006 and the Technological Universities Act 2018. Within the meaning of these Acts, HEIs are autonomous with regard to management of their academic affairs. This includes the right to determine the procedures and criteria for the selection and admission of students.

The CAO process applications for undergraduate, and some postgraduate, courses on behalf of the HEIs.  The HPAT (Health Professions Admission Test) is independently administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the universities’ medical schools and the RCSI.  The selection criteria and process for admission to medical schools is a matter for the universities and the RCSI in line with their statutory autonomy in relation to academic affairs. Neither I nor my Department have a role in these matters, and it is not within my remit to intervene in individual cases.

I know how difficult a time it has been for students and parents, and I appreciate how disappointing it can be not to receive an offer for your course of choice, but I would like to stress the range of options available in pathways in higher education. For those whose route into higher education may not be what they originally planned, once they have a place there may be a pathway back to their preferred option.