Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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461. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures he plans to take to avoid a repeat of the situation in which some leaving certificate students who achieved the maximum possible results in their examinations in 2021 still failed to secure a place on their preferred college course, losing out on the random selection process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44990/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The CAO process applications for undergraduate courses on behalf of the Higher Education Institutions. Decisions on admissions are made by the HEIs who then instruct the CAO to make offers to successful candidates. As such, neither I nor my Department have a role in the operation of the CAO, and it is not with my remit to determine CAO points levels, which are based on the grades received by students, the number of applicants for a course and the number of places available.

I know how difficult a time it has been for students, and I appreciate how disappointing it can be for a student not to receive an offer for their course of choice, but I would like to stress the range of options available both in further education and training and apprenticeships, but also in pathways in higher education. For those whose route into higher education may not be what they originally planned, there are many pathways available in the further and higher education system.