Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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581. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who deferred a place on the CAO in 2021 for entry to university in September 2022. [4440/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Higher Education Institutions are autonomous institutions within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Institutions of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006 and the Technological Universities Act 2018. Under this legislation the institutions are academically independent and are entitled to regulate their own academic affairs and administrative processes, including in relation to admissions and deferrals.

Deferrals are granted at the discretion of the Higher Education Institutions, and my Department does not hold any data on the number of deferrals granted in any given year. Typically the institutions limit the number of deferrals granted, and there are some courses - for example medical and dentistry courses - where deferrals are only permitted in exceptional circumstances.