Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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143. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the rationale for the decision, following Budget 2026, to reintroduce State examination fees for Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle students in 2026, ending the temporary waiver that had been in place in recent years; the expected revenue to be generated from charging €116 per entry for Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied candidates and €109 per entry for Junior Cycle candidates; the estimated number of students who will be required to pay these fees; if she will reconsider this decision in light of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis affecting families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17441/26]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Following the Government’s Budget 2026 announcement, the temporary measures that applied under the cost of living supports for the past number of years, under which examination entry fees were waived, are no longer in place.

The State Examinations Commission (SEC) initially notified schools in October 2025 that examination entry fees will apply in 2026, at the same level as when they were last charged in 2019, that is €116 per entry for a Senior Cycle/Leaving Certificate candidate and €109 per entry for a Junior Cycle candidate, and advised that full details of the fee collection arrangements will be notified to school authorities by the SEC in due course. Subsequent circulars to schools and notifications to candidates have also included notice of the charging of fees for the 2026 examinations. The rate of examination entry fees for Leaving Certificate is €116 per entry and for Junior Cycle it is €109 per entry. Full details of all fee rates are available at www.examinations.ie, link: www.examinations.ie/index.php?l=en&mc=ex&sc=ef.

In line with the arrangements which applied when fees were last charged, candidates who hold a full medical card, or who are covered for all services on a parent or guardian’s full medical card, are exempt from examination fees.

The Deputy may wish to note that the rate of examination entry fees has not been increased since 2012.

As part of Budget 2025 Cost of Living measures, €12m was allocated to the SEC in 2025 to allow the continuation of the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate entry fee waivers.