Ó Ríordáin calls for rethink on entry requirements for some courses 

Labour Party Education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: 'There is a question as to whether some of the entry requirements should be suspended or changed for this year.' Picture: Leah Farrell

Some entry requirements for certain courses this year should be suspended given the upheaval and grade inflation caused by calculated grades.

This is according to Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Labour’s Education spokesman, who called on the Government to work with third-level institutions ahead of Round Two CAO offers, due on September 23. “There is a question as to whether some of the entry requirements should be suspended or changed for this year,” he said.

Some students may have the necessary points for their preferred course but have missed out on required grades in certain subjects.

“It’s something in this particular year that should be challenged, it should be amended, and it should be changed.” 

There have been some “extraordinary jumps” in the cutoff points for many courses, according to Annie Hoey, Labour’s Higher Education spokeswoman. "We have to put to the minister [for education] what will happen for those students who missed out, who feel they have been unfairly let down." 

The Sinn Féin spokeswoman for Further and Higher Education also hit out at the Government’s planning for the 2020 CAO process, calling it "too little, too late". Rose Conway Walsh said that many hard-working students have been badly let down by the Government.