Covid-19 (Education): Statements
Dail Éireann — 2021-01-14
============================================================

Kieran O'Donnell (FG), Limerick City

I have a question for the Minister, Deputy Foley. The concern with the leaving certificate is certainty for students, who are the most important of all. What is the Minister's personal view, as she ultimately makes the decision? Does she want a written leaving certificate - the normal leaving cert - or is she looking at predicted grades or a hybrid model? Students are entitled to and need certainty. The leaving certificate is potentially the most important exam in a person's life. What is the Minister's personal view and which leaving certificate does she favour?
What is the process by which she will decide to re-open schools? Students do better when attending school and being taught by teachers in a classroom. What process will be used and what benchmarks will be used for the reopening of schools? When does the Minister expect schools to be reopened?

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2021-01-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2021-01-14