Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire TD has reiterated calls for the Minister for Education to urgently provide clarity to students on what their Leaving Certificate will look like.

Speaking today, Teachta Ó Laoghaire said:

“Minister Eamon Ryan’s comments this morning, in which he stated his confidence that Leaving Cert exams could go ahead in the normal way in June, are not helpful. In fact, they miss the point.

“As students have been saying for over a month now, whether a written exam is possible is irrelevant when many of them feel – given their loss of learning in the past twelve months – that they would be unprepared to sit a written exam. If the government listened to students, they would know this.

“Students have made their case loud and clear. They want a choice between an alternative assessment and a written exam for those who wish to sit one. Cabinet members kite-flying and speculating about the Leaving Cert in the media is unfair and unhelpful.

“The Minister for Education had said that a substantive decision would be made on the Leaving Cert today. Now she says it will be next week. This situation cannot continue. The Minister needs to stop deferring a decision.

“Engagement with stakeholders on this is hugely important, but so too is the mental health and wellbeing of students, who are stressed and worried that they are being kept in the dark.

“The Leaving Cert class of 2021 have been through an awful lot in the past year. They urgently need clarity and they deserve their voices to be heard.”