1329. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason examination fees for Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate students are being reintroduced in 2026; when this cohort of students sitting the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate were the last group of students who had to pay up to €1,000 for their post-primary schoolbooks, before the introduction of free schoolbooks (details…
Topics / State Examinations
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsState Examinations
233 questions from 77 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 20 October 2026.
233
questions
231 written, 2 oral
77
TDs have asked
10
parties and groups
Independents counted together
5
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 3 |
| February 2025 | 2 |
| March 2025 | 4 |
| April 2025 | 44 |
| May 2025 | 9 |
| June 2025 | 12 |
| July 2025 | 3 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 12 |
| October 2025 | 7 |
| November 2025 | 10 |
| December 2025 | 5 |
| January 2026 | 6 |
| February 2026 | 13 |
| March 2026 | 23 |
| April 2026 | 28 |
| May 2026 | 10 |
| June 2026 | 22 |
| July 2026 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 10 |
| October 2026 | 3 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
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18
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16
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12
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11
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9
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9
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7
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7
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
1330. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason for the fees for the Junior Certificate (details supplied).; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24867/26]
1344. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Education and Youth if there will be State examination fees for junior cycle and Leaving Certificate students in 2026; the fees charged in each of the years 2021 to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25007/26]
1514. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a person (details supplied) will be facilitated to sit their State examinations; if she has discussed the matter with the Minister for Justice, Migration and Home Affairs, as it pertains to the individual concerned and more generally; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26935/26]
2169. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if a person (details supplied) will be facilitated to sit their State examinations; if he has discussed the matter with the Minister for Education and Youth, as it pertains to the individual concerned and more generally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26936/26]
108. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a Departmental review of the current threshold-based eligibility process for spelling and grammar waivers in State examinations, including the use of a fixed standardised spelling score cut-off, is being considered to ensure it reflects the needs of students with diagnosed learning difficulties; whether an appeals or discretionary mechanism exists …
115. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth further to Parliamentary Question No. 858 of 18 March 2026, whether there is any exception for people in receipt of enhanced medical cards; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22778/26]
137. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will address concerns regarding State exam fees raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22966/26]
141. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason fees are being reintroduced for the 2026 State examinations, particularly given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis affecting many families; the reason parents and students are only being notified during the school year; the reason the payment window is so short, placing additional pressure on households already managing significant expen…
524. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the annual cost of running the junior and leaving certificate examinations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22186/26]
525. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if any research was carried out by her Department into the cost of maintaining the free State exam fees for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22187/26]
526. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the mechanisms in place for families and students that are not able to afford the State exam fees for 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22188/26]
527. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the qualifying criteria for free State exam fees for 2026; if this criteria will be expanded in the context of the cost-of-living crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22189/26]
738. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth if there is any difference between the exam papers for the Junior and Leaving certificate exams for students of gaelscoileanna and English speaking schools; if so, the reason; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19083/26]
745. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will seek clarification from the State Examinations Commission (SEC) as to why the proposed RACE accommodations for a student (details supplied) do not address their primary access needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19136/26]
787. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth the person or body that took the decision and the reason for excluding compulsory written research projects for Leaving Certificate subjects including history and geography from the answering through the Irish bonus marks scheme in each year since 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19479/26]
788. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the decision to exclude compulsory written research projects for Leaving Certificate subjects including history and geography from the answering through the Irish bonus marks scheme in each year since 2006 is contrary to the stated Mícheál Martin as Minister for Education’s position in 1999, which itself was a …
789. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the ‘decision’ to exclude compulsory written research projects for Leaving Certificate subjects including history and geography from the answering through Irish bonus marks scheme in each year since 2006 was not communicated to Irish-medium schools, their students or other students sitting their Leaving Certifi…
790. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will publish all documents relating to when decisions annually were taken, by whom and the educational basis of those decisions to exclude compulsory written research projects for Leaving Certificate subjects including history and geography from the answering through the Irish bonus marks scheme in each year since 2006; and if she will ma…
791. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth to confirm with regard to each of the following Leaving Certificate subjects (History; Geography; Economics; PE; Agricultural Science; Religion; Politics and Society; Computer Science; Religious Education), that answering through the Irish bonus marks scheme was applied by the State Examinations Commission on the entirety of each students writte…
792. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department officials of the State Examination Commission received correspondence regularly from 2008 on the matter of the failure to apply answering through Irish bonus marks to compulsory written research projects for Leaving Certificate subjects in each year since 2006; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19484/26]
836. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Youth to consider a formal review of the higher-level maths curriculum to ensure greater gender equality; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19874/26]
837. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware that the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has published a new draft leaving certificate history syllabus which excludes the period of First World War; whether she agrees that understanding of this period, including issues such as the conscription crisis and the number of Irish people who died in the conflict, is vi…
852. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will address the serious concerns raised regarding the implementation of the new Senior Cycle Science Assessment and Accreditation of Learning Components (AACs), including the absence of sample AAC reports, the lack of marking schemes for sample written examination papers, insufficient clarity on project requirements, disparity of science and…
857. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason students will be charged the full cost of leaving certificate fees in June 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20102/26]