Education Minister Norma Foley today got Cabinet approval for the heads of a Bill that will put this year’s exams and accredited grades system on a legal footing.

A department spokesperson told TheJournal.ie: 

“Where a person seeks to improperly influence the estimation process, this may lead to withholding of results or more serious consequences.

“This aspect is being considered further, including in the context of legislation to be brought forward by the Government.”

Further sanctions are understood to be under discussion between the department and legal teams. 

“Detailed information on consequences of such behaviour will be published as soon as possible,” said the spokesperson.

The Leaving Cert exams will run for for almost three weeks until 29 June this year, with  the orals and practicals taking place over Easter.  

The Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) had last year called for a form of sanctions for parents who engaged in lobbying, suggesting that this could take the form of a “public record”.

That call came as the last year’s Leaving Cert calculated grades process was being rolled out.

This year’s Leaving Cert will see students have the choice of whether to sit an exam in each subject or receive a calculated grade, to be known this year as an SEC-Accredited Grades. 

Students who opt to sit an exam would receive whatever result is higher between the two.