A NUMBER OF opposition TDs have slammed upcoming reforms of the leaving Certificate points system, which that say will leaving the class of 2025 at a “huge disadvantage”.

Last year, Leaving Certificate grades were inflated by 7%, while this year, the inflation rate has been reduced to 5.5% as part of an effort to gradually phase out the controversial system.

Panic has spread among some Leaving Cert students due to concerns that approximately a quarter of this year’s CAO applicants will be submitting grades from previous exams, where grade inflation was more significant than this year. 

As a result, a large proportion of applicants will have higher points than the class of 2025, even if they achieved the same marks in the actual exam.

This could play a key role in the allocation of spots for high-demand courses like medicine.

Opposition TDs, who have requested a delay in the points inflation reduction due to concerns about fairness, expressed disappointment with Minister Helen McEntee’s decision to move forward with the inflation reduction.

People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy claimed that due to the inflation going down, leaving cert pupils will get “approximately 15 or 16 points less than last year”.

He added that the 25% of this year’s CAO applicants who nare submitting grades from previous years have a “huge advantage” over the 75% of leaving cert students sitting the exams in June this year.

“Students from this year will miss out on places that they should be offered if the Department does not address this urgently,” Murphy said.

“Minister, I can’t understand how you are going to stand over this unfairness.”

Around 10,000 students have so far applied for the CAO this year from the class of 2024. Another 5,000 students are from the previous two years (2022-2023).

Labour’s Education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny called on McEntee to pause the introduction of Leaving Certificate reform, adding that a deflation in grades for this year’s students will have a “negative effect” on their opportunity to access the third level course.

“By reducing grade inflation this year, the Department of Education is effectively moving the goalposts for the Class of 2025,” Kenny said.

“It creates an unacceptable lottery-style system for students accessing their preferred third level degree, where hard work risks being trumped by statistical disadvantage. That is simply not fair.”

Murphy proposed that there should be open access to university – meaning that degrees are made freely available to all, with no or limited points restrictions.

“On the radio last week, the Minister said that 80 to 90% of students get their top choice. Would it be so onerous to invest so that all of them get it?” Murphy said.

Michael Moynihan, Junior Education Minister, said that the reduction in points is necessary, as average resuts have “risen significantly” since 2020, the start of the covid pandemic.

“We must return towards pre-pandemic levels,” Moynihan said, adding that “there will be no cliff edge in overall results in the 2025″.

He claimed that Minister McEntee would implement this reduction gradually.

Moynihan said that the Department of Education is “working closely” with the Department of Higher Education,to create additional places in a number of high-demand courses.