Fianna Fáil TD for Limerick County and Minister of State at the Department of Higher Education Niall Collins has extended his congratulations to students being offered places in Universities and Institutes of Technology today.
Minister Collins also stressed the number of other routes students can take to progress through third level.
He commented, “Firstly I want to congratulate the thousands of students, their families, teachers and schools who navigated such a challenging year in getting to today. Likewise, the Departments and public sector workers who put so much work into getting this right.
“Thousands of places through the CAO system have been offered this afternoon. Today is a day of celebration for many households but it is important to remember other options are available for further education.
“My colleagues and I in Government are acutely aware of the demand on University and IT places which is why we approved an additional 2,200 places.
“As Minister with responsibility for Further Education I want to stress to applicants other routes are available should the University place they had hoped for not materialise. There are PLC programmes which can build up to a Degree in a similar timeframe and there are apprenticeships widely available and supported by Government.
“Students should carefully consider their options and remember there are many other routes through third level education that they can achieve,” concluded Minister Collins.
