New figures indicate that no more than 1.5 per cent of CAO applicants achieved the 570 points required to do medicine. However, the class of 2004 will be the last students to endure this kind of pressure.
From 2005, applicants to the CAO who want to study medicine will be entering general courses rather than medical school, following recommendations by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which were revealed in The Irish Times yesterday.
The decision by the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, last night to accept the recommendations of the HEA is reinforced by new CAO figures. These show that an elite 3.1 per cent of applicants achieve 550- 600 points, while the minimum needed for medicine is the highest in the history of the CAO - 570 points. No more than 1.5 per cent could achieve that level.
Other health professions also require exceptional scores. Physiotherapy requires as much as 540 points, dentistry 565 and occupational therapy 500. Only 6.5 per cent of students achieve more than 500-550 points.
The Irish Patients Association has welcomed Mr Dempsey's decision to allow students with lower points to work towards medical degrees.
Mr Stephen McMahon, the association's PRO, said: "There needs to be a rethink of the way doctors are educated and this should bring more humanity, as well as the humanities, into the education of the profession."
The HEA report recommends that entry to a range of health sciences programmes should be on a post-graduate basis.
"Removing entry selection to these high points programmes from the CAO points system will have hugely positive benefits for individual students in terms of reduced pressure and enhanced educational experience at senior cycle in second level," Mr Dempsey said. "It will also enable second-level students to select undergraduate programmes that are more in line with their aptitudes and preferences before deciding to embark on a specific career-oriented choice at post-graduate level."
The Teachers Union of Ireland has welcomed the decision as being consistent with the recommendations of the points commission. Mr Derek Dunne, TUI president, said much of the pressure on the Leaving Cert process would be alleviated.
The revised arrangements will be introduced in first in medicine, with other disciplines to follow.