The higher-level economics paper was testing but fair and pitched at the right level, said TUI subject representative Mr Dermot McCarthy. But the examiners' fascination with marginal principles might not be echoed by the students.

The ordinary-level paper was relevant and topical if a little wordy, Mr McCarthy said. The question about the action the Government and social partners were taking to control inflation might be better suited to fiction writers than economics students, he suggested.

Mr Brian McDermott, who represents the Business Studies Teachers Association of Ireland, said higher-level students in St Mary's Secondary School, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, were under severe time pressure. "It was a challenging paper with a good balance between micro and macro economics. The language was quite technical."

More than 5,000 students were entered for economics, while 343 took agricultural economics. Ms Vivienne McSweeney, who teaches in the College of Commerce in Cork, where 60 sat the latter subject at higher level, said it was a balanced paper which tested students' knowledge of practical aspects of the subject.