Fad≤, Fad≤, there was a root-and-branch examination of the college entry system in the Republic. Lβmha suas, those of you who remember any of the recommendations of the relevant commission, or even its name. Shea, shea, shea.

If nobody else can, the Irish-language lobby will be able to call to mind the Commission on the Points System, which, after an exhaustive scrutiny of the college-entry system, issued a series of comprehensive reports and recommendations two years ago. One of the most contentious of these was the proposed abolition of bonus points for those sitting the Leaving Cert through Irish.

Immediately after the recommendations were published, the lobbying began and, unsurprisingly, bonus points are still with us today. However, the chairwoman of the Points Commission, Professor ┴ine Hyland of UCC, says she is glad it made the recommendation, even though she knew it was doomed to failure. The commission at least put on record, she says, that measures such as the bonus points are "at best an arbitrary and crude method of addressing perceived inequity and can produce an unintended unfair outcome".

Issues to do with the Irish language always call for ginger handling and the safest (if not the best) solution is usually to put them aside, for another day, or for another Government to deal with.

Unaltered Irish aside, what if any changes have come about? The guidance counsellors answering the Irish Times helpline during this year's college application season have encountered all the old problems: mature students unsure why they didn't get a college place; Leaving Cert Vocational Programme (LCVP) students who get fewer points from the universities for the link modules; and huge pressure and very high points for entry into medicine and healthcare courses.

The main recommendation of the Commission on the Points System was the retention of the CAO system of college entry. This is still thriving, though perhaps simply because it was a matter of maintaining the status quo rather than introducing change.

If you want to find out about the fate of the various other recommendations, it isn't easy. There's no central office or person responsible. It's a case of shuttling between the Department of Education and Science, the Higher Education Authority, the Conference of the Heads of Irish Universities and the former chairperson of the committee - and hoping that someone will remember about openness and transparency.

So, let's start with the Department of Education and Science, which replied in the form of an answer to a parliamentary question in May. To summarise: an action group has been established on the question of access by students with disabilities, from disadvantaged backgrounds and matures. This group has reported and the recommendations are being considered. The bonus points for Irish have been retained.

Many of the other recommendations fall within the responsibility of third-level institutions themselves and the Higher Education Authority has been asked to pursue these. The Department has also asked the HEA to set up a committee to explore the issue of introducing a preliminary third-level course in life sciences as a prerequisite for entry into healthcare courses.

Cue the HEA: the committee on healthcare courses hasn't yet been established; there have been some meetings on the other issues but no plan has been published as of yet.

It's two years since the fruits of all that research and cogitation were presented to the public, and all that has happened is that more inaptly-named "action groups" and committees have been set up (or not-quite-yet, as in the case of healthcare courses).

Is ┴ine Hyland disappointed with the lack of progress? No, she says. In fact, she is optimistic that a climate of change has been created. For instance, a few years ago, universities would not give full points for LCVP link modules, largely through ignorance of what the LCVP entailed. Hyland's expectation is that the universities are now ready to change their position.

The HEA had a meeting with representatives of the institutes of technology, the universities and other colleges early this summer. It was the first time all of the parties got together and that was very useful, she says.

However, she is disappointed with a number of specific issues. "Healthcare is becoming one of the major issues in the country with attention being focused on waiting lists. There is clearly a shortage of medical people but, three years later, there are no extra places.

"We know that the physical places are available but they are being sold to overseas students. I don't understand why things are not moving faster. The committee to look at entry to healthcare courses has not even been established yet," says Hyland.

One of the more innocuous- looking recommendations of the commission is also exercising her mind. It asks all colleges to publish, in advance of the college applications season, the number of first-year places they intend to make available. Some colleges already do this, while others are notoriously shy.

"We know you can manage your cut-off points by managing the number of places. So, if you take in 65 people you'll get a cut-off of 485, whereas if you take in 70 then the points drop to 400; so you just don't take in the last five people."

As a former admissions officer, she knows this can and does happen. The reward for this somewhat dubious procedure is a course that appears to be highly popular and selective, but actually admits fewer students to the coveted places.

Then there's the continued splitting of courses into sub-courses. Again, with fewer places, cut-off points are higher.

Professor Hyland says this splitting may also contribute to higher drop-out rates. For instance, if a student spends a common first year doing science or engineering and then makes the choice to specialise, he or she is likely to have a better idea of what the discipline really entails.

Surely it's the student who matters, rather the college's perceived need for a litany of high cut-off points? The recommendations of the points commission need to be dusted off and implemented without further delay.

┴ine Hyland may not agree with what the Irish-language lobby achieved, but she says she has to admire their perseverance. "I always admire activism." Reports alone are often insufficient once the inertia of the system takes over. It's time for anyone who cares to emulate the gaelgeoirs and put the points commission recommendations back ar an clβr.