After several years of rapidly declining popularity, science courses are beginning to attract healthy levels of interest from college applicants, new figures show.
But fewer students are opting for careers in medicine, dentistry and business, while teaching is still attracting sizeable interest.
According to confidential CAO figures - seen by The Irish Times - the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) is the most popular third-level college in the State.
But the figures show a sharp decline in demand for places at the University of Limerick (UL) and DCU.
The numbers putting a science course at the top of their CAO degree list dropped by 15 per cent in 1998/99, but this year's figure has risen by 3 per cent - the first increase for many years.
The Government, which has been promoting science heavily among pupils at second level, will be encouraged by the figures.
Demand for medicine - which traditionally requires the highest number of points - was down the most. The number of students putting it as their first preference was down 14 per cent. The number putting it further down their list was down 17 per cent.
Arts/social science continued to be the most popular career option. The number of first preferences was up 5 per cent at 13,125. The number of first preferences for business courses was down 8 per cent, while law gained the most in relation to first preferences, up 7 per cent.
The figures are compiled from CAO forms sent in by thousands of students last month. These applicants have several months to change their minds and the figures obtained are preliminary. However, they do not tend to change radically between now and the summer.
Meanwhile, the prospect of a serious escalation in the teachers' dispute has increased after indications that today's Labour Court ruling will offer few significant concessions.
As reported in The Irish Times yesterday, the court will not offer any down-payment to the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI).
It is thought the court, in accordance with the mandate given to it in the dispute, will consider the dispute in the context of public sector pay policy. Education sources say this means there will be "few surprises" in the recommendation.