Thousands of Irish students are accepting college places in Britain and Northern Ireland because of the high points levels demanded by universities here.
New figures show an exodus of more than 8,000 Irish students who accepted places in the UK and Northern Ireland over the past three years - after being squeezed out of high-points courses here.
The figures were released to The Irish Times for the first time by Ucas, the British equivalent of the CAO.
They reveal how two-thirds of Irish students taking places in the British system are drawn from those who have taken a post-Leaving Cert (PLC) or institute of technology course in the Republic.
This allows these students - some of whom have relatively low Leaving Cert points - gain entry to their desired degree course in the UK - but not in the Republic.
According to a leading careers expert, the figures show that Irish universities are failing thousands of Irish students who are doing degree courses in the UK.
Brian Mooney, president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, said: "Irish universities are happy to take first-time Leaving Cert students to fill their degree programmes.
"But they are not servicing the needs of those on lower points who have taken the post-Leaving Cert/certificate route."
The figures show how many students are opting for courses in Britain in cases where the points level under the CAO is very high.
These include pharmacy, where 482 Irish students accepted British university places in the past three years.
Other courses with very high numbers of Irish students since 2002 include civil engineering (477), anatomy (313), architecture (314), building (367), psychology (316), sports science (222) and mechanical engineering (154).
The figures also show how increasing numbers of Leaving Cert students are going directly into the British system.
The top feeder schools for British colleges drawn directly from Leaving Certs include King's Hospital, Dublin, the Institute of Education in Dublin, Kilkenny College, St Louis, Monaghan, and St Columba's College, Dublin. Some of these school have long-established links with British colleges.
The figures also show a boom in the number of Leaving Cert students from Border areas taking places in Northern Ireland. One school, Carndonagh Community School in Donegal, has sent 95 students directly to third-level colleges in Northern Ireland in the past three years.
About two-thirds of the 8,000-plus places taken by Irish students in the Ucas system since 2002 are from the non-degree sector at third level.
Thousands of Irish students on post-Leaving Cert and other non-degree courses also take places in the UK and Northern Ireland.
The top feeder school from this sector is Coláiste Dhúlaigh in Coolock, Dublin, which has sent 204 students into the Ucas system since 2002.
The figures also show how strong links are being forged between the institute of technology sector and British colleges. The top feeder colleges for the Ucas system include many who have specially developed programmes linked directly to individual UK degree courses.
These include the Carlow Institute of Technology, which has sent 174 students into the Ucas system in the last three years. Other IOTs with large student flows to Britain include Galway/Mayo (144), Cork (136), Sligo (116), Limerick (99), Athlone (89) and Dublin Institute of Technology (69).
Meanwhile, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has signalled major changes to the Leaving Cert timetable.
But it could be two years before the changes are implemented.
