The two secondary teachers unions have called on the new State Examinations Commission to consider the introduction of a second Leaving Certificate for students who fall ill during the exams.
They have made this call in response to the Equality Authority, which is headed by Mr Niall Crowley, who intends to make inequalities in education his "top priority" over the next four years.
During the exam period, an average of 25 young people a day do their exams in hospital under supervision, however the Equal Status Act 2000 would seem to regard this as inequality.
Mr John MacGabhann of the TUI, the Teachers Union of Ireland, believes that allowing students to recover from unexpected illnesses before they take their exams "is a matter of justice" which should be "seriously considered".
An spokeswoman for the ASTI, the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland, commented that the commission should find it easy enough to produce an alternative exam in time for the CAO points announcements in August.
The ASTI and TUI have suggested that a second Leaving Cert exam sitting should be held four weeks after the main exam, in time for the results to be taken into account by the CAO.
Both unions have praised the Department of Education and the State Examinations Commission for their compassion and efficiency in dealing with cases of emergency illness and psychological distress during exams.
However, despite these good intentions, the unions consider they may not be doing enough under equality legislation.
A precedent for enabling a delay in educational events such as exams has been set by three cases at third level, settled under the Equal Status Act 2000.
In these cases, accommodation had to be made for three students with "disabilities" - the definition of which is very wide. One claimant was pregnant and another suffered from depression.
Under the Act, "disability" means "the total or partial absence of a person's bodily or mental functions; the presence in the body of organisms causing or likely to cause chronic disease or illness and a condition, disease or illness which affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment."
The ASTI and TUI consider that a young person who, for example, is sick enough to be in hospital would easily fall under one of these categories. However, these matters remain to be determined on a case-by-case basis when and if such affected students bring cases to the Equality Authority.