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Education Minister Ruairi Quinn today sent his congratulations to the 55,572 Leaving Certificate students who will be collecting their results this morning at their schools, by phone or online.

The Minister visited Ringsend College in Dublin to present students with their results. MerrionStreet.ie spoke to the Minister and some of the students about this years' exams:

The Minister said:

While our congratulations and good wishes must be focussed on the students who receive their exam results today, I also want to pay tribute to you the parents, families, teachers and school communities who have helped them reach this milestone.

I am particularly pleased to see the significant growth in the number of students taking Higher Level Maths continue this year.  There can be no doubt that the 25 additional bonus points available for those who achieve a D3 or higher has had a major impact, but the increase also reflects the introduction of the new Project Maths syllabus.

Research & Innovation Minister Sean Sherlock welcomed the increased uptake in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects:

The upward trend in students presenting for STEM subjects in the Leaving Certificate is to be welcomed.

I do hope that students on receiving their Leaving Certificate results today will continue their study in STEM areas. The economy needs more young people with qualifications in the STEM fields to enhance our global competitiveness.  While we have seen small increases in the numbers of students in Biology, Physics and Chemistry this year, I will be working with industries such as the pharma sector over the coming year to see how we can encourage significantly more students to consider these subjects in the coming years.

The increased uptake of STEM subjects in the Leaving Certificate is reflected in applications for places in courses through the CAO. There are a significant number of young people seeking places in the Sciences, Agriculture/Horticulture and Engineering/Technology sectors.

The numbers taking Higher Level Irish have increased from 14,358 in 2011 to 16,669 in 2013. This reflects the new increase in the proportion of marks for the oral exam – up from 25 per cent to 40 per cent.

Minister Quinn said:

This Government is committed to increasing the capacity of our young people to know and love the Irish language. Our new policy, which now sees 50 per cent of all marks available for the oral and aural components of the exams, is clearly reaping dividends.”

Our Leaving Certificate reflects our changing society with a significant increase in the number of candidates for the Non-Curricular languages this year. Some 1,470 candidates opted for these languages in 2013 compared to 1,370 in 2012 with Polish, Lithuanian and Romanian the most popular.

In June there was concern about errors in the Mathematics papers. Account was taken by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) in relation to these errors. Minister Quinn has just received a report from the SEC in relation to these errors.

The Minister concluded:

I hope you enjoy celebrating your results with your families and friends – you deserve to celebrate your achievements.  Look out for each other tonight, and into the future.