THE RELEASE of the Leaving Cert results, as well as CAO offers, won't happen until early September at the very earliest due to administrative havoc caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
Minister for Education Norma Foley confirmed that results will not be published until September 7, three weeks later than the usual Leaving Cert results date, due to the new calculated grading system.
The CAO offers will now be pushed back to September 11, just four days after results are released.
According to a spokesperson from the Department of Education, this delay is a result of "what is a brand new process and the data has to be gone through".
More than 60,000 students are now awaiting their results under the calculated grades process, which replaced the usual written exam system this year due to schools closing in March.
Minister Foley said extreme care had been taken at a school level to ensure that estimated grades are based on reliable evidence.
She also assured students that "the people working on this are taking every precaution to ensure fairness so that students can receive the grades that reflect their work".
"The date of September 7 allows us to achieve this," she said.
Students hoping to attend Irish-based colleges and universities will then be allowed to begin their courses "a few weeks later".
Applications for appeals will open from September 14 for any student who is unhappy with their calculated grade.
