The Minister for Further and Higher Education has called on the State Examinations Commission to release the date for this year's Leaving Cert results as soon as possible.
Simon Harris said the delay has arisen from a "good idea" to help students but stated clarity is needed.
He said Minister Norma Foley shares this view that the results date should be called as soon as possible.
He explained that the option of a second sitting for the Leaving Cert this year, based on the possibility of someone contracting Covid-19 during the first sitting, is why the State Examinations Commission has yet to publish the date of the results.
He understands they would rather wait until the exams start to see how many students are undertaking the first sitting and then release the date.
Minister Harris hopes the results will be "a little earlier" than early September this year and said if it was late August it would make planning for college a lot easier.
He said he has made his preference clear to the Department of Education on this.
Separately, Simon Harris said he was "taken aback" when he became minister by the fact that there is no measurement to identify students with intellectual disabilities or autistic students as priority groups.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, he said next month his department will publish a national access plan, which will for the first time identify these groups as priority groups.
This will mean measuring participation rates and an investment of €12m will allow all colleges to start putting in place measures to make their campuses more inclusive with sensory rooms and way-finder apps, better staff training awareness and training for students.
Colleges asked to contribute
Minister Harris said colleges are being asked to come forward with ideas and pathways for people with intellectual disabilities to participate.
"Because the cliff edge for many, many people with intellectual disabilities has been after school, where we haven't been having the conversation about what would you like to do with the rest of your life and how do we help you get there," he said.
The minister said the fund in place will invite universities from across the country to put in calls and proposals as to what they can do to provide programs for people with intellectual disabilities.
He said Minister Josepha Madigan is meeting stakeholder groups to talk through the situation in relation to places for autistic children in primary schools.
He said they will be discussing the next steps and how to make sure that any child who needs a place in a school has a place in September.
"We've made a lot of progress as a country in relation to special needs education over inclusion in general, and we just need to be very careful we don't go backwards", he said.
Spending on education for children with autism 'not enough' - Ryan
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has told the Dáil that spending on education for children with autism "is still not enough"
He said he had a special interest because of his son who received special education, which he added was "brilliant".
Mr Ryan said the situation regarding the provision of places was worse in Dublin 2, 4 and 6 than elsewhere.
He was responding to Labour leader Ivana Bacik who said that the Government was not giving the issue that attention it deserves.
She asked what emergency measures were going to be put in place for families seeking school places for children with autism.
