Fewer than 1 per cent of high achievers in the Leaving Cert are opting to study information technology at third-level, despite the priority given to the area by government and business.
A major forthcoming study says many "elite" students are deserting the computer and information technology area to study medicine and related subjects.
It also says the number opting for computer courses has declined dramatically in the past five years.
The research is the first major analysis of the third-level choices of those with over 450 CAO points in the Leaving. It shows how female students now dominate entry to medicine, law and other high-point courses. But few high-flying female students are drawn towards computers and technology.
The figures show a boom in the demand for "safer" options, such as teaching and general arts degrees, among elite students.
The report says radical reform of the points system and of medical education, in particular, is vital for the national interest. It suggests that some sort of positive discrimination is needed to allow State-run schools compete on even terms in the Leaving Cert with fee-paying schools, some of which adopt restrictive admissions policies.
The report confirms how females are outperforming their male colleagues. Over 60 per cent of those students with 450 points or more are female.
Female students take almost 80 per cent of places in medicine and related areas. Figures also show 60 per cent of all students taking law degrees are female.
The research was completed by Dr Seán McDonagh, a member of the Government's Expert Skills Group and a former director of Dundalk Institute of Technology.
The report cites the decline in demand for computer courses among Leaving Cert high achievers. In 2000, over 5 per cent of this group opted for computers but this had now declined to less than 1 per cent of those with 450 points or more.
The research also shows how the number of academically strong students opting for engineering is much lower in the Republic than in other competing economies.
Leaving Cert students with over 450 points make up 19 per cent of those taking the exam.
Last night, Dr McDonagh told The Irish Times that the decline in the number of high-flyers studying computers was very disturbing. The Government, he said, had identified information technology as an area of national strategic importance. "But we are failing to get our talented young people to share in that aim, even though this is critical to Irish success and competitiveness."
The report will increase the pressure on the Government to reform medical education. The Cabinet is due to consider a package of measures shortly.
The wide-ranging review is expected to urge an increase in college places and a new two-tier entry system. The review will recommend the number of places in medical training for Irish and non-EU students doubling to more than 700, while there will also be a new graduate entry programme, running alongside the existing undergraduate system.
