Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tá an ceart ag an Teachta. Tá réimse an-leathan ann. The very wide range of special education needs is largely due to the fact that we know so much more now in terms of special education than we did in 1998 when special education was first recognised. At that time we had 104 special education teachers and 229 special needs assistants, SNAs, in our schools. Today, we have 19,000 special education teachers and 20,000 SNAs - almost 40,000 staff - and this is what we want. The reason for this increase is that our understanding of special education has advanced tenfold. Given that our knowledge and breadth of understanding of special education has increased exponentially, we would expect the grounds on which exemptions are granted also to have widened.

I am not an expert in languages and I cannot say whether Irish is more difficult or challenging to access than other languages. The Deputy is correct when he says there are difficulties with every language. Irrespective of the challenges that are presented here, it is a fair achievement to say that the exemptions that are provided for are at 1.9% at primary level and have been holding steady at approximately 9% to 10% at post-primary level. Some 82% of our student body chooses to take the exam at leaving certificate level and almost 50% of those take the exam at higher level.

Much is being done right with regard to accessing Irish. Obviously, we can do better in every subject, including Irish. I would have to leave it to others to determine whether it is more difficult to access Irish, especially from a NEPS point of view.