Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It will go to public consultation. I cannot give the Deputy the exact date of when it will be completed but it is a very positive step forward that it will go to public consultation. With regard to students taking another language, I wish to be very clear that if it has been identified after a series of interventions that a student cannot access the Irish language, it is identifiable. I cannot argue with that. A series of interventions will have been made and all that can be done will have been done to ensure the student can access the language. Exemptions are given to the limited, small number of students who cannot do so. I know that officials from NEPS are not allowed to speak at this point but will be speaking in the next session. They will be able to give the committee much further detail on the impact an exemption can have on a student, including on the student's ability to access the greater impact within the school. The cohort of students that receive an exemption is limited. It would not be right or acceptable to limit that cohort's opportunity to access any other part of the curriculum. That is not in the student or child's best interest. If the student or child feels that he or she can access some other aspect of the curriculum, I should allow and facilitate it because, at the end of the day, my obligation is to ensure that every student, child and young person gets the maximum opportunity in school and that we are supporting access to the widest curriculum. It would not be right for me to seek to prohibit them from accessing any particular subject simply because they have received an exemption in the Irish language. I do not think that is right or what we should be about in education.