Ms Martina Mannion:

We feel we have dealt with that issue. There is not such a growth in exemptions when you look at the overall percentage of the student population. It is very important that we reiterate that. We absolutely reassure the committee that the Department of Education does not see Irish as a problem or something to be fixed. We love and support the Irish language. We have policies and processes in place to ensure we support it as best we can. We are dealing with the challenge of trying to support the development and delivery of policy while also supporting our children with special educational needs. What Ms Tansey is referring to is that, because English is the first language of many of our children with special educational needs, which is an opaque language that is difficult to learn, they can be presented with challenges in learning a second language. That is a factual reality. It would not matter if that second language was French, Spanish or something else. It is just a factual reality as to the challenges these children face. When we look at the strategies and initiatives we put in place, what we are talking about is the differentiated curriculum and all of those opportunities the Minister referenced to allow those children to access it.

On the teachers and staff, one third of teachers in the school system now hold posts of responsibility and can assist students in dealing with these challenges. We want to look at exemptions only when that fails to deliver the opportunities to children to access the curriculum. I sincerely reassure everybody on the committee of our absolute commitment to supporting the Irish language. However, we have to recognise the impact on children with special educational needs. What we are talking about is a lived experience.

It is coming to us in the thousands of responses we got to the circular issued in 2019, it has come back through the Ombudsman's office and it has come back through parents. Therefore, we are conscious that even if it is not a true reflection of all the children with special educational needs, there is a cohort of these children for whom all of the best resources, extra teachers, extra SNAs and interventions have failed to assist them to be able to engage with it to the point that they are looking for an exemption. When that happens, we would say that the alternative is that children could have school anxiety and not be able to engage with the school system. That is a real prospect and we have to make sure we do not facilitate that happening. We want to assure the committee that we will do everything we can to avoid that. Where you look at primary level, at 1.9% there are fewer exemptions at that level and it is down to a growth in demographics and in participation in special education at post-primary level.