Ms Martina Mannion:

My colleagues in that area are not with me today. I know we will get the transcript of this debate and I will bring back everything that has been said on the differentiated levels at junior certificate and leaving certificate levels. On the information the Chair had from the unions on the percentage increases, when we talk about our figures we are trying to put them in the context of the percentages based on the overall student population in the system. For example, in the 2017-18 school year, at post-primary level there were just over 357,000 students. In the 2021-22 school year there are 391,000 post-primary students. When we talk about percentages we have to reflect it on what is a growing post-primary population. That overall growth in the post-primary population, which we have known about for a number of years, has peaked at primary level and we are now moving into our growing post-primary population. That is in addition to the increased number of children with special educational needs moving through into our post-primary system. When we talk about those percentages being relatively stable, as the Minister did, they are relatively stable since 2008. Those are percentages of the total post-primary student population. That is a more reflective understanding of the extent of the exemptions at post-primary level in particular.