Ms Martina Mannion:

Department evidence indicates that almost 25% of our school population has a special educational need. If one looks at those figures as being reflective of the number of children with special educational needs and the fact that 1.5% of children at primary level and between 9% and 10% of children at post-primary level are availing of an exemption, it is absolutely clear that the vast bulk of our children at primary level are able to access Irish. We talked a little bit about that earlier.

It is absolutely the case that the Department wishes to ensure that children with special educational needs can access Irish and should be supported in every possible way to access Irish through differentiation of the curriculum; range of resource teachers; SNAs and initial teacher training; changes that have been made in recent years; and ongoing CPD. It is not just the agencies of the Department that do CPD. The NCSE has an extensive body of resources and supports for ongoing CPD. When one looks at those, it is absolutely clear that out of a population of 25% of children with special educational needs, there are children who are accessing, enjoying and experiencing Irish in our education system. We wish to do everything we can to support them and make sure that only those whom the range of supports and interventions fail to assist them to do that are the children we see being supported through the exemptions.