Mr. Mark Bohan:

If the Deputy wants to get into that kind of specific detail, my colleagues either from the inspectorate or the special needs side of things might have more expertise in terms of why an exemption might be required and what level of supports would be required to achieve something like that. As I said, it is important to note that it is not about the ability to learn a language per se. It is based on the curriculum that is in place. The numbers at primary school level are quite low - 2.2% - and have reduced since 2018. A big part of that is that the circular makes clear that they should be given every opportunity to experience Irish, that they should be exposed to opportunities to develop, and that exemptions probably should not be sought until at least fifth or sixth class. That is the approach at primary level and it has been shown that it has brought down the level of exemptions. We hope that the level of supports we are pulling into the system in other areas - for example, the action plan for Irish-medium schools is aimed at improving the educational experience that children have in schools - may improve the situation further.