Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 2 October 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth

Issues Affecting People with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Discussion

2:00 am

Mr. Donald Ewing:

Yes. We have an existing scheme of accommodations called RACE. This is about simply adding one more item to the menu for young people which is commonly on the menu if they are in a different jurisdiction. The criteria, the scrutiny, the processes, the timelines, are all in existence now. It is literally adding an extra half page to the instructions for schools that the SEC issues every year. We feel like it is a fair addition at this stage. In fairness to the State Examinations Commission, they are now not questioning whether this is fair, because they have said it is a matter of when it will be introduced, not if. That is encouraging, but not that encouraging for families with a third- or sixth-year student asking the question when exactly, and who want to know if it will be in place for them. It will not be much good to them when they have left school, or they are beyond the date of the examination.