Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a country, we recognise the unique value and richness of the teaching and learning of our national language. That is reflected in our education system, which seeks to constantly promote and protect the language.

Indeed, Irish has the unique position of being the only mandatory requirement for all students sitting leaving certificate examinations. At the same time, there has long since been a recognition that across a system as large as the education sector, there will always be students with exceptional needs and circumstances. As such, there has been a system of exemptions from this requirement to learn Irish in place since the 1970s.

New circulars setting out the circumstances under which schools may consider granting an exemption from the study of Irish were published in 2022 following a review of older circulars. The current circular now allows parents of children who have a high level of multiple and persistent needs that are a significant barrier to their participation and engagement in their learning and school life to apply for an exemption. The overall number of exemptions in place at primary level in 2017/18 was 18,301, compared to 13,060 in 2022/23, a drop from 3.25% of pupils to 2.34% of pupils. In 2017/18, 82.8% of exemptions were on the basis of special educational needs, SEN, while 17.2% were granted to children coming from abroad. In 2022/23, 93.6% of exemptions were granted on a SEN basis and 6.4% were granted on a coming-from-abroad basis. In effect, we have seen a decline in the number of exemptions in primary school and a significant turnaround in that of those that are granted, almost 94% are granted on the basis of SEN and 6.4% are granted on the basis of the students coming from abroad.

At post-primary level, there were 49,570 exemptions in place in the 2022/23 school year. In 2017/18, 47.4% of exemptions at post-primary level were on the basis of SEN while 52.6% were granted to students coming from abroad, compared to 45.8% in respect of SEN and 54.2% on the basis of coming from abroad in 2022/23.

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