Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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I understand Senator Crowe will be sharing time with Senator Curley.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Acting Chair. Dyslexia is a learning difference that affects about one in ten students, manifesting in a spectrum from mild to severe. As the Minister of State and Senators will be aware, it is legally recognised as a disability under both Irish and EU law. That recognition ensures the right to various accommodations in both education settings and the workplace.

In many countries, students with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions are granted additional time to support them during their formal State exams. For example, these countries include France, where students receive 33% additional time; Italy, where it is 30% additional time; and the UK, where students receive 25% additional time. There is currently no provision for extra time in Ireland despite advocates having raised this for years. I raise this today having been approached by a mother in Galway a number of weeks ago who told me how much stress this was causing and how much her child would benefit from a time allowance similar to that available in other European countries. This is an issue affecting thousands of families in the country every year. They are not looking for special treatment, merely just a level playing field that acknowledges their child's situation.

Dyslexia also impacts on confidence, esteem and relationship building, naturally enough. Students with dyslexia process information differently from students without it. This is in regard to reading text, processing what that information means, understanding it and how to articulate the information, either verbally or as an answer to an exam question on paper. When this is all combined and under time constraint, a person with dyslexia can become stressed, anxious and often freezes.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Crowe for raising this. I was a secondary school teacher before I came was elected to the House and the one thing I never really understood in the Irish education system in general was the obsession we have with time limits in exams. That is the kind of concept Senator Crowe is focusing on today - the time we allow students with dyslexia.

We were all fed clichés as students that the leaving certificate is an opportunity to show off what we know, not a test of what we do not know, etc., and that is nonsense. Bloom's taxonomy, probably the most recognised hierarchy of intelligences, would suggest that memory and understanding - the entire tenets of the leaving certificate - are 90-95% of what you do in your leaving certificate exams.

The leaving certificate was definitely not designed with dyslexia in mind. If you take it that memory and understanding and memorising huge reams of text to regurgitate them on paper only to forget about it for the rest of your life afterwards are basically what the leaving certificate is, and I have seen that as a teacher, then it definitely was not designed for students with dyslexia.

All that said, I welcome that there is a RACE review about to be undertaken, which means that Senator Crowe's Commencement matter today is very timely. I have been speaking to special needs co-ordinators in schools, particularly in my own school back home that I used to teach in, Presentation College Athenry. The one thing that was reinforced to me was that, if we are going to explore the concept of additional time for students with dyslexia, let it be on a school-based assessment. That is a really positive step that could be taken. When the RACE concept in general was given back to schools and a lot of the priority and power was given to schools to have assessments at school level, it really changed the game. Schools know their students best; they really do. They deal with them daily, see the needs of each student and can tailor their reasonable accommodations to each student's needs. Giving it to the school and giving a school-based assessment the priority would also avoid the whole idea of reasonable accommodations becoming the preserve of those who can afford private psychological assessments. It is really important that it would be an equal concept.

I thank the Minister of State for his time and gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Crowe.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank both Senators for their contributions this morning, particularly Senator Crowe for placing this. I will be quite frank; this is the second time I have taken a Commencement matter of this nature. Admittedly, the first time was not in this iteration of the Seanad but it is remarkable that, two years on, we are dealing with the same question. I hope we will be able to give more of a positive update than the last time.

The State Examinations Commission, as the Senators are aware, has responsibility for the reasonable accommodations at certificate examinations, RACE, scheme. A central tenet of the RACE scheme is to ensure equitable treatment for all candidates. The range of accommodations provided within the scheme has been designed to ensure fairness for all when facilitating candidates in demonstrating their level of achievement. It is important to note that access to the scheme is needs-based rather than based on a specific diagnosis.

The review the Senators have both raised is being undertaken by the SEC during a time of senior cycle redevelopment and in the context of the wider special educational needs policy landscape. It is a comprehensive and system-wide review of the scheme. The programme for Government commits to developing an appropriate mechanism to allow additional time for students with specific needs and in certain circumstances, and to ensure those who use assistive technology can do so in State examinations. The review by the SEC, which is under way now, will seek to take account of these, all relevant issues and best practice internationally, including the examples cited by Senator Crowe.

The review is being directed by the board of commissioners of the SEC and overseen by a steering group, with the terms of reference published on the SEC website. The steering group is chaired by the CEO of the SEC and is composed of external members drawn from Government, academic and international organisations and internal SEC members of staff. The inclusion of internal SEC members of staff as well as external members is designed to ensure that rolling changes can be implemented as the review progresses rather than awaiting a big-bang approach at the end of the full review period.

Already, and on a pilot basis for the 2025 examinations, additional time for vision-impaired candidates who are under the care of the visiting teacher service is being increased from ten minutes per hour or part of an hour to 15 minutes for junior cycle, leaving certificate applied and leaving certificate.This increases the additional time for these candidates to between 25% and 38% of total examination duration. For example, for an examination of two hours and 30 minutes, additional time of 15 minutes per hour increases the total examination time provided by 30%. This goes to Senator Curley's point that this is the opportunity. There is no sacred cow in terms of time limits. We can adjust it and be more reflective of the needs of the individual student. We are already doing it on a trial basis. Let us not dismiss this.

The consultation that will take place over the coming months will inform any appropriate changes to the shape of the scheme for the 2026 State examinations and those thereafter, with the details of the scheme for 2026 to be communicated to schools before the end of 2025 in line with normal timelines. Given the wide range of difficulties for which accommodations are sought, it is intended to seek the views of users through extensive consultation and engagement in order to capture all perspectives and to ensure all voices are heard equally. This will include young people with special educational needs, their families and representative organisations, including Dyslexia Ireland. It will take place over the coming months. I will make sure that the content of this debate is also included in that consultation.

The SEC acknowledges that there is increasing complexity in the special educational landscape, and, by extension, on the impact on candidates with special educational needs taking certificate examinations. Extensive consultation and engagement to be undertaken as part of this comprehensive review will provide an opportunity for the views of those affected to be incorporated into the considerations.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State. I am aware of the review, but given the mountain of research that has already been conducted on this topic, I believe they have all the evidence they need to make the right decision and finally correct this. I urge the Minister and the Department to engage with the State Examinations Commission as a matter of priority.

Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)
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I am not trying to be facetious, but the fourth last paragraph was a beautiful exposé of how obsessed we actually are with time limits in State exams. I welcome the fact that a broader review is taking place and that this will be taken into account. I stress to the Minister of State that zero additional time is allocated right now to students with dyslexia, who, in many cases, have a reader with them in the exam. The reader cannot explain anything or interpret the text for the student and is simply there to read the exam for them. I have been a reader, not during the State exams but in special centres during mock exams. I know it adds time to what is needed in order to actually get the student to a stage where he or she can answer the question. Additional time is not an advantage and it does not disadvantage any other student. It simply gives the student extra time to write down what he or she already knows and has in his or her brain. It is a no-brainer. I thank the Minister of State for his time.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The key point is that this will be concluded and communicated in order that it will be in place for the examinations in 2026. We are at an advanced stage. The work is largely done. Let us finish it off. Changing this in order that we implement this in September rather than December will not make a difference for those sitting the State examinations in 2026. Let us make sure that due process is followed.

I completely take on the insights of both Senators, particularly Senator Curley's real-world experiences in reading settings and all that. There are some obvious changes here that have been done for people with other additional needs. To spread it to dyslexia makes sense to me as a layperson. As a Minister of State, I am more than happy to engage with my colleagues in the Department of education to make sure that these views are incorporated into the review, and that the review is ultimately one which meets the needs of the students as well as possible.