Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if automatic exemptions from Irish can be granted to pupils attending two special classes for students with dyslexia and emotional behaviour problems at a school (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16739/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the primary school curriculum Irish is a compulsory subject. Exemption from the study of Irish may, however, be granted to primary pupils under certain circumstances outlined in Department circular 12/96. Under the terms of the circular delegated authority to grant exemptions from Irish, within the conditions laid down, has been vested in the individual school authority.

There is no provision in the Department's circular for the automatic granting of exemptions to pupils in special classes. In addition, one of the conditions for the granting of an exemption to a pupil with a specific or general learning disability is that evidence of such a disability must be furnished by a qualified psychologist and the psychological report must be carried out not more than two years prior to the application for exemption.

Irish is being omitted from the curriculum in the majority of special classes. Pupils attend special classes for a period of two years generally after which they return to mainstream where they should have access to Irish at their level.

The criteria applied for the inclusion of a pupil in a special class and the criteria used for granting an exemption from Irish are not one and the same. It does not follow that a pupil who has been in a special class becomes automatically entitled to an exemption from Irish. An exemption from Irish will be determined in accordance with the relevant circular and in particular will be underpinned by the recommendation from an up-to-date psychological report.

In the case of the two special classes in the school referred to by the Deputy it was noted that the psychological reports in respect of the pupils involved were well outside the two-year requirement. The school was accordingly requested to supply up-to-date psychological reports on the pupils involved. While the pupils in question were assessed as suitable for inclusion in special classes, a determination on a request for exemption from Irish cannot be processed in the absence of such reports.