Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if circumstances (details supplied) will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48593/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that my Department has received correspondence in relation to the specific circumstances referred to and a response will issue directly to the individual concerned in the coming days.

In October 2017, my Department announced changes in relation to the Minimum Entry Requirements for entry into primary teacher training programmes, as follows: 

Entry 2018 - Irish: H5, English: H7/O5, Maths: H7/O6

Entry 2019 - Irish: H4, English: H7/O4, Maths: H7/O4

The changes took account of advice provided by the Teaching Council, who had engaged in a consultation process around a number of matters relating to entry to initial teacher education. Many of the issues identified were complex and the Council commissioned the ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute) to carry out research to inform its deliberation.

Having relatively high minimum entry requirements (MERs) in core subject areas of Irish, English and Mathematics is one of the key policy levers that help ensure quality teaching and learning in primary schools.  The 2011 Literacy and Numeracy Strategy and subsequent review identified the need to raise standards of achievement and included plans to raise the entry requirements in the core subjects over time.

The changes to the minimum entry requirements were introduced from 2019, rather than 2018, so as not to impact students who had already commenced senior cycle and who intended sitting the Leaving Certificate examinations in 2018.  However to have applied this criterion to undergraduate students who might wish to apply for the Professional Master of Education qualification at some time in the future would mean deferring the changes for four years or more.

In recognition of the fact that not all applicants will meet the minimum entry requirements in Irish, English and Maths at the first attempt, there is no requirement that these minimum grades be achieved in one sitting of the Leaving Cert. Furthermore, there are a number of alternative qualifications that can take the place of the relevant Leaving Cert grade.  The list of alternative qualifications in the subject(s) concerned are outlined in the published Entry Requirements and Procedures for 2018 and available on my Department's website  (see www.education.ie).