John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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675. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures taken to ensure that applicants to the primary initial teacher education that had registered for qualifying exams, which were cancelled due to the pandemic and rescheduled for January 2021, thus preventing applicants from taking up their places, will be facilitated in taking up their course places. [20154/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I understand the Deputy is referring to applicants to the Primary Initial Teacher Education PME programme and also that the exam being referred to is undertaken by some applicants who do not have the relevant Leaving Certificate grade to meet the Minimum Entry Requirements in Irish for entry to those Primary PME programmes. 

The relevant Leaving Certificate Grade is a H5 in Irish. This Minimum Entry Requirement in Irish, along with requirements in English and Maths, is in place to ensure that primary teachers have the capacity to lead learning in these vital areas. 

This exam which was postponed is just one of the list of equivalences to the Minimum Entry Requirement Leaving Certificate grade in Irish.  Completed applications to the four State-Primary PME Initial Teacher Education programmes must have been received by the end of March this year, with applicants needing to meet all the entry requirements by early July for a September start date. 

It is solely a matter for the HEIs to make decisions on whether applicants to their programmes meet the entry requirements.