Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

263. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of changes to curriculum and assessments for students taking Irish exams in cases in which they have been taught through Irish; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47358/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Building on provision at primary level, differentiated curricular provision for the subject Irish was introduced at Junior Cycle level in 2017. The L1/T1 specification for Junior Cycle Irish is targeted at students in Irish-medium schools and Aonaid, while the L2/T2 specification is aimed at students in English-medium schools where Irish is a second language.

At  present, students in all schools follow the same syllabuses for Leaving Certificate (established) Irish. In February 2021, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) opened a public consultation on draft L1/T1 and L2/T2 specifications for new Leaving Certificate (established) Irish subject specifications. In planning and in designing the consultation process, the NCCA was mindful to take account of the very challenging circumstances facing teachers, students, school leaders, and their communities due to Covid-19. In response to stakeholder requests and in order to extend  the opportunities for all those interested to engage with the process, this consultation is now scheduled to remain open until 30 November 2021. The current L1 and L2 Leaving Certificate specifications are draft documents and are therefore subject to change based on the outcome of the consultation process.

Once the consultation process closes, the NCCA will engage in an analysis of  the findings.  A report on the consultation will be prepared for NCCA Council and in due course will be presented to my Department for consideration.