Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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216. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will clarify the criteria under which students from a school (details supplied), are eligible to apply as Gaeltacht applicants for teaching courses through the CAO; if there is an official policy or circular governing this situation; and if she will address concerns regarding the apparent exclusion of these students from applying as Gaeltacht applicants despite the school’s status as a Gaeltacht school under the Gaeltacht schools recognition scheme; if the potential for recognition of the school students’ residency in the Gaeltacht for the purpose of CAO applications will be examined given its significant contribution to the local Gaeltacht community and year-round immersion in an Irish-speaking environment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16375/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Circular 0034/2021 sets out the entry criteria for the Gaeltacht Entry Route to Primary B.Ed. programmes.

The Gaeltacht Entry Route is a separate CAO entry route to the Primary B.Ed (English medium) Initial Teacher Education programmes in State-funded higher education institutions.

Up to 10% of places in these programmes are reserved for candidates from the Gaeltacht, who normally reside in an official Gaeltacht designated area and whose normal language of the home is Irish.

Students attending a Gaeltacht school would only be eligible if they meet the entry criteria applicable to all prospect students, as outlined in the circular, in particular:

a) Be resident in a Gaeltacht Language Planning area, and

b) Must obtain at least a H3 in Leaving Certificate Irish.

The entry route was designed specifically to attract students into primary teaching who are from the Gaeltacht and who speak Irish in their home as their first language.

The terms of the Gaeltacht Entry Route, as outlined in Circular 0034/21 will be kept under review in the context of the development of Department of Education policy in relation to the Irish Language and Irish-medium education.