Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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1020. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will consider raising the percentage weight of the Leaving Certificate oral exam to 50% rather than decreasing it to 35%, to incentivise improving the standard of students’ spoken language; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40991/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Deputy is referring to Leaving Certificate Irish and to a previous draft specification produced by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in 2021. This specification was not enacted and therefore was not introduced into the curriculum.

As part of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme, the redevelopment of Leaving Certificate Irish is currently planned to take place as part of Tranche 4. This means those subjects in Tranche 4, including Irish, will see students entering fifth year in 2028 studying the revised specification.

Under the programme, all subjects will be redeveloped in annual tranches. Each new and revised subject will incorporate Additional Assessment Components (AACs), worth a minimum of 40% of the available marks. The integration of the AACs into the teaching and learning experienced by students across their course of study will ensure our students are rewarded for developing and demonstrating a broader range of competencies and skills than can be assessed in terminal written examinations only. In the context of the redevelopment of Leaving Certificate Irish, this of course includes the development of oracy skills.

Stakeholder feedback, including in relation to the weighting of an oral component, will be considered in the context of the redevelopment of the subject specification, arising from the consultation processes that will be undertaken in that regard. Redevelopment work is expected to commence this coming Autumn.

The Deputy will also be aware that the Programme for Government commits to working towards aligning Irish language curriculums with the Common European Framework of Reference to enhance spoken Irish.

As Minister, I wish to ensure that the revision of the subject encourages and supports our learners to develop and use their Irish, as is the long-standing policy of my Department.