Department of Education officials have contacted dozens of second-level schools to seek explanations for the high proportion of students who have secured exemptions from studying Irish.
The language is mandatory at second level but students can apply to their school for an exemption under “exceptional circumstances” such as learning difficulties or having been educated outside the State.
Statistics show there has been an increase in exemptions granted at second level nationally over recent years, up from 9 per cent of students in 2017-2018 to more than 12 per cent in 2022-2023.
The growth has sparked concern among some Irish language campaigners who say moves to “relax” rules around securing Irish exemptions could be a “back door” to making the language an optional subject in future.
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The department contacted more than 50 schools with “significantly and consistently higher percentage of exemptions” last March following an audit of the post-primary sector. In some cases, the proportion of exemptions in individual schools was several times the national average.
The letter told principals that the department “acknowledges the increasingly complex environment in which schools are working” and recognised that making decisions on applications from parents for exemptions “can be challenging”. It also acknowledged that the number of students with special needs was growing, as was the volume of students from abroad.
Notwithstanding this, it said “the number of exemptions being granted is growing and I am sure you will share the department’s concern in this regard”.
“The Irish language is part of our heritage and there are well-known educational and social benefits to bilingualism.”
Responses to the letters, released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act, show most schools cited a range of factors including significant numbers of students with special needs, the enrolment of Ukrainian students and exemptions which had been awarded to pupils at primary level.
One principal said that despite “sticking rigidly to the guidelines, much to the annoyance of some parents” the school had high levels of exemptions due to the volume of students from abroad.
“About 35 per cent of our pupils come from overseas and have therefore not studied Irish before arriving,” the letter states. “Some of these pupils are Irish children living overseas and the majority are of other nationalities. Another percentage who are resident in Ireland had their primary schooling outside the State. Those numbers will obviously skew our figures and make it look like I am handing exemptions freely. I can assure you this is not the case.”
Another principal said their high numbers were due to its status as an “inner city Deis band one school” with an “open door policy”.
“Our cohort of students has changed significantly in the last number of years. We have a diverse student population with students from 18 countries speaking up to 28 different languages. These students come from different backgrounds, including many students seeking international protection and unaccompanied minors.”
Another second-level school with more than 250 students exempt from the study of Irish said it was due to it having a large number of students seeking international protection, which was partly down to the fact that two other schools in the area were oversubscribed and another taught through the medium of Irish.
Another principal of a “small, non-fee paying all-girls” post-primary school said the fact that 48 per cent of its students were from abroad had “distorted” its figures. “I had a request for an Irish exemption last week from a student in-person [many tears] and their mum via email. I explained that the student did not qualify under any criteria for an exemption and no formal application was received,” the principal wrote.
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