End compulsory Irish, says FG, as 14,000 drop subject

ALMOST 14,000 Leaving Certificate students chose not to sit Irish exams last year with the numbers opting out of the exam increasing by 600 a year.

Fine Gael is calling for the ending of Irish as a compulsory subject, claiming students would be better off using their school time to study subjects they are interested in.

New figures show 15.8% of the 55,000 students who sat the Leaving Cert last year chose not to do the Irish exam. The number choosing not to do it has increased by about 600 a year since 2006.