Just 2.2% of primary school pupils exempt from studying Irish last year

The number of Irish exemptions granted to primary school students seems to be 'finally moving in the right direction. File picture: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

The number of Irish exemptions granted to primary school students seems to be “finally moving in the right direction” at a time when numbers at post-primary level hit a record high.

Last year, 3,483 exemptions were issued to primary school students, meaning that just 2.2% of overall students were exempt from the study of Irish.

The vast majority (94%) were granted to students who have special educational needs. 

Just 665 exemptions have been granted since 2022 to primary school students who have joined the education system from abroad.

This is despite more than 10,000 Ukrainian children enrolling in the primary school system since the onset of war in their country that year.

Just 183 exemptions were granted last year on the basis of students coming to Ireland from abroad.

Overall, 12,131 primary school students held exemptions at the end of the last school year. 

This compares to 18,301 in 2017, which represented 3.25% of overall student numbers.

At the same time, the number of Irish exemptions granted to post-primary school students has almost doubled. 

In 2017, 33,476 students held Irish exemptions at post-primary.

At the end of the last school year, this figure reached 60,946. 

Of this, 10,301 were granted based on a student’s special educational need, while 9,467 were granted on the basis of a student joining the education system from abroad.

The figures were provided by the Department of Education via a parliamentary question to Sinn Féin TD for Kildare South, Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh.

“The trend at primary level is finally moving in the right direction, and I hope to see exemption numbers continue to fall next year,” she said.

“There is still work to do. Exemptions are meant for those who, for reasons of having a complex disability, are unable to learn a language.”

Every child in the State has a right to the cognitive and social benefits of language learning, regardless of ability or the circumstances in which they arrived in Ireland. 

"This is fundamentally about inclusion, integration, and participation.

"We know that these rights are best supported through proper training and effective differentiation in the classroom. 

"Yet while primary-level numbers are improving, exemptions at post-primary level are soaring. 

"The minister needs to show leadership here and drive the culture change that schools urgently need.

"Given the scale of the issue, it is deeply disappointing that the question of exemptions was completely absent from the new policy for Irish education in English-medium schools."

In response to the parliamentary question, education minister Helen McEntee said the number of exemptions from the study of Irish must be seen in the broader context. 

"While the number of exemptions held at post-primary level has increased, the number of new exemptions granted has largely held steady since the new circulars were introduced. This is despite an increase of almost 4.7% in the overall enrolment number in post-primary schools since 2022." 

She added: "The number of children with more complex special educational needs is increasing significantly, and this is evidenced by the almost 1,700 new special classes that have been provided in mainstream schools over the last five years, and special school enrolments are increasing by 300 each year." 

The Department of Education is working on strengthening Irish language education, Ms McEntee said, adding that two new policies on Irish language education have recently been published.