More than 20,000 students who had exemptions from studying Irish at second level on the grounds of having a learning disability were studying other languages such as French, German and Spanish last year.
The figures come at a time of concern among some campaigners over the status of the Irish language due to the rising numbers of exemptions being awarded at second level, which have climbed from 3 per cent in 2000 to 13 per cent last year, or more than 55,000 students.
Irish is compulsory at primary and second level, though the Department of Education allows students to be excused on “exceptional” grounds such as learning difficulties or having been educated abroad.
Figures released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act show a large majority of students with an exemption for the study of Irish on the grounds of learning difficulties – 20,263 students – were studying a modern foreign language in the 2023-2024 academic year.
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Some in the education field believe some students may be securing exemptions to focus on other subjects against the backdrop of a highly competitive CAO points entry system to third level.
However, Dyslexia Ireland maintains there are genuine reasons why many Irish-exempt students go on to study a European language. Rosie Bissett, the support group’s chief executive, said students with more severe dyslexia need additional time and learning support in order to build their literacy skills in English at primary school.
She said many of these students may make enough progress that they can go on to successfully learn a new language at the start of second level. “Those students don’t have the option to start Irish again at second level,” she said. “There isn’t a strand there to do that even if a student wanted to learn Irish.”
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Some educationalists, however, argue that there is no evidence that learning Irish will be harmful or delay the progress of children with dyslexia in reading.
Minister for Education Norma Foley has defended the system of Irish exemptions, saying increases are due primarily to much greater rates of diagnosis of learning difficulties and more students who were educated abroad joining Irish schools.
She has noted that while exemption numbers have climbed at second level – from 9 per cent to 13 per cent since 2019 – they have fallen at primary level – from 3.25 per cent to 2.9 per cent.
Ms Foley told an Oireachtas committee last year that in the context of an estimated 25 per cent of students having a learning or additional need, it was “quite staggering” that just 7 per cent across primary and second level were availing of exemptions.
By contrast, the Joint Committee on the Irish language and Gaeltacht published a report last February recommending the abolition of the Irish exemptions system following the sharp increase in numbers granted in recent years at second level.
The report said students experiencing difficulties with Irish should be allocated additional resources and supports before exemptions are considered. It also recommended that students receiving an exemption should also be exempted from studying a second language.
Dyslexia Ireland criticised the findings at the time and said exemptions were often transformative for dyslexic children and young people.
It said the committee’s report demonstrated a “fundamental lack of understanding about the needs of dyslexic students, and also a lack of awareness of the legal requirements to make reasonable adjustments to meet their needs.” It called for the provision of quality learning support for Irish to be made available to students experiencing learning difficulties.
