(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann Gaeltachta.  Is féidir leagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo.)

A “CODING ERROR” led to Irish being moved further down the results list which students who sat the Junior Certificate Examination received this week, a spokesperson for the State Examinations Commission confirmed to The Journal today.

The issue came to light during Wednesday’s edition of Tús Áite on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. During the programme, a parent of a student who sat the exams was surprised that Irish was not listed at the top of the list – its traditional place above English and Mathematics – but near the bottom, just above Religious Education and Visual Arts.

The Journal queried the matter with the State Examinations Commission and according to the spokesperson, a “coding error” caused Irish to be listed as “L1 Irish”, rather than Irish, because the student sat the “L1 Irish” exam.

The applicant was a student in a Gaelcholáiste where Irish was taught as L1.

Students in Gaeltacht secondary schools and in the Irish-medium education sector have the opportunity to do Irish as L1, a specification aimed at native speakers and which allows students to focus on aspects of Irish, poetry and dialect and other subjects. It is more challenging than Irish as L2 which is available in schools outside the Gaeltacht.

A spokesperson for the Commission said that the mistake would be rectified and that it would not happen again.

This news comes on the heels of disappointment expressed by Irish language organisations that no additional funding was mentioned for Irish/Gaeltacht education in the Budget announced earlier this week.

The Department of Education and Youth has been asked for comment. 

The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme