Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE NUMBER OF secondary school pupils given an exemption from studying Irish last year was almost double the number granted an exemption before the pandemic.
Figures obtained by The Journal under the Freedom of Information Act show that 19,827 pupils received an Irish exemption for the 2023-24 academic year.
Approximately 416,575 students were enrolled at secondary level in Ireland last year, meaning that just over one in every 20 pupils received an exemption from studying Irish.
By comparison, the figures provided by the Department of Education show that only 10,374 exemptions were granted in the 2017-18 academic year, when 357,408 students were enrolled, meaning that around one in 33 students received an exemption that year.
The figures only refer to new Irish exemptions and do not include the number of pupils who were already given an exemption in a previous year – so the number of students exempted from studying Irish in each year was higher.
The exemption figures also include students who were newly enrolled in secondary school, but who were previously given an exemption from studying Irish at primary level.
According to the Department of Education, exemptions from learning Irish are granted on the grounds of a student having been educated outside of Ireland for a certain period of time, having significant literacy difficulty or having other additional needs.
The figures provided under FOI show that the number of exemptions granted to those coming to Ireland from abroad and those with special educational needs are relatively even in each academic year.
Last year, 9,853 pupils were given an exemption because they had a special educational requirement, compared to 9,974 exemptions granted to those who arrived from abroad.
The latest figures come months after Irish language campaigners told The Journal that the teaching of Irish in the education system is at “crisis point”.
Julian de Spáinn, general secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge, previously said that the organisation is “very concerned” about Irish in education, adding that the language risks becoming an optional subject if more students continue to opt out of learning it.
“It’s not a surprise for us. The numbers have been increasing over the last number of years,” he said.
De Spáinn was responding to other figures which showed that a record number of students did not sit an Irish exam as part of their Leaving Cert this year.
According to data reported by the Irish Times, 13,695 of the 60,839 students who sat their Leaving Cert exams this year – or 22.5% – were not registered to sit an Irish exam.
Although Irish is a mandatory subject at second level, students are not required to sit the Leaving Cert exams for the language.
Schools may grant an exemption if a student requests one for an exceptional reason, including that they have moved from a different country and have no experience of learning Irish, that they experience literacy difficulties, or that they attended a recognised special school or class.
Exemptions do not apply in schools where all lessons are taught through Irish.
Anecdotally, principals have said that recent changes to the system of exemptions make it more difficult for principals to refuse them and are a source of conflict between parents and teachers.
The Irish Independent also reported in February that the Department planned to audit schools with high levels of exemptions from studying Irish.
Earlier this year, a report by the Oireachtas committee on the Irish language also issued a report seeking to end the exemption system for secondary school students.
The report claimed that the system of exemptions “falsely convinces school students” that the learning of Irish is more difficult than other languages.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Aldi is showing the way forward. Lidl as well.
Was in Dunnes in Swords this morning! The special offers are few and far between! Prices are definitely creeping up again! And to top it all off, there’s hardly anyone working in it! Can’t wait for the new Lidl store to open!
It’s not surprising, a couple of years ago I was getting a decent weekly shop for €30-€40 now I am paying more like €60 a week. I like to shop around to ensure that Irish businesses get my money but I am beginning to think I should just stick with Lidl or Aldi.
Lisa, if you want to help the economy you should shop for the best deal for you and your family. Ths will force reailers to try and attract your business by reducing prices and maintaining or improving quality.
Lower prices will enable consumers to spread their into other sectors.
Ben while that is true, Tesco is known for forcing farmers to sell their produce at a crazy low price.
While one could suggest why don’t they sell to the highest bidder. Tesco et al dictate price and if the farmer doesn’t sell at the price they have no one else to buy it.
How can a farmer make a profit on the likes of lettuce when it’s being sold for 25cent.
JFK said that Farming was the only industry where people have to buy supplies at consumer prices and sell the finished goods at wholesale prices.
Iceland food store is brilliantly fair cheap on everything.. Lidl is very reasonable too.. When it comes to loyalty I’m sorry but I can only afford the cheapest with all these damn taxes
A few years ago it was almost shameful to be shopping in lidldi now it’s cool to do so!
In Holland, you see Doctor’s stepping out of Lidl in to their Mercs. People off all classes shop there. Here there was the new money snobbery, there they just viewed it as getting food at a reasonable price. A smart thing to do. There is an awful lot of people here who regret the keeping up appearances bolloxology now.
I would say thought that people should try to buy Irish if at all possible, the profits stay here, and they come back to you in wages, services jobs etc. A Euro spent on local produce is worth 2 to the economy.
Excellent point Fagan. I lived in Aus for a year and they really pushed buying Aussie goods.
We should try do the same.
Eddie Hobbs has us all believing everything Irish is a rip off. Having been to Aus and Finland among other countries I can honestly say Ireland Is not a rip off.
It will never be cool.
Agreed a few years ago there were so many people going around as though their $h1t did not stink and would not be seen near a lidl or aldi store, now times are different and reality bites, these large stores do offer good value but not on everything, people should learn to mix n match between local stores and the big multiples and spread their spend around, here in mainland europe small food retailers work alongside larger multiples and offer good value service & quality produce its a win win in relation to the customer, back to basics is the way forward
Try to shop local as much as I can, hate to see so much money leaving the country especially making the German economy stronger and ours getting weaker by the day, just my point of view
I agree. I try and shop in Dunnes as much as possible and I like the fact Dunnes tell you how many Irish goods you buy on their receipt.
where I live there is a Lidl, Supervalu, Tesco, Dunnes, Iceland & Aldi prob inside a square mile. Out of all of them it is Aldi for me. One of the reasons I shop in Aldi is the amount of Irish food, all most all their meat is from quality assured Irish farms, the crisp isle is mostly all Snackrite, which is made by Largo food (Tayto). loads of bread there is Irish, and actually nice unlike Lidl bread (not taking about their bakery) Heaps of Taste awards, and Blas na Eireann awards. really good quality Irish foods at great prices, specially selected sausages taste like superquinn ones. The say they try to stock as much Irish fruit n veg as they can, milk cheese yogurt eggs all Irish the mark all their Irish products with the tri-colour so its very easy to do a completely Irish shop. (I don’t work for Aldi :) )
The decline is due to the increase in cost.
Guys and girls. Prices are going to rise a lot more .
Oil is up. Our food is grown in petro chemicals ,transported in trucks and wrapped in plastics .
On top of that there is increased demand for food worldwide.
Tesco et al will not be able to hide price increases for too long and I have to agree with the above comments. I think the special offers are getting scarce. Especially for actual items you would use.
Not to sound like a broken record here but banks and hedgefunds have a huge part to blame in rising food prices. Morally and ethically wrong to be speculating on food prices but hey whats new.
It’s very morally wrong.
I work in a small fruit and veg shop…probably the only one around for miles because most have closed their doors, each morning we’re at the market, buying the freshest produce so customers are guaranteed high quality food, when in season, we get loads of produce from local growers. The big supermarkets have a few items cheaper, but on the whole, I’d say we’re cheaper in the long run. And everything is totally fresh, unlike supermarket stuff which is in cold storage for weeks. Support your locality, best for everyone.
My husband was made redundant from a wonderful supplier in fruit markets dublin, it was so sad to see a family business close after 60 odd years:-( i hope your fruit and veg shop sees the tough times through! :-)
One would not wonder why people are staying away they are going the same way as the publicans for years when trade fell back they increased their prices to make up for the loss of trade , now I have noticed the supermarkets are increasing prices, a rise of about 16 percent on a lot of items over the last 6 months, I for one leave it on the shelf and when it does not sell it is reduced for a few days to try and get rid of old stock, then is the time to buy, they should know that the customers are on a tight budget this day and age. as we are been robbed left right and centre by the government of the day.
have your say