Carol Nolan
Question:589. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education if she will provide details on the exemptions from sitting examinations in Irish (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1183/25]
View answerWednesday, 22 January 2025
Questions (589)
Written answers
I can advise the Deputy as follows:
There has been provision for an exemption from the study of Irish at Post-primary level since the foundation of the state and at primary level since 1979 (under circular 18/79). Currently, the policy on exemption from the study of Irish is outlined in circular 0054/2022 (Primary) and 0055/2022 (Post Primary).
Decisions on the granting of exemptions from the study of Irish were devolved to school management in the 1990’s. Schools are required to provide data on the number of exemptions from the study of Irish granted on the Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD). My department does not collect data on the number of applications for exemptions received by schools.
Recent data on the number of exemptions from the study of Irish granted and the main reasons for granting them are published on my department’s website education-statistics-doeirl.hub.arcgis.com/search?collection=Dataset&q=exemptions and are set out in Tables 1 and 2 for assistance. Earlier data is available in the Department of Education Inspectorate Report: Review of Policy and Practice in relation to Exemptions from the Study of Irish July 2018 As a result of the separate recording of primary and post-primary students, the figures reported for exemptions granted in post-primary school include the figure for the number of students already holding an exemption granted during primary school.
Total no. of exemptions in Primary and Post-primary
Under section 53(4)(a) of the Education Act 1998 as amended by the Section 7 of the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015, the Minister may refuse access to information that would enable the compilation of information that is not otherwise available to the general public in relation to the comparative performance of schools. A disclosure of a detailed breakdown of the number of exemptions by school level/school district level could be used in such a manner. My department has an obligation to oppose the granting of this information. As an alternative I am happy to provide a record of exemptions granted at county level.
Exemptions granted at post primary level by county in 2023/2024:
|
County |
No. of exemptions from the study of Irish granted at primary |
No. of exemptions from the study of Irish granted at post-primary |
Total exemptions from the study of Irish granted in schools by county |
|
Carlow |
46 |
458 |
504 |
|
Cavan |
88 |
334 |
422 |
|
Clare |
117 |
577 |
694 |
|
Cork |
495 |
2265 |
2760 |
|
Donegal |
121 |
775 |
896 |
|
Dublin |
717 |
4253 |
4970 |
|
Galway |
171 |
1066 |
1237 |
|
Kerry |
99 |
895 |
994 |
|
Kildare |
243 |
822 |
1065 |
|
Kilkenny |
55 |
395 |
450 |
|
Laois |
70 |
259 |
329 |
|
Leitrim |
32 |
160 |
192 |
|
Limerick |
168 |
835 |
1003 |
|
Longford |
38 |
236 |
274 |
|
Louth |
113 |
634 |
747 |
|
Mayo |
57 |
592 |
649 |
|
Meath |
180 |
577 |
757 |
|
Monaghan |
46 |
246 |
292 |
|
Offaly |
80 |
320 |
400 |
|
Roscommon |
49 |
278 |
327 |
|
Sligo |
35 |
252 |
287 |
|
Tipperary |
123 |
1113 |
1236 |
|
Waterford |
54 |
552 |
606 |
|
Westmeath |
93 |
498 |
591 |
|
Wexford |
155 |
620 |
775 |
|
Wicklow |
181 |
815 |
996 |
The circulars on exemption from the study of Irish set out that schools should record details of an exemption from the study of Irish granted to an individual student on the Primary Online Database (POD) and the Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD). The Primary Online Database (POD) – Data Protection Notice and Circular 0041/2021 “A Fair Processing Notice to explain how the personal data of students in post-primary schools on the Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD) will be recorded, processed and shared” summarise the policy and relevant legislation governing the use and processing of the data. This document also reiterates that my department is committed to abiding by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act, 2018 in respecting individuals’ rights to confidentiality and privacy.
In order to monitor the operation of the Circulars on Exemption from the study of Irish, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Unit in my department has access to some reports generated from the data on the databases. The use of this data in this manner falls within my department’s role of “the monitoring and inspection of the curricula being taught by schools”. In that context there is a legal basis for the data to be shared by schools with and used by my department but no legal basis for the sharing of such data with other bodies or persons.
Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) any organisation which collects personal data of an individual must take responsibility for what they do with personal data and how they comply with the GDPR principles. My department is accountable for whatever happens to the information you have requested. As such the GDPR requires that my department carefully consider the consequences to individual students and schools as well as any consequence for education policy or the implementation of the curriculum or curricular change. My department is required to protect the data on Post-Primary Online Database against unauthorised or unlawful processing using appropriate technical or organisational measures. In any case, a student’s birthplace or nationality is not required or considered as part of the process for considering an application for an exemption from the study of Irish.
The Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD) holds records of individual students in post-primary schools including details of any exemption granted and courses of study in which that student is enrolled. PPOD does not have information on examinations taken by such students. Details of the examinations undertaken by individual candidates are held by the State Examinations Commission. For operational reasons and in keeping with the requirements for data protection, both databases are separate, and while some information on post-primary students is shared with the State Examinations Commission, exemption information is not. The State Examinations Commission does not hold records of candidates who held an exemption from the study of Irish while in school as this has no bearing on the operation of examinations. In that context, I am not in a position to provide you with the information you have requested in parts 5 and 6 of your question.