Vol. 508 No. 1
930 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Education and Science the regulation which applies in relation to children starting school here having arrived from abroad in relation to getting an exemption from Irish; the exemption which can be made for children under 11; if he will give details of the appeal system; and if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11 who was ten and a half years old when she started can be exempted. [18197/99]
The circumstances in which exemption from the study of Irish may be granted to pupils are outlined in Departmental Circular 12/96. Under that circular authority has been delegated by my Department to individual schools to grant exemptions from Irish in accordance with specified criteria. If a person is dissatisfied with a decision that has been made by a school in relation to an exemption from Irish, that person may submit details of his/her individual case to the primary administration section of my Department in Athlone. My Department will review such cases to ensure that the terms of Circular 12/96 are correctly applied.
An exemption from Irish cannot be granted to a pupil solely on the basis that the pupil was ten and a half years old when enrolled in a primary school in this country. To qualify for an exemption on age grounds, a pupil must have received his/her primary education outside Ireland up to 11 years of age.
