Tóibín: “Soaring rates of Irish exemptions shows our national language has been downgraded to virtually an optional subject under successive Governments.”
The Aontú leader said a 109% rise in exemptions for secondary school students in a decade is a result of a casual attitude towards the Irish language that has made it effectively optional.
Peadar Tóibín says the Government needs to get serious about the Irish language, following a report that showed a huge jump in the number of Irish exemptions at secondary level.
He said: “This is something of a crisis for Irish education. Exemptions have gone up by 109% since 2017.
“There were over 73,000 students with exemptions from the study of Irish last year. That’s 14% of pupils in secondary school classrooms.
“The study showed that more than half of those with exemptions studied a foreign language, which indicates there is no language learning disability. The criteria for exemption is evidently lax.”
“It’s part of the Government’s downgrading of the Irish language. We only heard last week how the Government has no plans to open any new Irish language schools until at least 2032.”
The Meath West TD said we should follow the rest of Europe on this, where full exemptions are not granted.
“In other countries, temporary exemptions are given, which is reasonable.
Temporary exemptions, partial exemptions, reasonable accommodations, and choice of specification at post-primary level as is done across Europe should be provided instead of permanent exemptions.”
Deputy Tóibín was responding to the findings of research by Professor Pádraig Ó Duibhir from Dublin City University, which was launched before the Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish-Speaking Community on Tuesday.
