Number of students exempt from studying Irish at second level reaches record high

"More than 60,000 students in secondary school are exempt from learning the Irish language"

"The number of second-level students with an exemption from studying the Irish language has doubled in the last seven years."

"Figures obtained by TG4 from the Department of Education and Youth show the numbers of those with an exemption sit at more than 60,000, having doubled over the past seven years."

More than 60,000 secondary-school students are currently exempt from learning the Irish language. The number of second-level students holding exemptions has doubled over the last seven years. TG4 obtained official figures from the Department of Education and Youth that report the exemption total. The data show that the exemption count now sits at more than 60,000 students, having increased twofold compared with the figure seven years earlier. The exemption applies specifically to study of the Irish language within second-level education. The trend represents a substantial rise in the number of students released from Irish-language study across the examined seven-year period.

Read at Irish Independent