All your education questions answered by Brian Mooney

Could you clarify the situation regarding exemptions from Leaving Certificate Irish and how this might affect a student who wishes to attend a university that has Irish as a matriculation requirement?

There are two forms of exemption from the study of Irish. You can view the Department of Education circular that deals with those students who do not have to study Irish in primary and post-primary schools at www.education.ie/servlet/ blobservlet/ppc10_94.doc.

The National University of Ireland also has a set of rules regarding those who do not have to present Irish for course entry purposes.

The Department of Education regulations state that the following four categories of students may be exempted from the study of Irish.

(a) Pupils whose primary education, up to 11 years of age, was received in Northern Ireland or outside Ireland.

(b) Pupils who were previously enrolled in a primary or second-level school in the State who are being re-enrolled after a period spent abroad, provided that at least three years have elapsed since the previous enrolment and the pupil is at least 11 years of age on re-enrolment.

(c) Pupils who function intellectually at average or above average level, but have a specific learning disability of such a degree of severity that they fail to achieve expected levels of attainment in basic language skills in the mother tongue or who have been assessed as having a general learning disability, due to serious intellectual impairment and are also failing to attain adequate levels in basic language skills in the mother tongue, or who have been assessed as having a general learning disability, due to serious sensory impairment and are also failing to attain adequate levels in basic language skills in the mother tongue. The evidence of such a disability should be furnished by a qualified psychologist, supported in the latter case by a report from an appropriate medical specialist. In addition, a full report on the pupil should be provided by the school.

(d) Pupils from abroad, who have no understanding of English, when enrolled, would be required to study one language only, Irish or English.

The National University of Ireland's exempts the following students from the need to present Irish for matriculation purposes

(a) Candidates born in Northern Ireland/United Kingdom presenting GCE/GCSE qualifications will automatically be granted exemption from Irish.

(b) Candidates born outside the Republic of Ireland, who are required to submit a copy of their birth certificate to NUI for verification.

(c) Candidates born in the Republic of Ireland whose primary education up to the age of 11 years was outside the Republic of Ireland, or who resided outside the Republic of Ireland during at least three years immediately preceding their becoming eligible for matriculation, or whose post-primary education in the three years immediately preceding their becoming eligible for matriculation took place outside of the Republic of Ireland.

(d) Candidates submitting a certificate of exemption, granted by the Irish Department of Education and Science.

Candidates applying for an exemption to NUI, under any of the four circumstances outlined above, are required to forward to the NUI a copy of the certificate of exemption signed by the school principal and accompanied by relevant supporting documentation. They may present, as their sixth subject, any other subject accepted for matriculation registration purposes. Candidates from outside the European Union presenting the results of examinations other than those of European Union countries may substitute another recognised subject for Irish.

Candidates from outside the Republic of Ireland who have been granted exemption in Irish may nevertheless present Irish as a subject for matriculation to fulfil the requirement to present a language other than English. (This provision is relevant to students from Northern Ireland and to other students from outside Ireland who present Irish as a Leaving Cert, GCE or GCSE subject.) Candidates presenting the International Baccalaureate diploma for matriculation and whose primary and post-primary education has been in the Republic of Ireland will satisfy the Irish language requirement by presenting a pass in Irish in the Leaving Certificate.

Brian Mooney is the former president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. E-mail questions to bmooney@irish- times.ie