The Republic's improved performance in reading and literacy tests may be partially attributed to non-nationals who have come here in recent years, new figures from the OECD indicate.
The organisation, which monitors educational standards throughout the industrialised world, said Ireland's non-national population outperformed many of their Irish counterparts when it came to reading tests.
The Republic is the only country in the industrialised world where non-nationals managed to significantly surpass the average score of the indigenous population. The findings are included in a review of reading standards recently published in Paris by the OECD.
It analysed Ireland's performance in the PISA study of 2000 which tested thousands of 15-year-olds across Europe in reading and related tasks. The report states: "The only country where there is a significant difference in favour of non-native students is Ireland."
The Republic performed well in the overall study, finishing in the top five for reading ability. The scale of the contribution by non-nationals is not recorded but it must have played a part, said the OECD. The non-national populations of other countries performed badly when compared with the national average.
Irish schools, particularly in Dublin, now have large non-national student populations. These are often the children of asylum-seekers. While the children's English skills can be poor initially, principals report they make quick progress, often because their parents are anxious for them to do well.
The OECD report says the learning environment at home and the amount of homework done each week are crucial factors in how a child does in school.
While the level of education of many non-nationals can be low, this is not always the case. For example, so called "programme refugees", often from the former Yugoslavia, had a similar level of education when they came to the Republic as Irish-born pupils
The OECD acknowledges that adjusting to a new language is one of the major barriers facing non-national pupils. It says how this issue is handled by educational authorities is vitally important.
The Department of Education has invested in this area in the last three years, but schools claim there are big gaps in its provision.