If you’ve ever watched your child sit out of a class because the only time they could get reading support was during that subject, you know exactly how frustrating this feels. When schools schedule learning support during Irish instruction—forcing parents to choose between language learning and essential skill-building—the system is failing families. You’re not imagining this impossible choice. And in Ireland, a 71% surge in exemptions over five years shows just how many families are being pushed into this corner.
Scheduling Conflicts Drive Record Exemptions
In Ireland, 73,077 students currently hold exemptions from Irish language instruction—and the numbers are climbing rapidly. At the post-primary level, exemptions linked to learning differences jumped from 6,025 in 2019 to 10,301 in 2024-2025, a 71% increase that far outpaces the 17% growth in enrollment during the same period.
The driving force behind many of these exemptions isn’t that students can’t learn Irish—it’s that learning support is scheduled during Irish class time. Parents face an impossible choice: receive the reading support their child needs, or keep them in Irish class without adequate help for their developing literacy skills. “Why is that the default?” asks Wexford parent Joe Carroll. “Why isn’t more support the default position?”
71% more Irish exemptions in 5 years. Not because kids can't learn—because support is scheduled during Irish class. The system is forcing impossible choices.
Resource Gaps Leave Teachers Without Tools
The scheduling conflict reflects deeper systemic issues. Teachers report a lack of proper resources for teaching phonics in Irish, and experts describe “a complete dearth of supplementary focused resources for those that need intensive support.” Without adequate materials and training, teachers struggle to adapt instruction for students who are developing reading skills differently.
The Dyslexia Association of Ireland emphasizes that for students with more significant reading differences, learning two language codes simultaneously can create substantial stress. When a child is still strengthening foundational literacy in their first language, adding a second language requires resources and approaches that simply aren’t available in most schools.
Why is that the default? Why isn’t more support the default position?
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Exemptions as Reasonable Accommodation
Recent policy debates have suggested curtailing or abolishing Irish exemptions entirely, but advocates argue this misses the point. The Dyslexia Association of Ireland contends that exemptions serve as legitimate reasonable accommodations under disability law—not because students can’t eventually learn Irish, but because they need focused time to strengthen reading skills first.
Professor Pádraig Ó Duibhir of An Foras Patrúnachta suggests the challenge lies with adapting teaching methods rather than exempting students. Yet this adaptation requires resources, training, and crucially, scheduling flexibility that allows learning support outside of regular instruction time. Without these changes, exemptions remain the only practical option for many families navigating the current system.
Key takeaways
- 71% surge in Irish exemptions: Learning support scheduling during Irish class time has driven a 71% increase in exemptions for students with reading differences since 2019.
- Resources lacking for adapted teaching: Teachers report insufficient phonics materials and training needed to support students developing reading skills differently within Irish instruction.
- Strengthen reading first, add languages later: Brain research shows children who build strong foundational literacy skills are better positioned to successfully learn additional languages when ready.
Building Skills Before Adding Languages
The research on reading development suggests a path forward: when children strengthen their foundational literacy skills first, they’re better positioned to take on additional languages later. The brain’s ability to build new reading pathways through targeted practice means today’s developing reader can become tomorrow’s multilingual learner—but only with proper support and timing.
Rosie Bissett, CEO of Dyslexia Ireland, acknowledges that timetabling remains a “particular challenge” at the post-primary level. Until schools find ways to provide learning support without forcing families into impossible choices, the exemption numbers will likely continue to climb. The real solution isn’t fewer exemptions—it’s building a system where every child can develop their reading skills while keeping the door open to Irish language learning when they’re ready.
The challenge for teachers is to adapt teaching rather than exempt students.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Every child deserves both—the support to build strong reading skills AND the opportunity to learn their national language. When bureaucratic scheduling forces families into impossible either/or choices, the system has failed. The brain is remarkably capable of building new pathways for reading and language learning, but only when given proper support and appropriate timing. Parents shouldn’t have to navigate a system that makes them choose between essential skill-building and educational opportunity. If you’re ready to stop waiting for a system that wasn’t designed for your child, the Learning Success All Access Program offers a free trial that includes a personalized Action Plan—and you keep that plan even if you decide it’s not the right fit.
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Your school district must evaluate your child free of charge if you ask in writing, whatever your income and whatever the outcome (US, 34 CFR 300.111 and 300.301(b)). That route takes time and answers a different question than you do. This one starts today, from what you already know.
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A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too. That is the only route to those supports.
References
- Irish Times - Children with dyslexia denied chance to learn Irish due to lack of support
- Dyslexia Association of Ireland - Response to Oireachtas Committee Recommendations on Irish Exemption
