Education in the Republic of Ireland
Education in the Republic of Ireland is a primary, secondary and higher education. In recent years, further education has grown immensely, with 51% of working age adults having completed higher education by 2020. Growth in the economy since the 1960s has driven much of the change in the education system. For universities there are student service fees, which students are required to pay on registration, to cover examinations, insurance and registration costs.
The Department of Education and Youth, under the control of the Minister for Education and Youth, is in overall control of policy, funding and direction, while other important organisations such as the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, the Higher Education Authority, and on a local level the Education and Training Boards, are the only comprehensive system of government organisation. The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, a department formed in August 2020, creates policy and controls funding for third-level institutions. Many other statutory and non-statutory bodies have a function in the education system., the Minister for Education and Youth is Hildegarde Naughton and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is James Lawless.
History
On 10 September 1966, the Fianna Fáil Education Minister, Donogh O'Malley, made an unauthorised speech announcing plans for free upper second-level education in Ireland. Free upper second-level education was eventually introduced in September 1967, and is now widely seen as a milestone in Irish history.In 1973, the Irish language requirement for a second-level certificate was abandoned.
Structure
Students must go to schools from ages 5 to 16 or until they have completed three years of second-level of education.Under the Constitution of Ireland, parents are not obliged "in violation of their conscience and lawful preference to send their children to schools established by the State, or to any particular type of school designated by the State." However, the parental right to homeschool their child has met legal contests over minimum standards in the absence of constitutional provision for State-defined educational standards.
While English is the primary medium of instruction at all levels in most schools across the state, in Gaelscoileanna, Irish is the primary medium of instruction at all levels and English is taught as a second language. The Irish language remains a core subject taught in all public schools, with exemptions given to individual pupils on grounds of significant periods lived abroad, learning difficulties and other similar and/or valid reasons.
At third level, most university courses are conducted in English, with only a few Irish language options. Some universities offer courses partly through French, German or Spanish.
Framework
Years
Education is compulsory for all children in Ireland from the ages of six to sixteen or until students have completed three years of second-level education and including one sitting of the Junior Certificate examination. Primary education commonly starts at four to five years old. Children typically enrol in a Junior Infants class at age four or five, depending on parental wishes. Some schools enrollment policies have age four as the minimum age requirement.Pre-school
Most play schools in Ireland are in the private sector. Increasingly, children of working parents, who are below school age, attend a myriad of crèches, play-schools, Montessori schools, etc., which have sprung up in response to the changing needs of modern families. These operate as businesses and may charge often substantial childcare fees. Since 2009, in response to public demand for affordable childcare, children may receive two years of free enrollment in preschool in the years prior to starting primary schools under the Early Childcare and Education Scheme.Irish language Naíonraí are growing rapidly across Ireland. Nearly 4,000 preschoolers attend 278 preschool groups.
Primary school
- Junior Infants
- Senior Infants
- First Class
- Second Class
- Third Class
- Fourth Class
- Fifth Class
- Sixth Class
Secondary school
Since 1967, second-level education has been state funded in Ireland. However, schools may charge small fees for trips, mock exams, charity, etc.Junior Cycle
The Junior Cycle is a three-year programme, culminating in the Junior Certificate examination. The Junior Certificate examination is sat in all subjects in early-June, directly after the end of Third Year.- First Year
- Second Year
- Third Year
Transition Year
- Transition Year sometimes called Fourth Year – depending on school, this may be compulsory, optional or unavailable.
Senior Cycle
- Fifth Year
- Sixth Year
School Day
Secondary schools are obliged to have at least 28 hours of tuition time per week.Most schools have 40-minute class periods, however an increasing number of schools have adopted 60-minute classes to make timetabling easier for teachers and students.
The school day generally starts between 08:20 and 09:00 and usually ends between 15:20 and 16:00. There is usually a 10 or 15 minute break between 10:00 and 11:00, and a 30 to 60 minute lunch period between 12:30 and 14:00. Students may have up to nine 40-minute classes per day, or six 60-minute classes, with some schools also having a 10-15 minute registration period during the day.
Most schools also have a half day on either Wednesdays or Fridays where the school day ends before lunchtime.
Primary education
The Primary School Curriculum is taught in all schools. The document is prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and leaves to the church authorities the formulation and implementation of the religious curriculum in the schools they control. The curriculum seeks to celebrate the uniqueness of the child:The Primary Certificate Examination was the terminal examination at this level until the first primary-school curriculum, Curaclam na Bunscoile, was introduced, though informal standardised tests are still performed. The primary school system consists of eight years: Junior and Senior Infants, and First to Sixth Classes. Most children attend primary school between the ages of four and twelve although it is not compulsory until the age of six. A minority of children start school at three.
In 1990 the first Muslim National School gained recognition and state funding from the Department of Education, and in 2001 a second Muslim National school was established on the Dominican campus on the Navan road in north Dublin. Both are under the patronage of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland. 2014 saw the establishment of the first independent Muslim primary school in Blanchardstown.
Stratford National School is the only Jewish-ethos primary school in Ireland, under the patronage of the Dublin Talmud Torah. Due to the small size of the a Jewish community, only about 50% its pupils are of the Jewish faith.
As recently as 2016, virtually all state-funded primary schools – almost 97 percent – were under church control, with approximately 81% under Roman Catholic control. Irish law allowed schools under church control to consider religion as the main factor in admissions. Oversubscribed schools often chose to admit Catholics over non-Catholics, a situation that created difficulty for non-Catholic families. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in Geneva asked James Reilly, the Minister for Children at that time, to explain the continuation of preferential access to state-funded schools on the basis of religion. He said that the laws probably needed to change, but noted it might take a referendum because the Irish constitution gives protections to religious institutions. The issue is most problematic in the Dublin area. A petition initiated by a Dublin attorney, Paddy Monahan, received almost 20,000 signatures in favour of overturning the preference given to Catholic children. An advocacy group, Education Equality, planned a legal challenge.
Ireland's main Muslim representative bodies, have praised the Irish education sector and catholic-run schools for being accommodating to the needs of pupils from their community.
Reforms in recent years, including an increase in the number of schools with multi- and non-denominational patrons, has meant that the number of Roman-Catholic-patronage state-funded schools has fallen to approximately 88.4%.
Types of school
Primary education is generally completed at a national school, a multidenominational school, a gaelscoil or a preparatory school.- National schools date back to the introduction of state primary education in 1831. They are usually controlled by a board of management under diocesan patronage and often include a local clergyman. The term "national school" has of late become partly synonymous with primary school in some parts. Recently, there have been calls from many sides for fresh thinking in the areas of funding and governance for such schools, with some wanting them to be fully secularised.
- Gaelscoileanna are a recent movement, started in the mid 20th century. The Irish language is the working language in these schools and they can now be found countrywide in English-speaking communities. They differ from Irish-language national schools in Irish-speaking regions in that most are under the patronage of a voluntary organisation, Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge, rather than a diocesan patronage. Approximately 6% of primary school children attend Gaelscoileanna and approximately 3% attend Gaelcholáistí with 187 primary and post-primary schools across the country making it the fastest growing education sector.
- Multidenominational schools are another innovation. They are generally under the patronage of a non-profit limited company without share capital. They are often opened due to parental demand and students from all religions and backgrounds are welcome. Many are under the patronage of voluntary organisations such as Educate Together or An Foras Pátrúnachta. At least one proposed school has been approved under the patronage of the regional ETB, who generally run vocational secondary schools. In October 2020, general secretary of Education and Training Boards Ireland Paddy Lavelle confirmed that multidenominational state secondary schools, called State's Education and Training Boards – formerly called vocational schools – were going to phase out a set of Catholic influences such as mandatory graduation masses, displaying Catholic symbols only, and visits from diocesan inspectors, as described in the 'framework for the recognition of religious belief/identities of all students in ETB schools'.
- Preparatory schools are independent, fee-charging primary schools that are not reliant on the state for funding. These typically serve to prepare children for entry to fee-charging independent or voluntary secondary schools. Most are under the patronage of a religious order.
| Type of school | Number | Percentage of total |
| Catholic | 2,730 | 88.3% |
| Church of Ireland | 168 | 5.7% |
| Multi-denominational | 153 | 4.9% |
| Presbyterian | 17 | 0.5% |
| Inter-Denominational | 18 | 0.6% |
| Muslim | 2 | <0.1% |
| Methodist | 1 | <0.1% |
| Jewish | 1 | <0.1% |
| Quaker | 4 | 0.1% |
| Other/Unknown | 1 | <0.1% |
As of 2021, the breakdown of mixed versus single-sex mainstream primary schools numbered as follows:
| Type of school | Number | Percentage of total |
| Mixed-sex schools | 3,082 | 99.5% |
| Single-sex schools | 10 | 0.327% |
| Single-sex school | 14 | 0.45% |