Extra Time in State Exams for Students with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia: Motion Seanad Éireann — 2025-11-12 ============================================================ Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel I commend Senator Curley on tabling this motion. Equitable access and education for students with additional requirements in exams and more broadly is something he has been consistent on and committed to since becoming a Senator. As we all know, secondary school students with dyslexia and dyscalculia and their families are deeply distressed by this wait for the State Examinations Commission to finalise its long-promised review of the reasonable accommodations at certificate examinations. The request from students is simple. It is to allow extra time in exams for those with additional needs. It is not very radical. It was recommended, as we heard already, by the SEC's own expert advisory group in 2009, 16 years ago. That is 16 years of young people having struggled unnecessarily for an accommodation that is entirely reasonable and fair. For students with dyslexia or dyscalculia, time in an exam is not just a clock; it is a ticking barrier that measures speed instead of knowledge. Many of these students know the material and have studied hard but when words take longer to process or when numbers require more effort to decode, the exam ends before they have had a fair chance to show what they actually know. The SEC has argued that giving extra time might be unfair to other students but we know fairness is not about equality all the time, it is about equity. It does not mean you treat every student the same. It is recognising what each student needs to reach the same standard. We already make loads of other accommodations . We have larger print for those with visual impairments, assistive technology, exemptions from oral parts of exams for those who are deaf or hard of hearing and wheelchair access for those with mobility challenges. This request is no different. I know from personal experience what it is like to live with dyslexia. I have dyslexia. I know it can shake your confidence and make you question your intelligence. It can make you feel stupid or not smart enough, and as though you do not belong in academic spaces or have the same access to knowledge. I know that is not true now but even in a professional capacity, there are still huge barriers to consuming Bills and reading Bills and committee documents. These are things that will be a barrier for students throughout their professional careers. We should be putting them on an even playing field from the very first moment. I know my dyslexia is not a lack of ability but simply a different way of thinking and learning. Our traditional examination system does not work for young people who have dyslexia or dyscalculia. For students who have those additional learning differences, trying to concentrate and getting frustrated is tiring. Your are having to hyper-focus in these time-pressured environments, playing on an uneven field without the additional time. We are seeing an examination system that punishes students for difference. As we have already heard, Ireland is an outlier across Europe. In the UK, France, Italy and in over 86% of countries, students with specific learning differences are granted extra time in second level examinations. In Northern Ireland, students have this support in their A-levels as well. Even in the South, our third level institutions provide extra time to students who need it. The contradiction is that many students may never get a chance to even reach third level because the leaving certificate system holds them back. These are bright students who can excel in academia should they wish. They are blocked at one of the first hurdles. These young people are not looking for extra special treatment, just a fair opportunity, a fair chance and an exam system that measures what they know and not how fast they can read or what they can do under pressure. I support the motion and thank Senator Curley for calling for this reform of the RACE framework and full implementation of the recommendation to allow extra time for students with specific learning differences in advance of the 2026 exam cycle. We have the evidence and recommendations. We just need the will to act on them. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-11-12/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:18+00:00 Sitting date: 2025-11-12