I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this motion regarding extra time in State exams for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia. Senator Curley, who is moving the motion, wishes to share time with Senator O'Loughlin, who is seconding the motion. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

recognises that:

- 15,000 special education teachers have been provided to enable students with learning difficulties, including dyslexia, to attend their local mainstream schools;

- the majority of students with dyslexia and dyscalculia attend mainstream schools;

- schools receive a substantial additional teaching allocation to support children with special education needs who are in mainstream classes;

- the National Educational Psychological Service provides professional learning opportunities to all post primary school teachers on supporting young people with literacy difficulties, including dyslexia;

agrees that:

- education is the great leveller and the great enabler, the bedrock of our country’s continued social and economic progress;

- education is at the heart of all of our ambitions as a country;

- our education system must support and nurture every student to reach their full potential;

notes that:

- the State Examinations Commission is reviewing the Reasonable Accommodations at the Certificate Examinations or RACE scheme to ensure extra time will be in place for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia sitting their Junior and Leaving Certificate exams in June 2026;

- the State Examinations Commission is independent from the Department of Education and Youth;

- the State Examinations Commission has asked students with dyslexia and dyscalculia to come forward so that it can set specific criteria for them, including extra time, for the exams in June;

- primary legislation cannot be used to introduce the extra time;

calls for the Minister for Education and Youth to:

- update the House on the progress of the review of the RACE scheme in relation to extra time for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia sitting Junior and Leaving Certificate exams;

- update the House on the engagement between the State Examinations Commission and students with dyslexia and dyscalculia;

- ensure that extra time will be available for all students with dyslexia and dyscalculia sitting State Examinations in 2026;

- continue to develop supports for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia;

- continue to work to ensure our education system is fully inclusive of all students.

Extra time for students with dyslexia or dyscalculia has been an issue forever but, in particular, since 2009 when an expert advisory group advised that it should be rolled out across the board for exams at leaving certificate and junior certificate level in Ireland. I thank my party for giving me the opportunity to bring forward this urgent Private Members' business today. I particularly thank my colleague, Senator Ollie Crowe, who has been working hard behind the scenes with me on this issue and I know he cares deeply about this as well.

This debate is particularly timely as forms for reactivating accommodations that were already provided at junior certificate level and forms for new applications became available last month. The closing date for schools to send applications to the State Examinations Commission, SEC, is 21 November, with decisions returning to schools before the end of February.

I will provide a quick background to dyslexia. As a teacher, I have seen how problems can compound this issue. A student may have a reading difficulty, then cannot finish the homework for the next day and then loses their confidence in a subject they once loved, particularly for me with the Irish language, simply because they were born with dyslexia or dyscalculia. Secondary consequences include reading comprehension problems and reduced reading and writing experience, impeding growth in language, knowledge and expression and overall academic achievement. These can go on to affect psychological well-being and employment opportunities. In 2022, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, noted that dyslexia was one of the roadblocks preventing gardaí from fulfilling Irish language requirements. The impacts that start small grow until they touch all parts of Irish society.

I will now provide background on dyscalculia. It is a learning difference that can cause difficulties with core maths, causing a lack of intuitive grasp of number-sense. A lack of confidence in their own math abilities can worsen what students already struggle with. Like dyslexia, it occurs on a spectrum, with some people mildly affected and others more severely. It affects approximately 6% to 8% of the population and there is a high rate of co-diagnosis of dyslexia and dyscalculia, leading to more challenges for those students.

The SEC does provide some accommodations for students with dyslexia, including grammar waivers, scribes and assistive technology. This is all welcome, however, dyslexia can also affect processing speed. In a Dyslexia Ireland survey of 2021, 84% of respondents said they wanted extra time to be available to students with dyslexia in exams. However, the SEC does not grant additional time in its own right, but only as a consequence of other arrangements when someone qualifies for the RACE scheme. One year after their leaving certificate, should a student decide to go to college, they will get extra time in their exams if they have dyslexia.

Not only is there a difference between second level and third level handling of extra time, there is also a significant difference between Ireland and the rest of the European Union. Across Europe, extra time for students with dyslexia varies from 11% to 33%. Italy, Norway, France, the Netherlands, Finland and the UK all show up for their dyslexic students, leaving Ireland in the dust. In other countries, time is a tool to level the playing field. In Ireland, time, or a lack thereof, sets students up to fail. Carmen Vidal Rodeiro is a senior research officer at Cambridge University Press and Assessment. In 2022, she conducted a study on this very topic of controversy around the practice of providing accommodations in her paper titled Equal Opportunity or Unfair Advantage. The results revealed that students with accommodations performed similarly or slightly worse than students without accommodations, suggesting that in most cases the accommodations worked as intended and helped to level the playing field.

If extra time evidently helps level the playing field in other countries, why are we so far behind the curve? The public are really engaged on this and 33,000 of people recently signed Dyslexia Ireland's petition to roll this out for the 2026 exams. A few weeks ago, we had Sive O'Brien, a senior cycle student from Our Lady's Bower in Athlone, at the education committee. Sive, who is preparing for her leaving certificate, spoke candidly about her experience sitting the junior certificate without extra time and reflected on the toll it took on her confidence and well-being. Speaking to committee members, Sive said:

It was a very stressful time especially when I went in knowing I would run out of time. My first exam was English and I badly ran out of time in that exam. That had a knock-on effect for all of my other exams.

[...]

It is very disheartening [when you] put in all of the effort and done all the study and then you cannot show what you have learned.

When asked, she said she could not finish a single exam in its entirety. She is a really intelligent young person who did not finish a single one of her junior certificate exams. Sive explained that research from other countries indicates that students perform better and experience less stress when given reasonable accommodations such as extra time. Sive said, "students [sitting exams] in other countries who did receive extra time had better results, [had] better well-being and were properly accommodated so they could achieve their fullest potential." In response to hearing Sive had not finished any of her exams, the CEO of the SEC said, "examinations are ... inherently stressful". That is a quote from the SEC. It shows that body is slightly out of touch with what the experience really is for students on the ground.

We all remember the stress of State exams and, indeed, any other exams we have taken throughout our lives. However, it is unreasonable to think students with dyslexia are not suffering from additional stress, trying to complete exams under conditions that have no accommodations for their needs. The stress of feeling punished for having dyslexia, something completely out of their control, is not normal exam stress. It is something more and it is hugely damaging to their confidence and self-esteem as well as not allowing them to reach their full potential.

This goes on to have a wider societal impact. The report I mentioned from Dyslexia Ireland, conducted in 2021, of 761 parents, said 96% of parents agree that having dyslexia can have a negative impact on a person's mental health, particularly if it is undiagnosed and unsupported. Self-esteem, anxiety and mental health was the highest-rated challenge noted by respondents to this survey, at 69%, with about the same percentage of parents reportedly anxious about their child's future and work prospects. This is so prevalent that Dyslexia Ireland lists a lack of self-confidence and poorer self-image as one of the many indicators of dyslexia for students aged 12 years or older.

As regards employability, research has shown that educational attainment increases the chances of legitimate work, and employees across this island help our society function at its best. I will save my comments about the SEC's handling of the Irish language, but I will say that the less people who speak Irish, the harder it will be to reach our 2030 goals of having 20% of civil servants able to speak the Irish language. That can restrict the number of gardaí and other public servants we can hire in this country.

In that 2021 study, Dyslexia Ireland found that 98% of respondents felt that people with dyslexia often have hidden potential. The whole country is counting on the SEC to help students to discover that hidden potential by providing academically recommended extra time for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia. On that recommendation, the people who the SEC are about to pilot and send out for review will be third level researchers; it already gives ten minutes per hour or part of an hour as part of an exam, something I have repeated ad nauseam in this Chamber and in committee.

I am not sure if the Minister of State is aware, but the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, the Minister, Deputy McEntee's Cabinet colleague, gave us a confirmation in very good faith a few weeks ago that this would be sorted for the 2026 leaving certificate. He said, "The key point is that this will be concluded and communicated in order that it will be in place for the ... [2026 leaving cert exams]. We are at an advanced stage. The work is largely done. Let us finish it off." That is a direct quote from the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, a couple of months ago in this Chamber. I believe he said it in good faith and was acting on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in good faith, but it is something we have to come good on now. This relieved so much stress for students at the time when they got this news. There was huge celebration from people with dyslexia that current students about to hit the 2026 leaving certificate would not face the same trauma as previous students throughout the years. I am urging the Minister of State to intervene and ensure that the State Examinations Commission has this in place for the 2026 leaving certificate so we are no longer letting down the students of this country.

I second the motion. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is very welcome to the Chamber. I acknowledge his work as Minister of State with responsibility for special education and the very reforming work he is undertaking, while acknowledging that this particular motion is under the brief of the Minister, Deputy McEntee. It is a very important motion. I commend my colleague, Senator Curley, our education spokesperson, on all the background work he has been doing in this area. Senator Crowe has been very vocal also.

It is an important debate because as the Minister of State knows, within Fianna Fáil we see ourselves as the party of education. Throughout our history, we have established an unmatched record of commitment to education both as a great leveller and a great enabler. Education, of course, is the bedrock of our country's continued social and economic progress and we as a party have led every single significant expansion of Irish education. However, we believe also that our education system must support and nurture every student to reach his or her full potential. That is really important. It is absolutely essential that the State Examinations Commission develops a scheme of additional time for the 2026 State examinations.

It is really important that our Government and the Department of education continually improve our education system to equip all students with the skills and supports they require to succeed in a rapidly changing world. As well as the academic skills, it is the skills and resilience my colleague, Senator Curley, has already spoken about in terms of positive mental health, resilience and confidence in being able to sit exams to the best of a student's ability. The range of accommodations that have already been provided under the RACE scheme has been designed to ensure fairness when facilitating candidates in demonstrating their level of achievement. We know there already is a range of accommodations that are available, but the last comprehensive review of this scheme was undertaken ten years ago. It did result in fundamental reforms, and it is important to say that, but, at the same time, we have a greater understanding and a better understanding, and it is really important that access to this scheme now is needs based rather than based on a specific diagnosis. That is in line with best practice internationally.

The SEC has confirmed that it is working on a scheme, but this is urgent. It needs to happen for the 2026 exams. It is really important that the scheme will be available to all candidates, not just a pilot scheme. At this point in time, the RACE review is seeking the views of users through extensive consultation and engagement. It is really important that we encourage parents, students and schools to get involved with this campaign.

As the Minister of State knows, I always talk about the lived experience. I have received a number of emails that I believe are really important in relation to this topic. I have selected a number of them to be able to speak about this matter here today. I am going to tell the Minister of State a little about a bit about Chloe. Chloe is in fifth year. She came home yesterday from the school exams very disappointed to the point of giving up. It was an art exam with a lot of difficult words and phrases, and today was going to be no better because it was engineering. Her mum fought very hard for her before her junior certificate, and just before the exams, she was granted a reader and rest breaks but no extra time. Chloe came home from the exams every day delighted because she now understood the questions and stayed in every exam until the last minute because, finally, they made sense to her. This reader will not be given again until the next State exam, which is in three years’ time. It is, therefore, difficult for the school and family to be able to assess how she is doing. That is an important point to make. We need to be able to assess between State exams. Every child deserves an equal right to education. Readers and extra time are not a luxury. They are just making the playing field equal and fair.

I have an email from a secondary school teacher who spoke about the students she taught in maths over the years who should have qualified for extra time but did not get it. That led to a lack of morale and a lack of positivity and students feeling disappointed in themselves. This teacher said that, absolutely, the review is important to make the exam process less stressful for students. We all talk about exam time being a very stressful time. This is an interesting point to make.

I had an e-mail from a mum who spoke about her daughter who has processing issues, which can be worked around while learning. Sadly, her ability to write was taken from her as a child due to a brain tumour. She talked about children who have gone through cancer and cancer treatment up and down the country who are back in school. They have had severe life-changing surgeries and treatments and very sadly, many drop out of education because they do not get the correct support. While this is outside the terms of this motion about dyslexia and dyscalculia, it is important to mention it. It is important that we look at other areas.

Another young man called Shane, a student who is sitting the leaving certificate this year, suffers from hypotonia, which affects a person's ability to write or type for prolonged lengths of time and the ability to write at speed. It is currently not covered under the RACE additional time allowance, so I will mention that also.

Another parent talked about her eldest son in sixth year who has had a diagnosis of speech and language impairment or developmental language disorder, which has a huge impact, but does not get any accommodations. At this point in time, it is hard to know the exact numbers, but we do know that every year roughly 6,000 students sit the junior certificate who have dyslexia, 6,000 students sit the leaving certificate who have dyslexia, and about half that number sit both exams with dyscalculia. It is, therefore, a very significant number of students, but it should not be that difficult to give them the extra time they need so that they can shine and to give them confidence in their ability to do their exams and perform well.

I thank the Minister for being here. I ask her to take on board some of the other areas I have mentioned which should be included in the RACE programme.

I will preface my remarks by saying that I spent over half a century in the classroom and working in colleges of education. When I was in primary school, I, like a lot of people, had the traumatic experience of watching children in the classroom who had difficulties with reading and working with numbers being beaten for their failures. It left a huge impression on me.

When I started out as a young teacher in the early 1970s, the concept of dyslexia was rarely mentioned. We know from the history of Irish education that from the foundation of the State into the 1980s, before treatments for dyslexia and dyscalculia began to become the norm, an awful lot of children were fiendishly badly treated by the system for what were perceived as their failures. I am sure that had a lasting psychological and emotional impression on them for the rest of their lives.

Today we know about one in ten pupils in Ireland have dyslexia and an indeterminate figure undergo the effects of dyscalculia and dyspraxia. It means that a lot of children go through the gates of our schools with a condition that is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. If it is undiagnosed, we know it is pretty much untreated. Their difficulties lie in processing speeds, spelling and written expression, not in their intelligence or work ethic. That distinction is hugely important because what is perceived as failure is something that is internally programmed into their system and should inform our approach to examining these children.

Coincidentally, in the House of Commons in Westminster yesterday, one of the education committees discussed dyslexia and dyscalculia. The issue was championed by a Liberal Democrat MP, Adam Dance. He spoke about dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia in the classroom in the UK. He described the manner in which these conditions are diagnosed as a complete postcode lottery, a term which is probably has more currency in Britain. When we use the term "postcode lottery" in this country, what we really mean is that those who can pay for assessments are often able to get them whereas those who cannot do not. The MP mentioned that 86% of people in income managing families can get a diagnosis, whereas the figure falls to 45% in lower income families. I would say that is replicated in our system.

I want to congratulate and say a big well done to Senator Curley and the other Members present for bringing this issue forward from our education committee. It needs ventilation and it is great to have the Minister for Education and Youth here to join in the discussions and deliberations. I know she will not go away unattentive of our pleas and what we are saying.

We are discussing systems that exist in other sections of our society. Trinity College, just down the road from here, and many other third level institutions grant additional time for a range of reasons. We have to ask why that is not available in our second level institutions. We have supports like scribes, laptops and spelling waivers under the RACE scheme, but extra time is not standard for State exams. As Senator Curley said, this impacts a student's grades. It is proven that a student with a learning disability who has extra time can perform much better in exams. A student from Our Lady's Bower in Athlone who came before the committee said students are almost defeated before they start. They know they will not have enough time and that impacts on the rest of their performance. A lot of students are failing before they even set out, which is an awful stamp of rejection for a kid of 15 or 16 years of age. Those exams in the public sector determine future avenues. We all love to look at our children and hope they have the prospect of a good career in a college or wherever else. That will be affected by a student's performance in State examinations.

How can supporting students propel them ahead of their classmates? Extended time accommodation would, to some degree, level the playing field. Our leaving and junior certificate exams are almost entirely tests of written ability and memory and verbal recall. Extra time would only allow pupils to show what they actually know and not how fast they can regurgitate or reproduce information.

There is clearly a hunger for change. Dyslexia Ireland has a petition that has gathered over 30,000 signatures calling for extra exam time. We, as legislators in the Upper House, have as a result of the deliberations in our committee brought this very worthy motion forward. I am happy on behalf of the Seanad Independent Group to give it every ventilation and support. The solutions are obvious. If it can work with the RACE system, we should be able to tackle this. It is tick of a pen stuff really.

The Minister is welcome. I, too, commend Senator Curley and the other Senators on bringing forward the motion. It was before the education and youth committee. I would like to acknowledge all of the members of the committee present.

Extra time for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia in State examinations is an issue that affects families and schools in every county in Ireland. It is long past time that it was addressed properly. Over the years, we have seen remarkable advocacy from Dyslexia Ireland, teachers and parents who simply want fairness for their children. The call is clear and consistent: students with dyslexia and other specific learning differences should have access to reasonable accommodation, including extra time when sitting junior and leaving certificate exams. It is not radical; it is common practice internationally. It is already standard practice in third level institutions here, yet somehow we continue to ask young people in our second level system to compete on an uneven playing field.

As everybody has said, in recent weeks the SEC published the RACE 2026 instructions. Schools can now play for reading and writing assistance, spelling, grammar waivers and other established supports, but the crucial issue, and the one families have awaited for years, is extra time and that remains uncertain. The SEC has stated it intends to introduce a pilot scheme for extra time for certain candidates already eligible under the RACE scheme in 2026, but beyond that single line there is no detail.

Dyslexia Ireland has information on its website. It wonders which students will qualify, how much additional time will be given and when the information will reach schools. That uncertainty is more than an inconvenience; it is causing real anxiety for students and parents trying to prepare for next June. Schools are being asked to plan in the dark. We need clarity now, not next spring. We do not need another review; we need this now.

This issue did not appear overnight. In fact, the SEC's expert advisory group recommended the introduction of extra time as far back as 2009. Some 16 years later, that recommendation remains unfulfilled. To clarify, a number of Ministers have held the office during that time. I understand there were Fianna Fáil Ministers for five and half years and Labour Party Ministers for just over five years. We are now coming up on five years of Fine Gael Ministers. I join with Senator O'Loughlin in saying that we believe the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is the one who can deliver on this. We have faith in her.

Earlier this year, Rosie Bissett, CEO of Dyslexia Ireland, and her colleague, Donald Ewing, appeared before the Committee on Education and Youth and made their case passionately and clearly. As a number of people have mentioned, Sive O'Brien is a senior student from Our Lady's Bower in Athlone who has campaigned for this. She is an unbelievable example of the potential of a young person who is overcoming a difficult situation.

She left an impression on everybody at that committee. The question we all left the meeting asking is why it is taking so long to get these students additional time. It is not just an abstract policy question to me. As a former member of Roscommon County Council, I recall clearly a motion brought by Councillor Laurence Fallon in February calling on the council to write to then Minister for Education urging the introduction of extra time for students with dyslexia and other learning difficulties in State exams. Support across the chamber was extraordinary - almost unanimous. It was not just procedural support; many councillors across all parties spoke openly about their own experiences - late diagnosis, school struggles and the moment of realisation when they finally understood what they were facing and that it had a name. It was an honest, human discussion - the kind of conversation we need more of in public life. Councillor Fallon reminded us all that one in ten people in Ireland will experience dyslexia in their lifetime. That means every classroom, every school and every community is affected and probably even this Chamber.

As we heard from parents and teachers across the country, the processing time for students with dyslexia and dyscalculia is significantly longer, and doing the same work as their peers takes greater effort and more energy and often leaves them mentally drained long before the clock stops. That fatigue does not just affect results; it affects confidence, mental health and the young person's whole relationship with education. When families tell us their child just needs a little more time, that is not a request for special treatment, it is a plea for fairness and a level playing field on the most important days of their school lives.

Senator Curley also mentioned what the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, said here back in June. We are looking for immediate publication of full details of the extra-time pilot including eligibility and duration. We need to ensure no student is disadvantaged by delays in communication or processing. We need to expand the pilot to cover all students with various specific learning differences by the 2026 exams. We need to look at making extra time a permanent standard accommodation within the RACE scheme. The simple message I tried to get across when we spoke about this at the education and youth committee was that the State Examination Commission was looking for additional time to evaluate all the information. It is the very same thing the students suffering from these conditions are looking for. I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I know she has spoken to us before about this. I thank her for taking that on board.

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.

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and thank her for being here. This is a topic I raised earlier in the year in a Commencement matter with Senator Curley. It is an issue that could be resolved quickly enough in a straightforward manner and I hope today's debate will help that goal. As has been outlined, dyslexia is a learning difference that affects about one in ten students, manifesting on a spectrum from mild to severe. As Members will be aware, it is legally recognised as a disability under both Irish and EU law. That recognition ensures the right to various accommodations in both educational settings and the workplace. In many countries, students with dyslexia and other similar conditions are granted additional time to support them during their formal state exams. These countries include France, where students receive 33% additional time, Italy, where it is 30%, and the UK, where students receive 25% additional time. There is currently no provision for extra time in Ireland despite advocates having raised it over a number of years. When I raised this issue earlier in the year, I talked to a lot of families across Galway. I was approached by a number of people who told me different stories about how much stress this was causing and how much their children would benefit from a time allowance similar to what is available in other countries. There are a number of examples and that was just one. There is an issue affecting thousands of families across the country every year. They are not looking for special treatment, just a level playing field that acknowledges their child's situation.

It is welcome that the State Examinations Commission has said a pilot scheme will be tested in 2026 and that the scheme will be available to all candidates nationally who meet the eligibility criteria. It is some level of progress. Having said that, I fail to see the need for any pilot scheme. There is no shortage of research and information available on this topic. As families affected by this issue noted to me, extra time is already allocated to students with dyslexia in Ireland at third level, where students receive an additional ten minutes per hour of exam. It is impossible to explain to anyone affected by this issue why there are different rules for second level and third level education in the same country. I welcome the fact that we are finally beginning to see some action on this issue but it is beyond my comprehension as to why it is so slow and drawn out. I urge the Department and the Minister to engage with the State Examinations Commission and attempt to finally resolve this as a matter of priority. I thank Senator Curley for highlighting the issue continuously since he was elected.

Sally E. Shaywitz of the Yale Centre for Dyslexia and Creativity said:

...science has moved forward at a rapid pace so that we now possess the data to reliably define dyslexia ... For the student, the knowledge that he is dyslexic is empowering, providing the student with self-understanding and self-awareness of what he has and what he needs to do in order to succeed.

I spoke to my husband about this today. Although not officially diagnosed with dyslexia, he is in no doubt that he has dyslexia. He would describe it as that he has all the information he needs, but sometimes it is harder to process. You would never know it with my husband. He is articulate and has helped me with many a speech. People really enjoy his company and he is passionate about so many things that I sometimes have no clue about. However, for simple tasks like writing an email, birthday card or letter or choosing the words to say, the thought process would take a lot longer than for some other people. An email that would take me two minutes would take my husband 30 minutes, such is the thought that goes into every word. To compensate for how hard he found exams in school, he would write very messily, almost making it confusing, so it was like a disguise. Going through school in the seventies and eighties was very difficult and there was no tolerance for people like him to question that he learned differently. Considering the term "dyslexia" has been used for the last 130 years, I wonder how far we have come. I spoke to a fifth year student last week and she said she would love to learn Irish. Her mother fought for her not to have to do Irish. She would love to but the stress of sitting an exam would be just too much.

I welcome Senator Curley's motion. I had a look at other countries that do accommodate for exams, like the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. In the UK, students with dyslexia can typically receive up to 25% extra time in exams. This means that if an exam is scheduled for two hours, a student with dyslexia might receive an extra 30 minutes. With one in every ten people in Ireland having dyslexia, there could be three in a classroom of 30 people. According to Dyslexia Ireland, 6% to 8% of the population have dyscalculia, which could be another two to three students in the class. I welcome that we are looking at proposals to give people extra time in exams. I spoke to a very close friend of mine whose son, Fionn, was blessed to get into the Catherine McAuley dyslexia school here in Dublin, travelling every day from Meath for two years. It was very hard to have left school in his last two years but he was brave and strong. At 13 years of age Fionn is now standing in front of primary school classes, letting them know that all will be okay if they have dyslexia. Fionn is in the first percentile with severe dyslexia but with a 98% IQ. It is all about the approach. It is invaluable that we do this for children, for our youth and for people sitting exams. Fionn is a total superhero, there is no doubt about that, but he needs more time to read the questions in exams. His mam pointed out recently that in the autumn exams, he did extremely well in the percentage of the exam that he could get to. He just could not get to the rest because he needed more time. It is critical we give students like Fionn more time. He and young people like him need more time.

I will end with this quote: "If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn."

I commend Senator Curley on taking the initiative and tabling this critically important motion. I am sorry to have to say it but the State Examinations Commission's special arrangements for people with disabilities are not fit for purpose. I did my leaving certificate in 1992 and I got extra time of ten minutes per hour because of my vision impairment. I typed my exam. I missed getting into UCD by ten points. Back then there was no higher education access route, HEAR, programme so you had to get the points. I repeated the leaving certificate the following year and used a word processor. I got ten minutes per hour. Because of the fact that I read so little, I spell phonetically, so I had to run a spellcheck which took about 20 minutes of the 30 minutes I got for a three-hour exam. I got the points, thankfully, and went to college. In college the approach was very different. They took account of the fact that I spelled phonetically and gave me 20 minutes per hour.

I prospered in college because of that particular provision.

Let us fast-forward to 2025. That Senator Curley has to table this motion is an indictment of the Department of education. To be quite frank, for whatever reason, the Department of education does not want to change culturally. It has a culture of constantly pushing back when it comes to State examinations for people with disabilities. I know of two twins who had the exact same condition. The State Examinations Commission gave special accommodations to one and refused to for the other even though there was absolutely no difference between their two conditions. That happened only a few years ago. The Department pushes back. That it does not want to change and does not appreciate the fact that everybody deserves to play on an equal, fair and balanced playing pitch is absolutely reprehensible. I do not know who the people in charge of special accommodations in the State Examinations Commission are but, up until a year or two ago, they have should hung their heads in shame. I do not have a huge amount of faith in this pilot scheme but people like Senator Curley, Senator Nelson Murray and the rest of the people who have spoken on this will push to make sure this happens.

The one hope and the one positive in this is that I know the Minister is committed to making her Department change. If it does not want to, she will make it. She has proven time and again that she is a Minister who leads from the front. Senator Scahill is right. For 14 years, we have had a mixture of Labour Party, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Ministers for education who have experienced pushback from their Department. It is now time for a powerful push to make the Department change so that this pilot scheme will be the last and that, from here on in, if people have impairments, dyslexia or another disability that means they need a little bit of extra time to put on paper or onto a computer or to speak the knowledge they have, we should provide that.

We should not be having this discussion here. We should be doing what other countries are doing and what the universities are doing. For whatever reason, however, we have had to fight to get digitally accessible exam papers for the leaving certificate. It was only for last summer's June exams that people who studied using a laptop because of their disability were finally able to access their exams in a digital format. By God almighty, it was desperate that we had to campaign for years and years. I acknowledge Féach and other organisations that did huge work in that regard. I also acknowledge Niamh Kilcawley, the student in Dungarvan, County Waterford, who could not do her junior certificate using the digital formats she had studied and learnt through. She was able to do her leaving certificate through that format last June. She is now studying law in UCC. She was able to achieve her potential because she was able to do her exam in the format in which she had studied and learnt.

The State Examinations Commission has to get real. The Minister might think I am being harsh but I have been a Member of the Oireachtas for 14 years lobbying, putting down Commencement matters, raising matters on the Order of Business and speaking on Private Members' motions and remembering my own experience back in the nineties. It is very frustrating that it has only changed slightly.

I thank Senators for the opportunity to update the House on this really important motion and overall issue. I have engaged with Senator Curley on the issue and I have met with my colleagues Senators Scahill and Nelson Murray. I know it is an extremely important issue for everybody here. The Government is not seeking to oppose the motion. The intent is very reflective of Government policy, our programme for Government commitments and the intensive work the State Examinations Commission is currently doing to develop that scheme of additional time. This is to be piloted for 2026. When we think of a pilot, we think of a small group of people for a small period of time. This pilot is to be introduced based on certain criteria to start with, so "pilot" may be the wrong word to use. It is going to be introduced based on criteria and I intend for it to continue.

Today's motion very much reflects the vital role of education in our society. It acknowledges the commitment of this Government to nurture every student to reach his or her full potential. We have all met those students. We know them. There may be people in our lives whom we are trying to support here. I know that commitment is shared by teachers, school leaders and parents throughout Ireland and is reflected in the support they provide for our children and young people on their educational journey.

Before I speak in detail about the reasonable accommodations at certificate examinations, RACE, accommodations for the 2026 examinations, I will mention some aspects of the wider work under way on special education in my Department, some of which is recognised in this motion. There has been significant growth and investment in disability and special education related supports for students in Ireland. This is underpinned by a policy of inclusion. In accordance with this principle of inclusion, the aim is for students with additional learning needs to attend mainstream classes to the greatest extent possible. About 96% of such students attend mainstream classes along with their siblings, neighbours and peers, with additional supports provided as necessary. It is really important that we continue to provide those supports on the basis of need rather than through a diagnosis-led model because we know what that leads to and the challenges that build up in our system as a result. There are now over 15,000 special education teachers to support schools and students to achieve this objective. This means schools get a substantial additional teaching allocation to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes. These additional resources are provided to support students with the greatest level of need. That includes those with dyslexia, severe dyslexia or dyscalculia. Special education teachers work with their mainstream counterparts to identify students’ needs and to plan, implement and monitor the effectiveness of interventions aimed at addressing all of those needs.

We are also building the capacity of teachers to deliver an inclusive education system. It is really important that there is understanding at that level. My Department funds 338 places on postgraduate professional development programmes in collaboration with higher education institutes nationally. In addition, initial teacher education programmes include mandatory modules on inclusion to ensure that newly qualified teachers are more equipped to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs. That is now going to become mandatory. This will make sure that any person who wants to become a teacher will have a very clear understanding of what every young person needs. That will be a mandatory part of the overall training. The NCSE provides a suite of teacher professional learning programmes, including programmes on supporting children with dyslexia in mainstream schools.

The National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, has developed webinars on supporting children and young people with literacy difficulties and dyslexia and delivers them to teachers at primary and post-primary level. It is worth noting that upcoming webinars are scheduled for January and February next year. That is happening throughout the year. This training provides an overview of the NEPS resources available and helps participants to develop their understanding of how to support at all levels students who experience literacy difficulties, including students with dyslexia and dyscalculia. It also provides information on evidence-informed approaches to supporting students with literacy difficulties, again including students with dyslexia and dyscalculia.

In addition, funding is available to schools for the purchase of the specialised equipment to assist children that many colleagues have mentioned. They can apply to the National Council for Special Education for such support through their local SENOs. My Department also has a funding agreement with Vision Ireland through which students with dyslexia can access resources such as audiobooks free of charge. Again, some of this was already mentioned.

Separate from the range of supports I have just outlined, to support learning, students’ needs must also be recognised in the context of State examinations. Since its establishment in 2003, the State Examinations Commission, SEC, has had responsibility for the operation and delivery of the State examinations. This responsibility includes supporting young people with special educational needs in taking their exams.

Through the RACE scheme, which is at the core of today’s motion, the SEC has for many years facilitated access to the examinations by candidates who would have difficulty in accessing the examination or communicating what they know to an examiner, possibly because of a physical difficulty, medical, sensory, behavioural and mental health difficulties, or due to vision and hearing impairments or a general learning difficulty. In common with similar schemes which operate in other jurisdictions, the focus of the RACE scheme is on the need to remove barriers to accessing the examinations while at the same time retaining the need to assess the same underlying skills and competencies as all other candidates and to apply the same standards of achievement as apply to all other candidates.

The range of accommodations provided within the scheme has been designed to ensure fairness for all when facilitating candidates in demonstrating their need and level of achievement. Ongoing review and improvement have to be a feature of the scheme and in this context, the SEC is currently taking account of the commitment in our programme for Government to address additional time for students with specific needs and in certain circumstances. It is important to say this was a priority in negotiating the programme for Government and making sure this was a commitment we would all live up to. Certainly, I am committed to working with colleagues here in making sure that is the case.

The focus on needs is an important one. The question often asked by colleagues is, “Can we not just carve out and decide a certain cohort of young people would get this?” There have been important changes in recent years which have moved us in a different direction, so the focus on needs is important. It reflects that accommodations under the RACE scheme are already provided on a needs basis, not on any specific diagnosis. This overall shift of the model occurred as a result of the last comprehensive review of the scheme, which took place less than ten years ago, before the 2016-17 school year. That review resulted in a number of fundamental reforms being implemented. In particular, reform focused on ensuring greater integration of the RACE scheme with overall Department of Education and Youth special educational needs policy. Since that time, access to the scheme has been needs-based rather than diagnosis-based.

The shift to a needs-based model has enabled greater access to the scheme for students with learning difficulties. It allows greater autonomy to schools and certainty to students about the examination supports which will be available to them. The application process, since this change, is now school-based. There is no diagnosis required, which is very important for students. The expectation is that applications for reasonable accommodations will be made by schools on behalf of candidates whose special needs have already been identified and who are being provided with appropriate learning interventions as part of a continuum of support in the school.

Our special education teachers and other school staff working with students and special educational needs are best placed to identify those who may require accommodations. This reform has supported access to the scheme by candidates who need it. I accept the point that this has not always been the case and that, for a long time, students were not getting the support and access to it they needed. However, if you look back over the transformation that has taken place, back to 2003 and just over 20 years ago, only 5% of candidates were provided with reasonable accommodations. In 2012, that figure was at 13%. This year, there were almost 140,000 candidates, more than 36,000 of whom had accommodations. Now, more than one in four - over 25% - of students are getting support and accommodations. In conversations with colleagues, there has maybe been a suggestion that the bar has been set too high to achieve them but if one looks at other countries, we compare quite favourably, particularly in terms of dyslexia, dyscalculia or any other learning difficulties, in making sure that students who need those supports are able to get them.

Alongside this, the number of special centres established – this is one of the challenges that emerges - to accommodate candidates increased by 1,000 this year, to more than 10,500. Where we are providing additional accommodations, we have to have the staff, the spaces and the ability to do that, and every year we are improving. Every year we are increasing and getting better. This is in addition to the main examination centres, of which there are now 6,000 overall across the country. I take the opportunity to recognise the huge amount of work done at exam times and in the delivery of State examinations, particularly the provision of accommodations, including those special centres I mentioned, of which there are many.

Since the 2016 reform of the scheme, review and improvement has continued on an ongoing basis. Recent changes have included the introduction of deferred examinations for leaving certificate candidates who missed their examinations because they might have had a close family bereavement, serious accident, illness or injury. We know students in recent years have been able to - I will not say benefit from it; these are students who have obviously gone through a difficult time - defer the exams. The SEC has also introduced a number of specific initiatives for candidates who are vision-impaired, including the provision of digital examination papers, as was mentioned, and the expansion scheme of additional time. It has happened in certain instances but I appreciate we need that much more broadly. This has demonstrated a clear responsiveness – perhaps not at the rate and speed people want – but certainly running a large State examinations operation on whose integrity the Irish education system depends.

Candidates who have learning difficulties, including dyslexia, are provided with accommodation on the grounds of a learning difficulty without the need for any diagnosis. This is established criteria, such as a standard score test for reading and writing which is conducted by the school. This is why I mentioned the bar and how it is set. We compare quite favourably to other jurisdictions. The extensive range of accommodations available for candidates with learning difficulties, including candidates with dyslexia and dyscalculia, includes a reader, a reading assistant, an exam reading pen, a word processor, a recording device, additional time for any candidate using a scribe and a spelling, punctuation and grammar waiver.

The comprehensive review of the scheme that began last February and which looks not just at the extent of additional time but at other areas as well is being undertaken in the context of our overall senior cycle redevelopment which started this September with the first seven subjects. The wider special educational needs policy landscape is also being taken into consideration. I assure Senators that as part of this review the SEC is taking account of the commitment I have mentioned which we are all discussing here and that is how we make sure students who need extra time get that extra time. It is being directed by the board of commissioners of the SEC and overseen by a steering group, with the terms of reference published on the SEC website. As it is much broader than this, the group is chaired by the CEO of the SEC and is composed of external members drawn from government, academic and international organisations and internal SEC members. To be clear, this organisation is meeting with and engaged with not just individual students but also Dyslexia Ireland, Dyspraxia Ireland, the Children’s Rights Alliance and the Ombudsman for Children's Office. There is significant engagement through the overall group in making sure we get this right. Already for the 2025 examinations, additional time for vision-impaired candidates, who are supported by the visiting teacher service, was increased from ten minutes to 15 minutes per hour or part of an hour for junior cycle, leaving certificate applied and leaving certificate. These arrangements were introduced for all students nationally who were deemed eligible.

I very recently – in fact, just last week - met with the State Examinations Commission in relation to the commitment and the RACE review. The SEC has confirmed it is working intensively on a scheme of additional time which will be piloted for the 2026 examinations. I appreciate students who are sitting the exams want to know now. We will have those criteria very soon and it will apply to those who are already applying now. I know this message was sent out but I encourage students to apply in the normal way now to ensure they get their RACE accommodations, separate from the time we are talking about now. Once the criteria are set, they will automatically apply to those students. They need to ensure they are applying for their accommodations now.

Appropriate eligibility criteria are being worked on. As I said, these will be needs-based rather than being limited to any specific condition. This means any new arrangements will be available for all students who meet the criteria. Again, the word “pilot” does not necessarily fit. It is not going to be a certain cohort or sample. It will apply to all young people who meet those criteria. This will also help inform arrangements for 2027 and beyond without being limited to only students with dyslexia and dyscalculia.

The intention of the scheme of additional time has been confirmed in the RACE instructions for schools that went out last month. I note the motion before us references a request from the SEC to students with dyslexia and dyscalculia. However, it is important to clarify that where students need accommodations, they need to apply through the normal route now. This is the process by which accommodations are provided. Schools themselves are well versed in RACE. They know how to apply and exactly which students need that support. They have been advised to ensure they put in those applications and that students are ready and available for when those new criteria are set.

Those eligible for additional time will be identified through the RACE application process. It is expected the new scheme will be available for many of the candidates already being accommodated in the RACE scheme and in receipt of other access arrangements. The SEC is grateful for the support of schools in making these applications and in supporting students with special educational needs in accessing these. It is important to recognise the significant input of schools to the delivery of accommodations. I have mentioned the number of centres, staff and people like that who are required here.

More broadly, in the very core element of this, there will be additional time. Students will know very soon what these criteria are, how they will be applied and it will not be for a small cohort on a pilot basis. This will be for everybody who fits the eligibility criteria and will not just take into account students with dyslexia and dyscalculia but will, of course, apply to many other students. If you think of the figures colleagues have mentioned already, there are thousands of people who have, it but if you look at the number of students who have already got additional accommodations, there are many more students other than those with dyslexia and dyscalculia who may need that extra time. It is about making sure it is based on what is the need. Fundamentally, having met many students who have campaigned - Senators have also met with them - it is important we get this right for them. Going back to the basics and what I said at the outset, every student is supported to achieve their full potential.

I did not write it down but I hope I get Senator Nelson Murray's quote right that if we cannot teach students the way that they learn then we make sure we teach the way that they learn. That really has to be the most important thing here. We are working intensively with the SEC to make sure things can be in place for students next year. The wider review is still taking place. There will be a huge amount of engagement on further changes to the RACE scheme that are needed for other types of accommodations and accessing them. The point was made earlier that these supports are needed not just at exam time but throughout the school year. A Senator asked how we make it easier and more accessible for students, and how we make sure we have the right funding and the right topic resources are put in place throughout the year. We must make that available while at the same time acknowledging there are some students who just need a bit of extra time. We need to make sure we are providing that for them. I am working with Members and am absolutely committed to making sure we get this across the line.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I thank the Minister for coming in this evening. I want to acknowledge that since the review committee made a recommendation on this in 2009, Deputy McEntee is the eighth Minister for education. Therefore, it is not as if she caused the problem; she just inherited it. Like Senator Scahill, I acknowledge that she is not the first Minister to have this on their desk. I also acknowledge that the Government supports the motion. I just want to bring a focus to one aspect of the motion, where it calls for the Minister for education to "ensure that extra time will be available for all students with dyslexia and dyscalculia sitting State Examinations in 2026". We need to come good on this expert recommendation in the 2026 exams.

As a secondary school teacher, I always tried to reassure my students as they went into their terminal exams riddled with stress and anxiety that the leaving certificate is a test of what they know and not of what they do not know. If that is the case and it is something we are trying to promote as an adage, why does the leaving certificate set students with dyslexia and dyscalculia up to fail and why is it still failing our students?

In my opinion a pilot programme is a complete cop-out by the SEC. It is not rolling it out aggressively across the board as recommended by the advisory group that was set up in 2009. I know the Minister mentioned that we are ahead of other countries on certain issues with regard to the accommodations we provide but if we take Italy, Norway, France, Netherlands, Finland, the UK and a whole host of other European countries, they average somewhere between 13% and 33% extra time for students in exams based on their dyslexia. We are a laggard in that regard. We do not give any extra time to every student with dyslexia. When I asked the SEC at the committee, it said it did not know if every student with dyslexia in 2026 would be provided with the opportunity to have extra time. They may not need it but it will be there if they do if this is rolled out. It is something that would be really beneficial.

On the review that will be set up, I asked the SEC and it said it would cost money and would be sent out to tender. Inevitably, it will be carried out by third level researchers. These are people who, when they set exams for their third level students, give them ten minutes per hour or part of an hour in an exam. From an accountability point of view, and from the point of view of value for taxpayer money, this is just putting that out to review to tell us what we already know. The dogs on the street know these students just need extra time in an awful lot of cases. It will be a complete waste of money if we go down that route. I am urging the Minister to rein in the SEC a little on this and make sure it is accountable for its actions.

I mentioned this to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, earlier and will quote the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, when he was in the Seanad earlier in the year. We asked him if we could get a commitment that every student with dyslexia or dyscalculia in the 2026 exams would have extra time. He answered myself and Senator Crowe by saying:

The key point is that this will be concluded and communicated in order that it will be in place for the examinations in 2026. We are at an advanced stage. The work is largely done. Let us finish it off.

We need to come good on that. That was received so well by Dyslexia Ireland and by so many students with dyslexia around the country. They are so stressed about going into an exam they know was set up to make them fail. That was such a relief to them. If the Government has already sent out the message it is going to happen, we have to stick to that and make sure we come good on that.

In 1966 Donagh O’Malley made a revolutionary decision to provide free second level education for every student in the country. In 2026, on the 60th anniversary, it would be a brilliant message to send out that we have heard the needs of those with dyslexia and dyscalculia. We have heard the experts and reviews from so many third level researchers across the globe who have recommended this in exam systems. I am asking the Minister to be revolutionary for the leaving certificate students in 2026 and to roll this out so that every student gets the time they need to sit down, process information properly and to give a reasoned, measured answer based on having enough time to actually think about it because time pressure solves nothing. In my opinion, as a former teacher, it is so pointless. It puts pressure on students to think quicker than their brains can process information. I just do not understand how we got to the situation where 17 years after the initial recommendation was made by an expert advisory group set up by a Minister, we are still here. I do not understand it. I urge the Minister to help us out. I will work with her and I really appreciate her coming in, but this has to be solved this year. We cannot let another year go by and another cohort of leaving certificate students go by who have been failed by the system. I would really appreciate the Minister’s help on that.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire, an Teachta McEntee, as ucht teacht isteach sa Teach inniu agus páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.