Education in the Republic of Ireland is a primary, secondary and higher (often known as "third-level" or tertiary) education. In recent years, further education has grown immensely, and Ireland now has one of the highest percentages of higher education completion in the EU, at 55% of working age adults, and 63% of adults aged 25–34 (as of 2023). Growth in the economy since the 1960s has driven much of the change in the education system. For universities there are student service fees (up to a maximum of €2,500), which students are required to pay on registration, to cover examinations, insurance and registration costs, although grants are available for low-income students.
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.Richard Burke, Minister for Education announced at press conference on 5 April 1973
Structure Students must go to schools from ages 5 to 16 or until they have completed three years of second-level of education. Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 (Section 17), archived 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."Article 42.3.1, Constitution of Ireland, 1937 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-language schools), 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 EQF level EHEA cycle NFQ level Major award types 1 1 Level 1 Certificate 2 Level 2 Certificate 2 3 Level 3 CertificateJunior Certificate 3 4 Level 4 CertificateLeaving Certificate 4 5 Level 5 CertificateLeaving Certificate 5 6 Advanced Certificate Short cycle within 1st Higher Certificate 6 1st 7 Ordinary Bachelor's degree 8 Honours bachelor's degreeHigher diploma 7 2nd 9 Master's degreePostgraduate diploma 8 3rd 10 Doctorate degreeHigher doctorate
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 (age 4–5/5–6) Senior Infants (age 5–6/6–7) First Class (age 6–7/7–8) Second Class (age 7–8/8–9) Third Class (age 8–9/9–10) Fourth Class (age 9–10/10–11) Fifth Class (age 10–11/11–12) Sixth Class (age 11–12/12–13)
Primary school children usually start between 8:30 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. Children finish between 1.10 p.m. and 2 p.m. in Junior & Senior infants, while older children spend another hour in school and finish between 2:10 p.m. and 3 p.m.
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 (usually 10 or 11) in early-June, directly after the end of Third Year. First Year (age 12–13/13–14) Second Year (age 13–14/14–15) Third Year (age 14–15/15–16)
Transition Year
Transition Year sometimes called Fourth Year (age 15-16/16-17) – depending on school, this may be compulsory, optional or unavailable.Transition Year Support Service
Senior Cycle The Senior Cycle is a two-year programme to prepare students for the Leaving Certificate examinations. The Leaving Certificate examinations take place directly after the end of Sixth Year, with the first exam being held on the Wednesday following the June public holiday (the first Monday in June). Fifth Year (ages 16–18, or ages 15–17 if Transition Year is skipped) Sixth Year (ages 17–19, or ages 16–18 if Transition Year is skipped)
To prepare students for the State examination in both the Senior (Leaving Certificate) and Junior (Junior Certificate) cycles, many schools hold Mock Examinations (also known as Pre-Certificate Examinations) around February each year. These "mocks" are not state examinations: independent companies provide the exam papers and marking schemes – and are therefore not mandatory across all schools.
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 (1999) is taught in all schools. The document is prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and leaves to the church authorities (usually the Catholic Church but not universally) the formulation and implementation of the religious curriculum in the schools they control. The curriculum seeks to celebrate the uniqueness of the child:Chapter 1, Primary School Curriculum , NCCA, 1999
... as it is expressed in each child's personality, intelligence and potential for development. It is designed to nurture the child in all dimensions of his or her life—spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social and physical ...
The Primary Certificate Examination (1929–1967) was the terminal examination at this level until the first primary-school curriculum, Curaclam na Bunscoile (1971), 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 (originally on the South Circular Road, now in Clonskeagh) 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.Our Schools Muslim Primary Education Board. 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 (or other religious ethos) 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.Catholic Church's Hold on Schools at Issue in Changing Ireland The New York Times, 21 January 2016
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.Irish Muslim organisations praise schools system by Patsy McGarry, Social Affairs, Irish Times, September 9, 2014.
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.