Education in the Republic of Ireland

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, 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 (up to €3,000 in 2015), which students are required to pay on registration, to cover examinations, insurance and registration costs.
The Department of Education, 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. As of February 2025, the Minister for Education and Youth is Helen McEntee and the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is James Lawless.
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.
Students must go to schools from ages 6 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 his/her 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.
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.
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 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.
Since 1967, second-level education has been state funded in Ireland. However, schools may charge small fees for trips, mock exams, charity, etc.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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:
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. 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.
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%.
Primary education is generally completed at a national school, a multidenominational school, a gaelscoil or a preparatory school.
As of 2021, mainstream primary schools numbered as follows:
As of 2021, the breakdown of mixed versus single-sex mainstream primary schools numbered as follows:
Most students enter secondary school aged 12–13. Most students attend and complete secondary education, with approximately 90% of school-leavers taking the terminal examination, the Leaving Certificate, at age 16–19 (in 6th Year at secondary school). Secondary education is generally completed at one of four types of school:
In urban areas, there is considerable freedom in choosing the type of school the child will attend. The emphasis of the education system at second level is as much on breadth as on depth; the system attempts to prepare the individual for society and further education or work. This is similar to the Education system in Scotland. In 2022, the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) found Ireland to be 2nd in reading and 11th in mathematics in a world survey at the age of 15.
As of 2021, mainstream post-primary schools numbered as follows:
As of 2021, the breakdown of mixed versus single-sex mainstream post-primary schools numbered as follows:
The document Rules and Programme for Secondary Schools published by the Department of Education sets out the minimum standards of education required at this level. Examinations are overseen by the State Examinations Commission. Additional documents set out the standard in each element, module or subject.
The Junior Cycle builds on the education received at primary level and culminates with the Junior Certificate Examination. Students usually begin this at the age of 12 or 13. The Junior Certificate Examination is taken after three years of study and not before fourteen years of age. It consists of exams in:
As well as a number of chosen subjects:
The selection of optional and compulsory subjects varies from school to school. Most students take around ten examined subjects altogether. Other non-examined classes at Junior Cycle level include Physical Education and Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE).
Transition Year is a one-year informal course taken by an increasing number of students usually ages 15 or 16. The content of this is left to the school to model on the local needs. It is compulsory in some schools, optional in some and others do not offer it at all.
Students may attend structured classes, but do not cover material relevant to the Senior Cycle or the Leaving Certificate exams, and therefore students who choose not to do this year are in no way academically disadvantaged when entering the Senior Cycle. The range of activities in Transition Year or Fourth Year differs greatly from school to school, but many include activities such as work experience placements, project work, international trips or exchanges and excursions. Students may participate in courses such as creative writing, sailing, film-making, public speaking and so on, or enter competitions in science, fashion, motor sport and others that would normally be too time-consuming for a full-time student.
Proponents of TY believe that it allows students an extra year to mature, engage in self-directed learning, explore career options and to choose subjects for senior cycle (the results of the Junior Certificate examination do not become available until midway through September, by which time students not taking Transition Year will already have chosen their classes and begun attending). Opponents believe that a year away from traditional study and the classroom environment can distract students and cause problems when they return to the Senior Cycle. They also believe that the activities undertaken in TY prevent some students from enrolling in this year, as they can be costly and most schools charge a fee of a few hundred euro to cover these activities.
The Senior Cycle builds on the junior cycle and culminates with the Leaving Certificate Examination. Students normally begin this aged 15–17 the year following the completion of the Junior Cycle or Transition Year. The Leaving Certificate Examination, with required exams in English, Irish, and Maths (barring exemptions), and 3 or 4 optional subjects, is taken after two years of study, usually at the ages of 17–19.
The typical secondary school will consist of First to Third Year (with the Junior Certificate at the end of Third), Transition Year (if offered and taken by the student), and Fifth and Sixth Year (with the Leaving Certificate at the end of Sixth Year).
The vast majority of students continue from lower level to senior level, with only 12.3% leaving after the Junior Certificate. This is lower than the EU average of 15.2%.
Ireland's secondary students rank above average in terms of academic performance in both the OECD and EU; having reading literacy, mathematical literacy and scientific literacy test scores better than average. Ireland has the second best reading literacy for teenagers in the EU, after Finland.
According to the 2022 US News rankings, Ireland is among the top twenty best countries for education.
The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 established the framework for the education of students with special needs.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) supports students with physical and intellectual disabilities. Some schools provide specific services to students with disabilities. Students with dyslexia are offered additional supports where funding is available.
A special needs assistant (SNA) is a teaching assistant who has specialised in working with young people in the classroom setting who require additional learning support due to disability.
The Department of Education identifies disadvantaged schools and has schemes in place to provide additional assistance to low-income families and families experiencing financial hardship. Available assistance includes an allowance for school clothing and footwear, assistance with purchasing school books (administered by school principals), exemption from examination fees for the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate exams, and a 'remote areas boarding grant' that facilitates students living in remote areas to attend secondary school.
As of 2023, the European Investment Bank is lending €200 million to finance investment in school buildings around Ireland. The project is part of the Department of Education's newest round of school capital investment, which seeks to improve the learning environment for about 23,000 pupils as well as teacher working conditions.
Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS, often in the anacronym form Deis) is the main policy initiative of the Department of Education to address educational disadvantage. Schools that operate under the Deis scheme are known as Deis schools. The increased resources under the program include reduced class sizes. The program has been in place since 2005. As of 2020, there were 890 Deis schools with more than 180,000 students. In March 2022, Norma Foley, the minister for education, announced an expansion of the program to include an additional 310 schools (273 primary and 37 post-primary).
Schools and universities in Ireland are popular destinations for international students. The country’s universities and colleges have educated many heads of state and government around the world, rivalled only by the United States.
At primary level, schools are required to open for a minimum of 182 days and 167 at post-primary level. Standard Easter, Christmas and mid-term breaks are published by the Department of Education for the upcoming years. Exact dates vary depending on the school. Generally, Primary and Secondary schools get similar holidays. The year is broken up into three terms:
There is a mid-term break (one week off halfway through a term) around the public holiday at the end of October, two weeks off for Christmas: generally the last week in December and the first week in January, another mid-term break in February, two weeks off for Easter and 8 (primary) or 12 (secondary) weeks of summer holidays. Public Holidays are also taken off.
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland, all schools, colleges, universities and childcare facilities closed in March 2020 and remained closed until the end of August/September 2020.