Sir, – In the obituary of Dick Burke it was stated that, as Fine Gael minister for education, he abolished the compulsory study of Irish for the Leaving Certificate exam ("Politician twice posted to EEC commission", March 19th).
Compulsory Irish is still part of the examination system today. What Dick Burke did was to change the regulation whereby students who did not pass in Irish would receive no certificate whatsoever. He introduced the current system whereby students receive certification for their achievement in any subject in which they have been tested.
Fine Gael included the ending of compulsory Irish in its 2011 election manifesto but the change was blocked by the Labour Party. It is interesting to speculate on the selection of subjects that students would be making today if Irish had become a subject of choice for them, for example, in the Leaving Certificate exam of 2014. – Yours, etc,
DONAL FLYNN,
Sandycove, Co Dublin.