Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2025
448. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of children that have left school before completing the Leaving Certificate or Leaving Certificate Applied, in the past five years, in tabular form. [32566/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe most recent figures available concerns the students who began their post primary education in 2017. This cohort were due to complete their Leaving Certificate in the academic years 2021-22 or 2022-23. Figures for the 2018 cohort finishing in 2023-24 are yet to be published. The following table shows the number for pupils leaving school before completing their Leaving Certificate:
|
Year Post Primary Education Commenced |
Total who left school prior to completing Leaving Cert |
|
2013 |
5,259 |
|
2014 |
5,169 |
|
2015 |
4,912 |
|
2016 |
5,324 |
|
2017 |
6,398 |
The following table shows the number of students leaving school before completing their Leaving Certificate Applied for the 2016 and 2017 cohorts, these students are included in the overall Leaving Certificate figures above:
|
Year Post Primary Education Commenced |
Total who left school prior to completing Leaving Cert Applied |
|
2016 |
697 |
|
2017 |
803 |
The breakdown of figures by Programme Type began with 2016 cohort. Figures for Leaving Certificate Applied completion rates are unavailable before this time.
Reports detailing retention rates in our post primary schools can be found here:
www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/retention/.
