Rónán Mullen (Independent)

The initiative costs a paltry €2 million. Someone stated that language was the light of the mind, in that it exposes young people to new horizons and cultures. In recent years, significant work has been done by a small team of people in training and providing resources for teachers in approximately 550 primary schools nationally so that modern languages other than Irish and English can be delivered to students. The initiative also funds approximately 250 visiting teachers.

The Barcelona agreement and the Lisbon strategy called for systems to be in place by 2010 to facilitate the early learning of at least two foreign languages. Given that EU countries ratified recommendations as recently as November of this year and Ireland pledged to increase its efforts to implement the Barcelona agreement, why is this backward step being taken? It is typical of what occurs at a time when efforts are understandably being made to make cuts, but if one has too short-term an approach, one will do serious damage to the future. The decision should be reversed.