Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the officials for their presentation. What are their views on the modern languages in primary schools initiative? I felt this programme was progressive and helped children pick up languages at an age when they soak up much, so to speak. Has the Department data on how many people use the languages they learned in second level and in third level in their working lives? Has there been any progress in rolling out language courses for BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - countries and other emerging markets? Does the Department have any data on how many students are taking up, for example, Portuguese or Russian?