Mr. Kevin De Barra:

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom a rá go dtacaím leis an gcuid is mó atá ráite ag Ríona. Maidir leis an straitéis 20 bliain, the main aim of the 20 year strategy for the Irish language is to increase the number of daily Irish speakers from 83,000 to 250,000. If this Bill were to be passed as it is there will be a loophole that allows for those parents who have decided to raise their children through Irish to be excluded from gaelscoil education. Those children could be excluded from the State service of Irish medium education. A logical and simple amendment will ensure that an exception is made for gaelscoileanna so that those raising their children through Irish can be sure they will get preference in gaelscoil education. This applies to areas inside and outside the Gaeltacht areas.

On the first day of school for children in primary school the language input from the parents is almost negated in that they need the support mechanism of peer learning. Dr. NÍ Fhrighil alluded to this. The input a child receives from those around him or her, who are of the same age, is more important than the language at home. If the children raised through Irish do not have Irish language education they will be raised in an Irish language bubble in their home but the language they acquire through English medium education will not be the first language that they spoke until they entered school. Their language skills when they reach the age of 18 will be less than they would have been in their first language, the one they speak at home. It is important to recommend this simple amendment to the draft legislation to ensure that we allow an exception to gaelscoileanna and that the schools can meet the parents in advance to ascertain what language is spoken at home.

For some reason, elitism often comes up when we talk about gaelscoileanna. It may be important to see where these gaelscoileanna are located. Many are located in DEIS schools or in areas of disadvantage.

Another important point is that gaelscoileanna are elite schools. It is very important that the schools be allowed recognise the language input received by the students in their education up to the point at which they enter primary school. We should look towards réamhscolaíocht and naíonraí. Preschool education through Irish should be permitted to be recognised by the schools which the current draft legislation does not allow. It is important to allow the gaelscoileanna to treat this as an exception.