Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

To reply frankly to the Deputy, I have no proposals nor will I have proposals to do that. However, I am aware of the need for children who speak Polish at home to be able to access instruction in Polish language and grammar so that they learn to write Polish grammatically. I suggest the Deputy raise this matter with the Cork ETB to ascertain if classroom facilities can be made available. Other minorities such as the Koreans teach the language to their children by means of cultural programmes. There is no reason Ted Owens cannot make available space on Saturdays or Sundays for that provision. If I were a Polish parent living here I would want my children to be fluent in English but also fluent in Polish so that they would have the choice to study as undergraduates in Poland. They will need both a grammatical and oral command of their native language. That is the only way I can see it being provided. The parents will have to do it themselves, given our priorities. I would press the ETB Cork to provide a school facility at the weekends and at no cost.