Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tuigim na deacrachtaí ó thaobh Hibernia College agus mar sin de. I understand the difficulties in respect of Hibernia College, which have already been articulated by others. To be very clear, the tréimhse sa Ghaeltacht is an integral part of the qualification. I know the Deputy appreciates that. It must be achieved. Notwithstanding the difficulties for the individuals themselves, there is a difficulty in making provision in this regard. It was a significant financial undertaking to reintroduce the grant of €650 to students, which I was pleased to do in this year's budget. There are enormous considerations involved. As I said to previous speakers, I hear the point the Deputy is making.

With regard to the availability of teacher supply, to be fair, tá an-obair ar fud curtha chun cinn. An awful lot of work is being advanced in the Department. I referenced this earlier in my opening remarks. I referred, for example, to the Irish-medium bachelor's degree in education, which more than 100 students are now undertaking in Marino Institute of Education. That is a very generous scheme. There is a bursary of €1,000 available in the first year, on-site accommodation in the Irish block, placement in Irish-medium schools and so on. That is a small number in the context of the greater picture the Deputy is talking about but it is a significant advancement. We are also talking about the master's degree in education in Mary Immaculate College, which provides an additional qualification for teachers and principals.

We have a significant number of smaller courses for upskilling and continuing professional development. I refer to courses on Gaeilge Bheo! and opportunities of that nature. The Deputy made reference to subjects in which the supply of teachers is limited, such as physics. There are now very innovative programmes involving such things as satellite connections and comhoibriú between schools. It is not ideal but it is an interim measure until provision can be increased to the necessary level. Significant steps are being taken and considerable resources are being put in place to attract native Irish speakers to consider teaching as an occupation. Obviously, we encourage students to choose whatever option they wish but there are opportunities in this area as 10% of places in teacher training colleges are made available to Irish speakers. It is a job of work. A significant amount of work has been done to date but there are opportunities to do more.