Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is an element of choice with those other subjects. Students have the opportunity to choose whether they will pursue another language whether it is French, German or Spanish or whatever might be available in a school. It is very hard to draw a comparison there because that is a strong distinction. Notwithstanding that, the Department is very conscious of the importance and the primacy of the Irish language. A considerable body of work has been done in relation to Gaeltacht policy for the Irish language, so that is in the Gaeltacht area, and work is being done on policy development for schools outside the Gaeltacht area. I am very conscious of the need to support the competency and the confidence of our teachers in the teaching of Irish. Upskilling courses in Irish are being made available. For the first time this year, Irish is included in the upskilling course. So there is a body of work but we must recognise that we have a very diverse student cohort now compared with what we would have had previously.