Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mar is eol don Aire, tá a lán bunscoileanna i mo Dháilcheantar féin ag iarraidh Gaelcholáiste nua a bhunú. Bhí cruinniú againn faoi an bhliain seo caite agus gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as sin. Beidh na daltaí agus na scoileanna ag teacht ar ais chuig an Dáil an tseachtain seo chugainn agus tá an feachtas ag dul ar aghaidh, ach níl aon nuacht agam faoin scoil.

As the Minister will be aware, there are a lot of Gaelscoileanna in my constituency. There is huge interest in the Irish language. It may come as a surprise to people outside Dublin that there is such interest in the language in an area of south Dublin. There are six bunscoileanna in my constituency. One of the problems that has been faced by parents who make the big decision to send their children there is that they do not have access to a Gaelcholáiste in the area. There are Gaelcholáistí further out towards Stillorgan, Coláiste Eoin and Coláiste Íosagáin. They are excellent schools and it is really hard for people to get into them. There is Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh over in Rathfarnham, which is a distance away. That is also full now. There is huge demand there. I know I am putting the Minister on the spot, but I ask her to look into this matter as there is huge demand for it in the area. It would be a wonderful legacy for the Minister and it would also signify the commitment of the Department of Education to the Irish language. I know Deputy Mairéad Farrell spoke earlier about people trying to get out of doing Irish, but there is a huge demand there for people who are passionately interested in it. I will not put the Minister on the spot by asking her for an update, unless she wants to give me an answer, but I ask her to give it consideration. It is a big issue in the constituency and there is huge interest there.