Ms Jean O'Mahony:

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh. There are a couple of things in this regard. Following on from what Dr. Dowdall said, there is a question of what the policy context looks like in the round. Obviously, third level is a significant part of that. The Department does not disagree with the Deputy that increasing the number of students studying Irish at third level would go towards meeting the State’s objective of having 20% of recruits into the public sector as Irish speakers because the numbers currently studying, either through the medium of Irish, through both languages or with an Irish stream, are too low to meet that target.

I note that my colleague, Dr. Aodhán Mac Cormaic, was before this committee and discussed this question. He noted that while the third level sector is an important part of the picture, in order to meet a target as ambitious as 20%, one is necessarily looking at a broad swathe of the population and not solely students who self-select into Irish-language degree courses. Maintaining the capacity, ability, connection, competency, confidence and fluency of students in the Irish language who are coming out of the post-primary system into the third level system and into other areas of work and study will be significant. There is arguably a role for the third level sector in that context, outside of specific degree courses.

I might bring in my colleague, Dr. Dowdall, to talk a little more about the policy context outside of the third level sector in looking to meet that 20% target.