Dr. Fergal Lynch:

I thank the Deputy. I fully agree with the importance of ensuring that children from a very early age have the opportunity to learn both languages and specifically to learn Irish. As to being able to bestow that present, the best way to put it is that we have tried in the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to support as much as we possibly can the provision of Irish throughout the country, with a particular focus on Gaeltacht and non-Gaeltacht areas, where they have expressed a particular interest in it. Our focus has tended to be on services as a whole, because we felt and still feel that they are, by international comparisons, poorly supported.

There has been significant investment in them over the last number of years, with some 117% increase in the investment overall in childcare services over the last four years. The strategy launched yesterday aims to double that investment over the next ten years. Our focus has been on expanding and developing the provision of early years services throughout and within that to provide as many supports for early years through the Irish language as we can. The major way we have tried to do that is through the five year action plan that was launched last year with the specific recommendations and actions set out in that, and equally the actions that I mentioned earlier in relation to First Five. We wish to support that as much as we possibly can although inevitably our focus in the Department, because early years services have been in such need of investment, has been to concentrate to a good degree in supporting all services, whether they are provided through English or Irish. This has been done through things like increased investment, increased capitation payments, programme support payments for administrative costs, capital supports and sustainability funding where services run into difficulty.

It is true to say that we have attempted to support all services, but having particular regard now to the need to develop services that wish in turn to provide those services in Irish.