Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

Does the Minister agree that societal attitudes can be coloured by the school experience of students in many cases? Does the Minister accept that Irish is not being taught in a relevant and applied way, particularly at second level, and that it does not reflect the modern needs of the language? Is the Minister aware of the situation of students learning off reams of passages for oral examinations without having a real understanding of the spoken language itself? Will the Minister carry out a comprehensive and impartial review of all aspects of Irish learning and teaching as recommended by the commission?

I will return to Deputy O'Sullivan's point. Three out of every ten leaving certificate students attempted the honours Irish paper in 2003 and only 30% of this number were young men. Does the Minister believe there is an impact on primary teaching in light of these statistics? Requiring an honours qualification lessens the numbers that can go into this field unlike the situation with English and mathematics. Has the Minister considered proposals being mooted in terms of changing the mandatory nature of the subject after leaving certificate level?

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