Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

As the Minister stated, scéim labhairt na Gaeilge has been operational in the Gaeltacht since 1935. For 75 years it has been part and parcel of the educational system in the Gaeltacht where it is administered through schools. Does the Minister agree that the format of the scheme has outlived its usefulness and probably does not accurately reflect the standard of Irish in the Gaeltacht or the extent to which it is spoken in the Gaeltacht? Does he also agree that unfortunately many schools in the Gaeltacht do not submit applications under the scheme? This has implications for the language. Will he outline what were the recommendations of the review group? Is an estimate available as to how much it would cost the Exchequer to implement the recommendations?

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