Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

It depends on the length of time a person has been out. He or she might not have been using the language. Anyone who views the situation objectively would agree that the level and quality of Irish held by the teacher entering the school would be affected and the language within the school would be dumbed down, which no one, including a new teacher, wants to see. Teachers are concerned about getting jobs. There is an argument to consider the matter in terms of the schools in question. While people claim they are committed to the roll-out of the Irish language and so on, we can make a difference where matters such as this are concerned. There is no large cost factor. If we get our act together, the quality of teaching will bear fruit in terms of the outcomes for children passing through those schools.

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