Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The decision by the Minister for Education and Skills to abolish the modern languages in primary schools initiative was extremely regressive and shortsighted. After benefiting 550 primary schools and thousands of young children for 13 years, this positive initiative will shortly come to an end. The benefits of the scheme far outweigh its cost. In times of financial difficulty, initiatives such as this which provide excellent value for money should be kept in place rather than dismantled. A legitimate case can be made for expanding the programme in light of its value for money.

This decision makes no sense, whether culturally, linguistically or economically. Does the Minister realise that foreign multinationals such as Google and PayPal are crying out for young Irish graduates with strong foreign language skills or that Irish-owned companies need personnel who can market Irish goods abroad? The UK Secretary of State for Education is due to announce this week that it will be compulsory to learn a foreign language from the age of seven as part of a new draft national primary curriculum in that country. The British Government recognises the importance of developing language skills from a young age. However, our Minister, Deputy Quinn, wants to take the opposite policy direction to that taken in other countries by dismantling all the progress made to date.

The initiative has been operating successfully since I first launched it in 1999 as Minister for Education and Science. It is recognised by the Council of Europe as forward looking and thousands of children and young people have benefited over the years by learning Spanish, French, German or Italian. It has helped to bring about greater diversity in the language capacity of students and experts recognise that it is easier for students to develop language skills when they do so at a young age. It has fostered positive attitudes towards language learning and the response among teachers has been positive.

Since announcing the cut in budget 2012, the Minister has failed to provide a rationale for his regressive decision. On foot of a freedom of information request to the Department of Education and Skills for details on the research or impact analysis carried out prior to taking the decision, the Department was not able to provide me with any material and simply stated that the budgetary decision was based on an outdated 2008 NCCA report entitled Modern Language in the Primary School Curriculum: Feasibility and Futures. This report did not in fact recommend ending the modern languages in primary schools initiative and the NCCA supports the initiative and believes it should be continued. Only two weeks ago, the NCCA published three new research reports to support the development of a new language curriculum at primary level. One report referred to the modern languages in primary schools initiative and recommended the introduction of an integrated language curriculum to ensure language skills are transferred effectively from one language to the other, whether that is English, Irish or another modern language. It stated that when children develop literacy skills in Irish, English or another language they not only learn how to read and write in a particular language but also develop a common underlying proficiency that enables the transfer of literacy skills and learning strategies to other languages.

The report's recommendations clearly show the folly of the Minister's approach to literacy, language learning and the modern languages in primary schools initiative. It demonstrates a lack of understanding on the part of the Minister of the positive and complementary role that languages can play in developing literacy skills among primary school children. The Minister must heed the most recent NCCA reports and ensure we develop an integrated language curriculum where language learning supports the development of literacy skills across all languages. It is clear from the NCCA's research that there is no justification for abolishing this important and cost effective initiative. It is time he recognises that he is wrong and reverses his decision immediately.

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