Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Students in some schools are starting to learn Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian and some of the Middle Eastern languages because of the explosion in economic development that will inevitable follow in the years ahead. The answer to the Deputy's question on whether we are restoring the pilot programme that was abolished is "No". The Minister for Education and Skills is reflecting on the best opportunities for the teaching of language from now on, particularly a range of modern languages that will be of benefit to us as an economy.

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