Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Kyne should not have any concern about the commitment of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, to the Irish language and its teaching in our schools. The curriculum reforms being undertaken in respect of the Irish language are extensive. The way Irish is being taught should change and is changing. There will be greater emphasis on spoken and communicative Irish.

Our young people spend 12 or 13 years of their lives studying the Irish language and the vast majority do not leave school with a serious degree of competency or fluency in the spoken language. Our emphasis should be on addressing this and the change being implemented across the system will lead to greater fluency and competency in the spoken language.

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