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

I agree with the Deputy when he says it is incumbent on all of us to protect this unique part of our heritage: our language, which should remain a living part of Irish society for the foreseeable future and for generations to come. There is a need for a fundamental examination of what we are setting out to do when we educate our children through Irish in this country. Are we happy to produce young people who have an understanding of Irish after 14 years in the education system - I would argue that most of them do not love the language - but also have a feeling that it has somehow been foisted upon them through the compulsory teaching of it across our school system?

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