Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am standing up for my rights as a Member of this House, as I am entitled to do.

The modern languages strategy was first announced in a consultation in 2014. In 2015, a number of fora were held on the publication of the strategy. In 2016 it was announced in the Action Plan for Education that not only would it be published by the end of 2016 but it would begin to be implemented in early 2017. The Minister for Education and Skills announced the foreign languages strategy on 19 April in advance of the TUI conference, where it was the centrepiece of his speech. Then, on 28 April, the Minister quietly acknowledged in his Action Plan for Education report that the modern languages strategy has not been achieved and is not published. When is it going to be published and why did the Minister announce on 19 April that it was in fact published?

See this speech in context