Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious of the role early learning and care services play in promoting Irish as a living language and how this helps children to develop proficiency in the Irish language. My Department has participated proactively with colleagues in the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in agreeing a comprehensive set of early learning and care actions to be implemented under the Action Plan for the Irish Language 2018 to 2022. Inspections of early learning and care services are carried out by two inspectorates. The first is located in Tusla and the second in the Department of Education and Skills.

Tusla's early years inspectorate seeks to provide a high standard of service through the medium of Irish and is committed to supporting early learning and care services where Irish is spoken. At present, Tusla has one inspector with high level proficiency in the Irish language. This inspector carried out 17 inspections through the medium of Irish in 2018. There are a number of inspectors with conversational Irish who engage with the providers outside and inside the Gaeltacht at an informal level through Irish. The Tusla inspectorate is currently engaged in recruiting a further specific Irish language inspector with expert proficiency in both oral and written Irish.

With regard to the early years inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills, of the current total inspection team of 20 inspectors, seven have strong capacity to engage in early years education inspection fully through Irish, including the writing of inspection reports, providing feedback for continuous improvement and responding in Irish to issues raised by personnel in the early years services.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

In addition the inspectorate deploys primary inspectors, who have special expertise in early years education, in the quality assurance of reports that are prepared for publication in Irish.

The Department of Education and Skills inspectorate also has an active continuing professional development, CPD, programme to build the capacity of the wider early years inspection team which includes early years and primary inspectors.

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