Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply, which shows there are significant supports available. She mentioned the context of the €20 million budget to support policy on Gaeltacht education. We need to be careful about where that money is being spent and whether it is being spent effectively in all Departments. As she knows from her engagement with Coiste na Gaeilge, there is considerable concern at this time in regard to the ongoing assessment of the draft leaving certificate specifications for Irish. If we are to encourage people not just to learn Irish but to use it as part of their daily lives and leave school with an ability to use it in their profession or career, we need to make sure we get this process right. Is any consideration being given to revising the consultation process that is under way within the Department, which has been impacted by the various Covid issues? All these wonderful supports will be diluted unless we get the specifications right and there is confidence in those specifications among the Irish language teaching community.

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