Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What is needed is action. I appreciate the action plan and the survey have roles in that regard. I emphasised in my question a number of pieces that were included in the previous programme for Government but are not included in the current one, including increasing the emphasis on spoken Irish in the classroom, working towards the doubling of the number of young people currently in Irish-medium schools, providing a comprehensive policy for the Irish language from pre-primary level to teacher education for all schools, and increasing supports to An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta. I hope the commitment is still there and that we see it in an action plan, along with a range of other measures. Most importantly, I hope those measures are actioned.

Sinn Féin will bring a comprehensive motion relating to Irish-language education to the Dáil next week. I hope there is a lot in that for the Minister to take and run with. There is enormous opportunity. We all benefit. There is a richness to an Irish-language education that our children have a right to.

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