Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for her comments and for recognising the importance of naíonraí in our communities. As a TD for Meath, which has two of the only Gaeltacht areas in Leinster, namely Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib, the importance of the Irish language and culture is not lost on me. We have some quality settings in the Gaeltacht area, for example, in Navan. At present, thankfully, we are seeing the Irish language under the spotlight like we have not for a while. The importance of speaking the language and being proud of it is coming to the fore. Naíonraí provide the best start for children who we want to be at least bilingual. Full immersion has significant and long-lasting benefits for our children. We all understand the pressures on our early education settings, including attracting and retaining staff. It is my belief that those who are fluent Irish speakers should be given extra incentives to work in early education.

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