Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sílim go bhfuil an t-ádh ar an Aire go bhfuil an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach sa gcathaoir mar, nuair a chonaic mé é ag labhairt mar uachtarán ar an TUI, bhí go leor le rá aige. Tá míle fáilte roimh an Aire.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss education issues. We spoke to the Minister at the committee meeting the other day and received a very good briefing from departmental officials yesterday. My colleague has given a broad overview of Sinn Féin's approach to the action plan, but I want to draw the Minister's attention to a number of specific issues on which I would like to receive a response.

I have said on a number of occasions that I welcome the work which has been done on an Irish language policy. We are just waiting for the policy to be published and implemented. I understand this is imminent, but how imminent is imminent? We have a serious issue in that regard. It may be clear from the discussions we had yesterday that one of the issues concerning the Irish language is the quality of teaching and the fact that the standard of teachers teaching Irish is diminishing rapidly. That goes back to the language being taught in schools and at third level. The 20-year Irish language strategy states there should be a full-time Irish language teacher training college, which might help to deal with some of the issues. That matter must be re-examined in the context of the strategy, but we have an issue with the standard of Irish being taught by teachers.

I commend the work of An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta, COG. It is doing fantastic work, but it is under-funded and under-resourced. Anything that could be done to support its work would be a great help.

When I teased out the issue of Irish language teachers, I stated the problem was not specific to them. I understand there is an issue with science and home economics teachers, as well as the teachers of some other subjects. There are issues to do with teacher training and the capacity of teachers to teach a subject. The Minister might outline in more detail his plans to address these issues.

I take issue with the point made by Senator Victor Boylan about Gaelscoileanna. The Gaelscoileanna of which I am aware are diverse and, in many cases, multi-lingual. There may be a specific example here and there of a school that is being exclusive and I agree with the Senator that this should not happen. I am sure Gaelscoileanna would agree also. However, the broader issue is that the demand for places in Gaelscoileanna is not being met by the number of Gaelscoileanna being established. My understanding from the statistics provided is that approximately 23% of parents wish to send their children to a Gaelscoil but because of the current patronage model, only 6% are being granted their wish. To a certain extent, there is a need for a decoupling of the Gaelscoil issue from the patronage issue because there is no reason an Educate Together or a multi-denominational school could not also be a Gaelscoil. It could have a dual function and might address some of the issues validly raised by Members such as Senator Victor Boylan.

The other issue about which all of us were asked during the summer was school transport. There is a real need to build more flexibility into the school transport scheme. We have seen ludicrous examples of rules being implemented which resulted in children being sent from their own parishes, away from where they play football, to attend a school outside it because the bus stop was 200 metres closer. I am sure the Minister is aware of many other examples and it points to the need for a review of the scheme.

On third level education, I am told by practitioners, specifically teachers of practical subjects, that they are so strapped for funds they do not have money to buy materials to teach students. I understand this is happening in the institutes of technology, in particular. They would have had an advantage initially in teaching practical subjects in training students for industry to a certain extent, but I am told the students now coming through are not gaining the practical experience they need. Also, overcrowding is chronic in some colleges and institutes of technology.

Senator Jerry Buttimer talked about the unemployment rate decreasing, but one of the issues, particularly at third level, is the precarious contracts offered. It is also an issue at second level.They are going from school to school and from contract to contract-----