Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Nílim chun mo ráiteas ar an díospóireacht seo a chur os comhair an Tí i nGaeilge. Baineann an díospóireacht leis an tSín.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Tá súil agam nach bhfuil an Seanadóir chun é a chur i Sínis ach an oiread.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Bhuel, tá cúpla focal agam i Sínis - huān yíng - welcome.

My question is on the need for the Minister for Education and Skills to outline his plans for the provision of suitably qualified teachers to implement a national roll-out of Chinese language and culture, Mandarin, as a short course from September 2014. I am delighted to have the Minister in the House but I regret the Minister for Education and Skills is not present because this issue has been his baby, so to speak, for quite some time. As a nation we still do not have a clue where he will get the teachers to implement Chinese across the country in all second level schools from September 2014.

I am very aware of many of the developments in this area as I am quite involved in it. I have 21 schools in Galway teaching Chinese language and culture. In an initiative I started I have two young native Chinese teachers who spent three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, in Galway with 21 schools. They are in 21 classes, both primary and second level. The excitement is huge among the students. I have visited some of them in their classrooms. Their methodologies are excellent. I get the teachers' services for free from Confucius Institute in Cork. Working with the 21 schools in Galway city and county I have five clusters, one in Tuam, one in south Galway, one in Oranmore, one in Galway city and one in Athenry. Each of the schools make a small contribution which covers the teachers' accommodation, food and travel.

This is a local initiative. The hype is amazing, and many more schools are looking to have these services. We did this deliberately because we know we have to look to the world, and not just Europe or America, in terms of the future of our young people. The Taoiseach has been to China. Xi Jinping has been to Ireland. If we are to do business with China the language, not just the culture, must be understood. This is about the roll out of the Chinese language and culture programme from September 2014 in our schools.

I have been involved with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment which is developing the short course. I am in consultation with the people working on that. I know from speaking to people in some of our education centres, and I spoke with Galway education centre today, that there have not been any instructions yet about how the roll-out will be achieved. I know from speaking to some of the people developing the programme that they do not know how the roll-out will be achieved.

I ask the Minister to indicate from where we will get the teachers to achieve a national roll-out? Will we have a model whereby native Chinese teachers will work with out own teachers? We have only a few Irish national teachers learning Chinese. There is great interest in the media in this short course. There is great hype. We are getting great kudos for it but let it not be a disaster and therefore we need to be ready. That is the reason I raise the issue with the Minister. I look forward to his answer.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I must compliment the Senator on what she is engaged in promoting, namely, the teaching of Chinese to young people in her city and county. It is great to hear it.

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. The Framework for Junior Cycle published last October places students at the centre of the educational experience, enabling them to actively participate in their communities and in society, and to be resourceful and confident learners in all aspects and stages of their lives. Junior cycle is inclusive of all students and contributes to equality of opportunity, participation and outcome for all. It will create interested, independent learners who will be better prepared to meet the challenges of life beyond school.

Short courses are an important part of the reformed junior cycle. They will link directly to the statements of learning and will be designed for approximately 100 hours of student engagement. Some short courses, such as those on Chinese language and culture and on programming and coding, will be developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, and can be used "off the shelf" by schools. However, it is important to note that short courses are not compulsory and there is no national roll out; schools will decide which short courses, if any, to offer. Schools are also free to develop their own short courses.

The development by the NCCA of the short course on Chinese language and culture is a very welcome and exciting development. A growing number of young people are interested in learning Chinese and discovering the culture and way of life of Chinese people. This course will provide a learning base in Mandarin Chinese, which students can build on subsequently. They will also learn about China and understand and experience many aspects of Chinese culture. Students will develop their communication skills, their ability to interact successfully with people from Chinese and other cultures, and their capacity to be effective language learners. The focus is on active engagement by students through participation in varied tasks and in using digital media.

The Senator might be aware that a number of post-primary schools already provide courses or modules in lesser-taught languages, including but not limited to Chinese. It is a matter for schools to determine how best to facilitate such provision, with reference to the needs of the students and the existing resources within the school, including teaching staff.

In relation to qualifications, the Teaching Council is the statutory body for the recognition of teachers. At this time, the council does not register teachers for post-primary teaching on the basis of a qualification in Chinese language and culture. As this is a developing area, it will be kept under review. I understand most Mandarin Chinese in schools is taught by visiting native teachers funded by the Confucius Institutes. The Confucius Institute in UCD is involved in training registered teachers of other subjects to deliver transition year modules in Chinese culture. In the case of the new junior cycle, it is up to schools to offer programmes that meet their needs and aims. They are responsible for sourcing and deploying staff with the expertise to deliver the programme offered. I thank the Senator for giving me an opportunity to outline the current position in this regard.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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While the Minister of State's answer is helpful, it is unbelievably disappointing. It is a joke that there will be no national roll-out of the most anticipated course in the reformed junior cycle. I know it is not compulsory. I appreciate that there will be information technology and digital elements. Who will teach the children? The Minister has no plan. He is relying on voluntary teaching and bringing in native teachers. We have not been told whether the Minister has done a deal with the Confucius Institutes or with Hanban. It is a helpful answer because we know where we are starting from. We have a long way to go if we are to achieve any semblance of coverage across the country.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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As I said, the situation is under review.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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It did not say that in the Minister of State's response.

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I said that this "developing area .... will be kept under review". The Senator's comments will be passed on to the Minister.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State.