Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 133: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she has received any proposals with regard to the teaching of Irish at primary or secondary level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7892/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is actively engaged in a number of activities relating to the teaching and learning of Irish. These include a focused evaluation of Irish, along with English or mathematics, in 45 primary schools and an evaluation of the teaching and learning of Irish in the junior cycle in 75, or 10%, of post-primary schools. Both of these programmes of inspections will be completed in 2005 and each will culminate in a report which will be published.

At the request of my Department, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is carrying out a review of languages in the post-primary curriculum. Concurrently, my Department is engaging with the language policy division of the Council of Europe which is conducting an analysis of language teaching and learning at both primary and post-primary level. Irish is one of the languages involved in both of these processes. I look forward to receiving the reports in due course.