Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps being taken to integrate students of different nationalities into the education system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27545/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department has been active for several years in promoting anti-racism and interculturalism in schools. A range of actions are in place to promote anti-racism and support the participation of minority groups and Travellers in education. These include: information for schools on the integration of asylum seekers and Travellers; additional resources for schools to support the needs of students for whom English is not the mother tongue; resource packs for schools prepared by organisations such as the National Consultative Committee on Anti-Racism and Interculturalism; a video for second level schools highlighting excerpts from the "Mono" TV programme; materials and training for teachers through funding the work of Integrate Ireland Language Training and other bodies; and development by the NCCA of guidelines for primary and post-primary teachers on how the existing curriculum can be mediated and adapted to reflect the emergence of an expanding multicultural society. The primary guidelines have been issued to schools, and the post-primary guidelines are expected to be ready by the end of the year. Other actions include: supports provided by the Reception and Integration Agency to assist in the integration of refugees and asylum seekers into schools; and expanding provision for language and literacy tuition for adults for whom English is not the mother tongue through the VEC literacy services.

A total of 595 additional teachers at primary and second level are provided to support the needs of pupils for whom English is not the mother tongue, at an annual cost of circa €26.8 million. Almost 20,000 pupils from outside Ireland participate in schools at primary, second level and in PLC courses from over 148 countries around the world, almost 6,000 adult learners avail of tuition in English as a second language through the VEC adult literacy services, and 620 students take part in Back to Education initiative part-time programmes specifically targeted at disadvantaged minority groups.

The new curricula at primary and post-primary levels provide ample opportunity to extend students' awareness of the wider world and to learn about the lives and histories of people in other countries, and of their contributions to art and science. In particular, the social personal and health education programmes at primary and post-primary levels are designed to prepare students for participatory citizenship and to develop the skills of critical appraisal and decision-making based on human rights and social responsibilities. They also promote a respect for human dignity, tolerance for the values and beliefs of others, and a celebration of diversity.