Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 515: To ask the Minister for Education and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 532 of 31 January 2006 the name and location of each school where inspections of Irish were carried out; when inspections of Irish were last carried out in these schools prior to 2004-05; the locations during the 2004-05 inspections where the inspection took place in respect of Irish at leaving certificate level; if reports of these inspections are available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4389/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Further to Parliamentary Question No. 532 of 31 January 2006, information is provided in the appendix in regard to the inspection of Irish in 152 post-primary schools during the calendar years 2004 and 2005. This updated figure takes account of a number of inspections of Irish, in the period 1 January 2004 to 30 June 2004, which had not previously been included. Apart from the 75 schools listed where the focus of the inspection was on the teaching and learning of Irish at junior certificate level, the inspections covered the teaching and learning of Irish across all years.

A totally revised format of subject inspection was introduced from September 2001. Since then the policy has been to inspect Irish in different schools each year as part of the planned programme of inspection. Therefore, none of the 152 schools where the teaching and learning of Irish was evaluated in the calendar years 2004 and 2005 had been inspected under the new format for subject inspection introduced a few years previously.

In accordance with my recent announcement in relation to the publication of inspection reports on schools, reports on the teaching and learning of Irish in post-primary schools will only be published for those inspections conducted on or after 6 February 2006. Irish has been the second most frequently inspected subject in the period September 2001 to the end of 2004. One of the three core subjects Irish, English or mathematics is always inspected within a whole school evaluation, WSE, and, in line with this policy, Irish has been evaluated in 30 of the 65 WSEs carried out during 2004 and 2005.

Appendix: Abbreviations for types of inspection:

WSE: Subject inspection carried out as part of WSE (junior cycle and senior cycle)

CR: Subject inspection carried out for composite report (junior cycle only)

SI: Subject inspection (junior cycle and senior cycle)

Abbreviations for inspectorate regions:

Region 1: North and Dublin north region

Region 2: South east and Dublin south region

Region 3: West and mid-west region

Region 4: South region

Region 5: Midlands and Dublin west region