Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 429: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the dispute between parents, students and the board of management at a school (details supplied) in County Kerry, which relates to the difficulties being experienced by a significant proportion of students and parents regarding the way subjects are being taught to those students in the school with weaker Irish comprehension skills, including their concerns as to the way this will impact on their academic performance; if she or her Department have been in touch with the board of management, the principal and other parties in relation to this issue to see if a satisfactory resolution can be reached; the plans in place to ensure that the needs of the students are prioritised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26232/07]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 431: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the legal obligations on second level schools in Gaeltacht areas regarding the teaching of subjects through the medium of Irish; if the relevant Acts state that Irish should be the primary language as opposed to the sole language; if it is the primary language, does this allows boards of managements some leeway in terms of the way students with a poor comprehension of Irish are taught subjects or supported, particularly in situations where amalgamations of schools takes place and changes in the levels of flexibility afforded to students changes suddenly; if this could include the possibility of teaching some subjects to specifically identified students through English or provide explanations in English as to the meaning of Irish technical and scientific terms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26234/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 429 and 431 together.

Section 9 of the Education Act, 1998 sets out the functions of a school. It states that a recognised school shall provide education to students which is appropriate to their abilities and needs and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, it shall use its available resources to, inter alia, ensure that the educational needs of all students, including those with a disability or other special educational needs, are identified and provided for.

Section 9 also states that it is a function of schools located in a Gaeltacht area to contribute to the maintenance of Irish as the primary community language. As the Deputy points out the requirement is to contribute to the maintenance of Irish as the primary, as distinct from the sole, community language in a Gaeltacht area.

I am anxious to ensure that the school continues to guarantee an education through the medium of Irish to those students from the Gaeltacht and from Irish speaking homes who wish to be educated through the medium of Irish. Equally, I am anxious that to the greatest extent possible the new Community School should make a contribution to maintenance of Irish as the primary community language. Provision also has to be made for those living in the community who have no Irish at all or those who, because their Irish is too weak, are unable to learn in classes conducted exclusively through the medium of Irish.

In order to inform how those objectives can be met, I have asked the Chairman of the Commission on School Accommodation Mr. Frank Murray, with administrative support from the Regional Office of my Department, to survey all parents and students in the school to establish the level and range of provision being sought through Irish or English that will cater for the spectrum of student needs. The intention is to conduct the survey as soon as practicable after the current mid-term break.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 430: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the international evidence that supports claims by representative bodies of Gaelscoileanna that the practice of teaching junior and senior infants solely through the medium of Irish helps to develop Irish language comprehension skills substantially without impacting negatively on the development of English language skills after that time; her views on whether a further detailed debate is necessary on the matter; if she will postpone the implementation of regulations regarding the teaching of English to students at junior and senior infant level in Gaelscoileanna and allow the continuation of choice of model until such a debate has taken place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26233/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware that a range of reports have considered the use of immersion models of education in other jurisdictions. A review of literature in this area undertaken on behalf of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in 2006 has concluded that "existing international research is not adequate to decide the reading sequencing issue clearly in the context of Irish immersion, either in a general way or in particular schools."

The revised primary curriculum was launched in 1999 and provides an integrated programme of learning in the spheres of Languages, Mathematics, Social Environmental and Scientific Education, Arts Education, Physical Education, Social Personal and Health Education and Religious Education. Page 27 in the Introduction to the Curriculum states "It is a particular feature of Irish primary education that children, from the beginning of schooling, have experience of language learning in two languages." The curriculum also specifies a set of learning objectives for each area of the curriculum for 4 groupings — infant classes, first and second class, third and fourth class, and fifth and sixth class. It also sets out a suggested minimum weekly time framework for tuition. This provides that where a first language is being taught, there should be four hours instruction per week, and 3 hours per week where there is a shorter day for the infant classes. Where a second language is being taught, the suggested minimum timeframe is 3.5 hours per week, and 2.5 hours per week for infant classes with a shorter day.

In granting recognition to Gaelscoileanna I am supporting parental choice in relation to education through the medium of Irish but this does not obviate the need for such schools, as recognised primary schools, to implement all elements of the national curriculum. Furthermore the achievement of the curriculum objectives in every curriculum area at each of the four levels of primary schooling is an over-riding requirement in all schools. I have therefore determined as a public policy issue that the introduction of a minimum of 2.5 hours per week for English as Language 2 in Irish medium schools should not be delayed beyond the start of the second term in Junior Infants.

I am convinced of the importance of ensuring that all children have access to the full primary curriculum from the earliest possible stage.