Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will continue to push ahead with the circular regarding early immersion education or if she will agree to requests from Gaelscoileanna to carry out research on the matter. [13257/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The fundamental public policy issue in this case concerns upholding the rights of all children to access the full curriculum from the earliest possible stage.

The revised primary curriculum was launched in 1999 after extensive consultation with the partners in 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." 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.

I have determined as a public policy issue that the position as set out in the curriculum, and in previous Parliamentary Questions, should remain unchanged i.e. that the minimum recommended timeframe set out for a second language in the curriculum should be adhered to. Accordingly, Circular 0044/2007 requires that Irish medium schools should provide for a minimum provision in English of 3.5 hours per week, or 2.5 hours per week where there is a shorter day for infant classes, no later than the start of the second term in Junior infants.

The Circular is the subject of a legal challenge in the High Court, and the Department is not in a position to take action to ensure its implementation in advance of a decision on the matter. However, in a separate development, and in keeping with a commitments I made in April 2007 to provide for incremental development in putting regulations governing the operation of schools on a statutory footing, I have issued a draft Statutory Instrument and a Regulatory Impact Screening document to the partners in education, the Patron bodies and the main Irish language organisations for consultation, seeking feedback by 30 April 2008. The draft Statutory Instrument provides for prescribing the curriculum and the minimum weekly timeframe for subjects within it in accordance with that set out on page 70 of the published curriculum, and the provisions set out in Section 30 of the Education Act 1998. I have therefore begun the process to put a statutory underpinning in place for the primary curriculum.

The question of deferring a decision in relation to this matter pending a research project to ascertain the impact on student performance of various models of immersion education was considered. Such research is, in any event, likely to be inconclusive, given the many variables (socio economic status, school practice, variations in first language at home of students etc) that are at play here. In any event, research will, by its nature, focus on but one subset (learning impact) of what is a significantly wider public policy matter and for that reason I did not consider it appropriate to delay a decision pending any such research.