Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 335: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his views on whether second level support for Irish will increase the competency levels in Gaeilge labhartha; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22090/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has implemented a range of measures aimed at improving outcomes in Irish language learning and proficiency. One of these measures was the establishment of a subject-specific support service for second-level schools. The service forms part of the Second Level Support (SLSS) which provides programme and subject specific curricular support, and support for teaching and learning generally in second-level schools.

The support service for Irish has been designed to provide professional development support to second-level teachers of Irish generally. One of the primary objectives of the service is to support the use of Gaeilge as a communicative language in schools and classrooms. The programme of professional development has been designed to:

promote the importance of oral skills as an integral part of the Junior and Leaving Certificate syllabuses

enable teachers develop a range of teaching and learning strategies that will promote oral language proficiency, as recommended in Circular 0042/2007

build on the strengths of the Revised Curriculum for Primary Schools.

The service is delivered by a dedicated team comprising a National Coordinator and six regionally-based development officers. The team is managed by the Steering Committee of the SLSS and its work is directed by a professional advisory group.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 336: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he envisages an increase in the number of students taking the optional beal scrúdú Gaeilge at junior certificate level; the projected uptake he envisages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22091/08]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 337: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress that has been made with trade unions to support the beal scrúdú Gaeilge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22092/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 336 and 337 together.

The assessment of Irish for the Junior Certificate includes provision for an optional oral examination which is conducted by the class teacher in accordance with guidelines issued by the State Examinations Commission. The decision on whether, or not, to avail of this option is taken at school level. The syllabus for Junior Certificate Irish focuses strongly on developing communicative skills. Oral work is critically important in improving students' competence and confidence in this regard and it should be a key component of day-to-day teaching of the language from the beginning of junior cycle.

In March 2007, my predecessor announced significant changes to the proportion of marks awarded for oral Irish in both the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert exams. These changes will apply to students enrolling in First Year in 2007 and will mean that, in 2010, there will be 40% of marks available for the optional oral Irish examination in the Junior Certificate, and with effect from 2012, 40% of marks will be available for oral Irish in the Leaving Certificate.

The intention of the increase in marks for oral assessment is to promote a significant shift in emphasis towards Irish as a spoken language, where students can communicate and interact in a spontaneous way, and where Irish is spoken every day in schools. I believe that the increase in the marks for the optional oral component in the Junior Certificate from 20% to 40% from 2010 will be an incentive for more schools to provide this option. Given the critical importance of oral competence in language learning, all schools have been encouraged to avail of this option in the Junior Certificate. A support service with a national co-ordinator and 6 regional support staff has been put in place to support the change.

I am conscious that the model of oral examination in place for the Leaving Certificate examination is not replicable at Junior cycle. Issues of examiner supply and school disruption mean that implementing Junior and Leaving certificate oral examinations through a totally externally based approach would be unsustainable. I recognise the need to explore the scope for a different approach at Junior cycle, where the stakes are not so high, and my Department is engaging with the teacher unions on the issue.

There is no basis for projecting the uptake of the optional oral examination at Junior Cert level, but I am confident that, with the support of all education partners, the numbers will increase over to the coming years. I believe that the opportunity to avail of an oral examination would be a significant incentive for students to improve their proficiency in oral Irish.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 338: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his views on supporting the funding of Irish language courses for Irish teachers as part of their continuing professional development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22093/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has implemented a range of measures aimed at improving outcomes in relation to Irish language learning and its proficiency. The Tús Maith initiative at primary level currently has thirty one cuiditheoirí on the team. The dual purposes are to improve the teaching of Irish and to improve teachers competence and confidence in the Irish language. Tús Maith cuiditheoir provide a range of support to teachers including in-class support, whole school support and after school workshops and language based activities. The team is currently working with 527 Spriocscoileanna, (Target Schools), providing intensive sustained support leading to high levels of impact.

At post primary level a subject-specific support service for Gaeilge has been established since September 2007. The service forms part of the Second Level Support (SLSS) which provides programme and subject specific curricular support, and support for teaching and learning generally in second-level schools. The support service for Irish provides professional development support to second-level teachers of Irish generally and support for the teaching and learning of all aspects of the Irish syllabuses. The service has a dedicated team comprising a National Coordinator and six regionally-based development officers. There are also a number of courses aimed at increasing proficiency in Irish through the "Cúrsai Samhraidh" programme run through the education centre network and a number of these take place in the Gaeltacht.