Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1564: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the amount spent on English language training for school children to ensure all children of school going age have a basic level of competency in English, for each of the past three years; the number of teachers involved; and the teaching hours involved. [1736/09]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1565: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the amount spent on Irish language training for school children for each of the past three years; the number of teachers involved; and the teaching hours involved. [1737/09]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1566: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his proposals for the future language training for school children to ensure all children of school going age have a basic level of competency in the official languages here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1738/09]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1567: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the maximum funding amount that a school can be granted under the scheme to provide language training to ensure all children of school going age have a basic level of competency in the official languages; and the reason for such a limit. [1739/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1564 to 1567, inclusive, together.

In order to meet the language needs of students in our schools whose first language is not English, additional support is given to their schools which can take the form of financial assistance, additional teaching posts or portions of posts. The number of teaching posts allocated for this purpose in the each of the two school years 2007/08 and 2008/09 was approximately 2,000, while the corresponding figure for the 2006/07 school year was approximately 1,400 teaching posts.

In addition, in the current school year approximately 430 primary schools have received grant assistance towards the cost of employing part-time language support teachers. In the previous two school years, an average of 500 schools received such grant assistance.

The total cost of providing English language support to children in our primary and post primary schools for the past three school years is estimated as follows:

2006/07: €89 million;

2007/08: €125 million;

2008/09: €139 million.

I have consistently said that the 2009 Budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. These decisions were made to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run. In this respect Education, while protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure, could not be totally spared. This obviously impacted on the ability to follow through on commitments in the Programme for Government. The various impacts at school level were included in the Budget day announcements. Even with the budget measures in place there will still be a significantly increased borrowing requirement in 2009.

In relation to language support the budget measures will mean that the level of language support will be reduced from a maximum of six extra teachers per school to a maximum of two teachers per school, as was the case before 2007.

However, the ongoing requirement for current levels of language support teachers in schools should also start to reduce in line with lower levels of immigration and in line with improvements in the levels of proficiency of those pupils for whom this resource has been available.

Nonetheless, schools that require language support will still be entitled to get it. We still envisage having over 1,400 language support teaching posts in our schools in September 2009 and up to about 500 other teachers in part-time posts. By any standards this is a very significant resource and the challenge will be to ensure that it is used to maximum effect.

As I announced on budget day we will also provide for some alleviation for the position of those schools where there is a significant concentration of newcomer pupils as a proportion of the overall enrolment. This will be done on a case by case basis.

In relation to the Irish language, the position is that my Department provides a range of measures to support teaching and learning of Irish and through Irish. These include: Supports for the establishment of Irish medium schools; Professional development for teachers at primary and post primary level through the Primary Curriculum Support Service and the Second Level Support Service, under which 34 full time trainers are provided; Modular programmes for teachers through the education centre network; Provision of texts, materials and resources in Irish through the development of Séideán Sí and the work of An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta; A range of higher education programmes through the medium of Irish.

The estimated cost for each of the last three years of the range of supports for the Irish language within our schools is not readily available within my Department and would involve an inordinate amount of administrative time to compile.