Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 136: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the findings by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, which reveals that almost one in five secondary school pupils do not learn a foreign language; his views on whether this is a barrier to Ireland achieving its goal of becoming a knowledge based economy in view of the importance of international marketing and communication with other countries; the steps he proposes to take to improve this position with regard to the learning of modern foreign languages in the primary and secondary school system here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37097/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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81.2% of second level pupils study three languages, Irish, English and a continental language, to completion of upper second level, and over 70% of schools offer two foreign languages or more. The languages available as part of the post primary curriculum in schools include French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Arabic. The post primary language initiative provides supports to encourage a diversification of language provision in schools and to encourage the take up of languages other than French.

It is important that students experience a broad and balanced education which prepares them for economic and social participation, for democratic citizenship and lifelong learning. Of necessity this requires that students have to juggle priorities in making decisions on subject choice. Curricular choice is important in ensuring that young people are offered a balanced range of subjects in keeping with their interests and abilities, and that they are motivated to achieve success in learning and remain in school to completion of upper second level education.

The study shows that English is the most widely studied language in upper second level education across the EU other than their mother tongue. The fact that all Irish people speak English, often referred to as the new lingua franca, can be a disincentive to the learning of other languages, just as in other European Member States it is often difficult to promote the learning of languages other than English.

The 2005 Report of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs "Languages and Enterprise – The Demand and Supply of Foreign Language Skills in the Enterprise Sector" shows little evidence of unsatisfied demand for workers in Ireland with language skills. It highlights that 80% of the demand for languages in the Foreign Direct Investment Sector in Ireland is for native speakers, and this rises to 90% in some sectors. This need is met predominantly through recruiting native speakers from the diverse population now living in Ireland, and the report does not envisage that needs at this level would be met by Irish workers. However, a key area for development and expansion which could be met by Irish workers is in relation to back office supports where a lower level of fluency in a language allied with a higher end professional or technical qualification is required.

The Report suggested that while Irish firms do not appear to place a high value on language skills, they may be losing export opportunities due to a lack of languages and cultural awareness, and that there is considerable untapped latent demand in this area. It recommends that the Modern Languages Initiatives in primary and post primary schools should be expanded and mainstreamed. However, my Department is not in a position to progress this at present, and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has recommended against the introduction of a modern language at primary level at this time due to issues relating to curriculum overload and the replicability of the current model.

The fact that over 80% of students study a modern language, in addition to Irish and English, to completion of upper second level education provides a firm foundation for further developments in this area within further and higher education and training.