Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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288. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration is being given to the restructuring of the Irish language curriculum at senior cycle with a view to introducing a more conversationalist focus or a separate subject which would emphasise oral skills and ability. [41115/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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A revised Leaving Certificate curriculum in Irish began in all schools in September 2010, and the first examination took place in June, 2012. The revised programme provides for an increase in the proportion of marks available for oral assessment to 40% (up from 25%), and is aimed at promoting 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. This revised programme places greater emphasis and provides rewards to students who acquire proficiency in conversation skills. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has been asked to review the implications of this change. The review is well underway. It should be noted that the number of students taking Higher Level Irish has increased from 14,358 in 2011, pre the change, to 15,937 in 2012 and 16,669 in 2013.