Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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224. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of a reintroduction of the modern languages in primary school programme; the cost of establishing this programme in all primary schools. [24208/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The language priority in our primary education is to provide high-quality language learning experiences to our pupils in our two national languages, Irish and English. A new Primary Language Curriculum, incorporating Irish and English, has been developed by the NCCA. The first phase will be introduced for Junior Infants to 2nd classes from September 2016. This curriculum aims to ensure that pupils acquire transferable language skills which will assist them in learning Irish and English and thereafter additional languages at second level.

An intensive Continuing Professional Development programme is being provided to school Principals and their teachers to enable them to confidently and competently teach the new language curriculum to pupils of all abilities.

If schools choose to teach an extra-curricular language, this may be done at the discretion of the Board of Management.