Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost to re-establish the modern languages in primary school initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46240/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative (MLPSI) was introduced in September 1998. It involved the introduction of Italian, Spanish, German and French for 5th and 6th classes. The MLPSI was a pilot scheme across 550 schools with an annual budget of approximately €2.5m. It would not be possible to give an estimate of the cost of its reintroduction in 550 schools or its introduction across all primary schools due to the number of variables involved. There are approximately 3,250 primary schools.

A new Primary Language Curriculum, incorporating Irish and English, was introduced in classes from Junior Infants to 2nd class from September 2016. This curriculum aims to ensure that students acquire transferable language skills which will assist them in learning Irish and English and additional languages at second level. Work is currently underway in developing the Primary Language Curriculum for third to sixth class. The presence of heritage languages in our primary schools will be acknowledged in the implementation of the Primary Language Curriculum.

In December 2017, my Department published “Languages Connect – Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017-2026”.Under an accompanying 5 year Implementation Plan 2017 – 2022, the NCCA will consider including foreign languages in senior classes as part of the review of the primary curriculum. The DES will consider the recommendations of the review following completion.