Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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248. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 166 of 1 February 2022, if the Gaeltacht education policy advisory committee will continue its work beyond the expiry of the current Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017 – 2022; the role the committee will play in the formulation of the next policy on Gaeltacht education; if the advisory committee will produce a final report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15556/22]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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249. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the development of the next policy on Gaeltacht education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15557/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 249 together.

The Gaeltacht Education Policy Advisory Committee has played a significant role in supporting the implementation of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education, and it is intended that this role will continue. Committee members have provided very useful input from a wide range of stakeholders on the implementation of the Policy, and in particular on the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme, which is a central pillar of the Policy. This Scheme has been extended to the end of the 2023/24 school year due to the disruption experienced by schools during the pandemic. This additional time will allow schools to make further progress towards fulfilling the language based criteria set out for the Scheme. The lessons learned from the development and implementation of the Scheme will inform the development of any new policy in this area.