Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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129. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the new policy paper for Irish-medium secondary education will be available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15762/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Work on the development of a new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht is currently underway in my Department. This policy will build on the achievements of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education and will be an important next step towards achieving the Programme for Government commitment to develop a comprehensive policy on Irish in the education system. The policy will encompass Irish-medium early learning and care settings (for example, naíonraí), Irish-medium primary schools and Irish-medium post-primary schools.

A public consultation process commenced on 27 October 2022 to gather the views of stakeholders, including young people, parents, education professionals, education stakeholders and Irish-language organisations.

The first phase of the consultation process included an online questionnaire and a call for written submissions. This phase concluded on 30 January 2023. The responses to the questionnaire and the submissions received are currently being analysed.

The second phase of the consultation is currently underway. Focus groups are being conducted with children and young people to ensure their voices are included in the policy development process. Focus groups to explore important themes that are arising will take place shortly with parents, guardians, educators and other stakeholders.

A review of national and international literature to inform the development of the policy is being conducted by Sealbhú in DCU on behalf of my Department.

It is expected that the new policy will be published before the end of 2023, however, this will depend on the outcome of the consultation process and on the recommendations from the review of national and international research.

I look forward to working with our stakeholders in the development of this policy, and to progressing this important work of strengthening Irish-medium education provision.