Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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358. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for an update on the allocation of language assistants to Irish-language schools in Cork. [36338/24]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has been providing funding for the Language Assistants Scheme in the Gaeltacht for over twenty years. The funding has increased incrementally over the years to ensure that all Gaeltacht schools involved in implementing the Department of Education's Gaeltacht Education Policy have access to a language assistant. As a result, 134 Gaeltacht schools (105 primary schools, 28 post-primary schools and one special school) are currently availing of the scheme in the Gaeltacht.

In 2022, the scheme was extended to include Irish-medium schools in Gaeltacht Service Towns and Irish Language Networks with approved language plans. This was done to further strengthen the successful implementation of the language planning process outside the Gaeltacht. With the implementation of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, the expansion of the scheme will further enable the education system to develop its capacity as it relates to the phased provision of Irish-medium public services to Irish speakers, an objective which is central to the Act. There are currently 16 schools availing of the scheme (11 primary and 5 post-primary) in Gaeltacht Service Towns and Irish Language Networks since its expansion.

This measure provides significant additional language enrichment and acquisition opportunities for the attendees of the schools concerned and, therefore, supports the promotion of Irish as a community and family language – an aim which is central to both the language planning process and the Gaeltacht Education Policy.

My Department is actively exploring the next steps in relation to the language planning process in Cork City. A decision will be made regarding a language plan for the city shortly so that progress can be made regarding the various aspects of language development in the city, including the provision of language assistants in Irish-medium schools in the city.