Tom Brabazon (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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307. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are plans to develop a policy for Irish in the education system from early childhood education to third level and to establish an expert group to develop this policy; and if the policy will be based on the Common European Framework of Reference of Languages. [4547/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My department is taking a progressive, sequenced approach to developing a comprehensive policy for the Irish language from early years education to teacher education. As it relates to the Department of Education, there are three strands to this work: the Policy on Gaeltacht Education; the policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht; and the development of an action plan to support Irish in English-medium schools.

Significant progress has been made in implementing the Policy on Gaeltacht Education. The Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme is the cornerstone of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education. It gives schools in Gaeltacht language planning areas the opportunity to seek official recognition as a Gaeltacht School by meeting specific language-based criteria. Recognition as a Gaeltacht School was awarded to over 120 schools at a series of regional events in October 2024.

Work is currently underway in my department to develop a new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. In order to inform the development of the policy, a comprehensive public consultation process was conducted to gather the views of stakeholders, including young people, parents and guardians, education professionals, education stakeholders and Irish-language organisations. Sealbhú, a research centre in DCU, carried out an analysis of the information gathered throughout the consultation and a review of national and international literature.

The policy, together with an action plan, is currently being developed by officials of my department. In developing the policy, my department is drawing on the various reports prepared by Sealbhú, and on information shared by stakeholders in bilateral meetings and at a consultation event held in September 2024. This information is being considered in light of the existing provision for Irish-medium education and the estimated demand in the education system, questions in relation to teacher supply, as well as the department’s budgetary and legislative context.

A new unit has been established within my department to support the Irish language in English-medium schools. This unit has commenced work on the development of an action plan for Irish in English-medium schools. The development of the plan will involve extensive consultation with national and school stakeholders. A national stakeholder event was held in January to commence the consultation process and further progress will be made on this over the coming months.

In parallel to the work being carried out by my department, the Department of Children, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Youth is currently developing a national plan on Irish language provision in early learning and care and school-age childcare. The departments are working closely together to ensure the policies are in alignment.

Taken together, these policies and initiatives are important steps towards the provision of a comprehensive policy for the Irish language in the education system.

With regards curricula, an updated, integrated Primary Language Curriculum/Curaclam Teanga na Bunscoile (PLC/CTB) was introduced for all stages at primary school level from September 2019. The PLC/CTB seeks to support children on their language-learning journeys, in both English and Irish, while also acknowledging the diversity of languages spoken in Irish primary schools. While the PLC/CTB is not explicitly aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), the curriculum acknowledges all children’s language learning journeys.

In 2017, differentiated curricular provision was introduced in Irish at Junior Cycle. This meant that a specific curriculum was provided for Irish-medium schools (Teanga 1/T1) which was different to that provided for schools operating in the English language (Teanga 2/T2). This differentiated curricular provision for Irish at Junior Cycle builds on the model of curricular provision for Irish in the Primary Language Curriculum. The T1 and T2 specifications are broadly aligned with bands A and B (from basic users to independent language users) of the CEFR.

The current Leaving Certificate Irish syllabuses, which were introduced in 2010, are not aligned to the CEFR. The NCCA carried out a public consultation on draft T1 and T2 specifications for Leaving Certificate (established) Irish over a nine-month period in 2021. Following this, the NCCA paused development work on the draft T1 and T2 Leaving Certificate specifications. Additional research is being conducted on the model of provision and frameworks used to inform development of curricula for native languages in jurisdictions with a similar profile, with LCE Irish to be redeveloped as part of Tranche 4 of the Senior Cycle Redevelopment programme. Alignment of Leaving Certificate specifications with the CEFR will be considered as part of the redevelopment process. To support this work, a series of short academic papers are also being progressed, which include an exploration of aligning curriculum developments for Irish in senior cycle with the CEFR.

Tom Brabazon (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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308. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department’s plans to increase the number of pupils attending Irish-medium education over the next 20 years. [4548/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Since 2011, arrangements have been in place for the establishment of new schools involving the forecasting of demand for school places based on demographic exercises carried out by my department.

New schools are only established in areas of demographic growth, as the resources available for school infrastructure have to be prioritised to ensure that every child has a school place.

These arrangements give an opportunity to patrons to apply for the patronage of new schools. The criteria used in deciding on the patronage of new schools place a particular emphasis on parental preferences in relation to patronage and language – either Irish or English – and on an analysis of existing provision, including Irish-medium provision, in the areas where schools are being established. Most new post-primary schools must have a student enrolment capacity of 600 to 1,000 students. A lower threshold of 400 students may apply to Gaelcholáistí.

Work is currently underway in my department to develop a new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. One of the key objectives of the policy, among other things, is examining how to increase the proportion of children and young people attending Irish-medium education settings.

In order to inform the development of the policy, a comprehensive public consultation process was conducted to gather the views of stakeholders, including young people, parents and guardians, education professionals, education stakeholders and Irish-language organisations. Sealbhú, a research centre in DCU, carried out an analysis of the information gathered throughout the consultation and a review of national and international literature.

The policy, together with an action plan, is currently being developed by officials of my department. In developing the policy, my department is drawing on the various reports prepared by Sealbhú, and on information shared by stakeholders in bilateral meetings and at a consultation event held in September 2024. This information is being considered in light of existing provision for Irish-medium education and the estimated demand in the education system, as well as questions in relation to teacher supply and the department’s budgetary and legislative context.