Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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74. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will allow a school (details supplied) to adopt a blended Irish-English approach instead of a solely Irish-language approach, enabling the school to address pupil numbers while maintaining a strong Irish-language ethos; and if she will meet with the principal and management to discuss these issues and grant the school the necessary flexibility in this regard. [8598/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school in question is located in the Gaeltacht and applied to join the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme when it was launched in 2017. The criteria for recognition as a Gaeltacht School are set out in circular 0034/2017 for post-primary schools. There are 11 criteria for post-primary schools, including the requirement to “deliver high quality educational experiences through Irish to all students focusing particular attention on the differentiated language needs of native Irish speakers, as well as learners of Irish”.

Supports have been provided to schools participating in the scheme, including the school in question, to assist them in implementing the criteria. These include additional language support hours for Irish in accordance with school enrolment, an annual grant of €1,200 for the purchase of Irish-language resources, targeted advisory visits from the Inspectorate, and supports from COGG.

A validation process for recognition as a Gaeltacht School was completed in 2024. This involved a validation visit from a member of the Inspectorate to evaluate the implementation of the criteria for the scheme. A small number of post-primary schools, including the school in question, required an additional period of time to make further progress on the implementation of the criteria. The school has applied for this additional period of time, and officials from my department are liaising with the school to discuss and implement next steps.