Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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112. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to increase the number of Gaelscoileanna in the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31301/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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There is a commitment in the current Programme for Government 2025 to establish Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí where there is demand and support parents choosing Irish-medium education for their children.

This commitment is supported by the ongoing work within the department on the development of a new policy for Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. This policy will sit within the overall framework of the 20-year Strategy for the Irish language and will build on the achievements of the Policy on Gaeltacht Education. Among the objectives for the new policy are exploring how opportunities for the establishment of Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí can be increased as part of the patronage process. There are currently 248 Gaelscoileanna and 50 Gaelcholáistí in operation throughout the country.

The development of this policy will involve examining how we can create more opportunities for children and young people to receive their education through the medium of Irish. Engagement and collaboration with the Irish-medium education sector will be key to progressing this. Under this policy, we will work with key stakeholders to examine opportunities and support more children to receive their education "as Gaeilge".

Given the importance of increasing choice for parents, I also intend to publish a plan shortly to meet commitments contained in the Programme for Government. It is intended as part of this work to conduct a survey of primary school parents and guardians on parental preference as to the primary language of educational provision in their local school - English or Irish. This initiative along with other work, will help identify opportunities for increasing Irish medium provision at primary and post-primary level.