Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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213. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the number of Gaelscoileanna operating within the country, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36748/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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214. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the number of Gaelcholáistí operating within the country, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36749/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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215. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the number of children attending Gaelscoileanna within the country, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36750/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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216. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the number of students attending Gaelcholáistí within the country, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36751/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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217. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the percentage of children attending Gaelscoileanna as a percentage of overall primary school children, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36752/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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218. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the percentage of students attending Gaelcholáistí as a percentage of overall secondary school students, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36753/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 213 to 218, inclusive, together.

The requested information is set out at the link below.

Data supplied is for academic year 2023-2024, as this is the latest year we have final enrolment data. We expect to publish final enrolment data for academic year 2024-25 shortly and we will revert to the Deputy with this data when available.

Data was collated from the final enrolments for post-primary and mainstream primary schools for 2023-2024, which can be found at the link below.

Gaelscoileanna are those schools with an Irish classification of "all subjects through Irish" with Gaelcholáistí having an Irish classification of "all pupils taught all subjects through Irish".

www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/data-on-individual-schools/

The Programme for Government includes commitments to expand opportunities for students to attend Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí, to establish Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí where there is demand, and to support parents choosing Irish-medium education for their children.

Work is currently underway in my department on the development of a new policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. A comprehensive consultation process was conducted to inform the policy. The department commissioned Sealbhú, a research centre in DCU, to analyse the information gathered through the consultation, and to conduct a review of national and international literature in relation to teaching through the medium of minority languages.

Officials in my department are drawing on the insights gained from this consultation process, and from the research in developing the new policy. The information gleaned from the consultation is being considered in light of existing provision for Irish-medium education, the estimated demand in the education system, as well as issues relating to teacher supply and the department’s budgetary and legislative context.

A task force is due to be established as an action under this policy to explore the various models of Irish-medium education provision that exist, and to facilitate collaboration between the department and key stakeholders in re-conceptualising the current models of provision, if necessary. Consideration of teacher supply for Irish-medium education will also be a crucial factor in the work of the task force and in the provision of high-quality education in the sector.

I expect to receive a draft of the policy in the coming months for my review. If I am satisfied with the draft received, it is intended that the policy will be published in autumn 2025.