Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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1113. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide the number of students enrolled in Irish-medium schools, broken down by school, primary and secondary level, local authority area, Gaeltacht status, mixed or single sex status, and patronage since 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42292/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Enrolment data is taken from the primary and post-primary online databases and is as per the census date, 30th September, in each year.

Patronage data is for academic year 2023-2024 as this is the latest available.

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 taskforce 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 taskforce and in the provision of high-quality education in the sector.

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

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