Plan announced to double number of students in Irish-medium education

 

 
Education Minister Joe McHugh has announced plans for the development of the first, comprehensive Irish-medium education policy.
The new policy will provide a framework for the delivery of high-quality Irish-medium education in schools and early-years settings outside the Gaeltacht.
The policy will build on the success already achieved in implementing the wide-ranging actions in the Policy on Gaeltacht Education.
In a statement today Minister McHugh said: “Naíonraí and Irish-medium schools play a vital role in developing identity and fluency in our language.
“The benefits of full language immersion in early years and in school are internationally recognised both for a child’s holistic development and also for acquiring the aptitude for other languages.
“There are about 60,000 young people in Irish-medium schools right across the country and I want to see an ambitious target set to double that.”
The work will be informed by national and international research into good practice in other countries or jurisdictions, like Wales or Quebec, as well as the initial findings of the Research and Evaluation Study on the Gaeltacht School Recognition Scheme.
The Minister is to convene a special consultation process in the spring and he has requested that any consultation includes the voice of students and parents.
The policy will be developed in collaboration with other relevant departments including the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
The work will be overseen by an inter-departmental steering committee and supported by an advisory committee comprised of relevant stakeholders.

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