asked the Minister for Education if she will give an estimate of the State's expenditure on the teaching of the Irish language in primary and secondary schools per year; and if she will give the corresponding investment in the teaching of English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and other languages.
Written Answers. - State Expenditure on Irish Language.
40.
At present continental languages do not form part of the approved curriculum for national schools. The primary curriculum is an integrated curriculum involving the development and use of two languages, Irish and English, each of which is enshrined in the Constitution as an official language.
In keeping with the principles of flexibility and integration inherent in the structure of the new curriculum my Department does not lay down specific periods of time for various curriculum activities but advises that a certain minimum time be spent on each aspect of the curriculum each day. Primary teachers are required to teach all aspects of the curriculum in schools, and the main components of the State's expenditure in education (teachers' pay costs, grants towards school running costs, school transport etc.) are costs which are borne by the State regardless of curricular content. For these reasons it is considered that it would not be appropriate or feasible to estimate the notional cost of teaching Irish or English in primary schools. In the case of post-primary schools, my Department's Estimates are not framed on the basis of subject areas nor is its expenditure accounted for on this basis. The information requested is, therefore, not readily available and its compilation would involve an inordinate amount of staff time.