Vol. 379 No. 3
asked the Minister for Education the proposals in the field of language learning and technological education she intends to make to the EC Council of Education Ministers' meeting on 25 May, given the strong interest in new initiatives in these areas expressed by her colleagues in Government.
35.
asked the Minister for Education if the Government are investigating the possibility of securing EC funding under the recently revised structural funds to improve and expand the teaching of European languages in this country.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 35 together.
As the Deputy is aware proposals to the Council of Ministers are a matter in the first instance for the Commission of the European Communities. I understand, however, that at the meeting of Ministers on 24 May, the Commission will present for discussion a document on the possible contents of a programme to improve the teaching and learning of languages prior to submitting a formal proposal in this matter later in the year. I will be pressing for a realistic programme with a substantial level of funding which would include assistance for prospective and existing language teachers to spend a period of study in the countries whose languages they teach as well as for linguistic and cultural exchanges of second level pupils.
While it is unlikely that any formal proposals in the matter of technological education will be presented to the meeting I can assure the Deputy that I will miss no opportunity to try to secure increased funding for technical training from the European Social Fund. In addition when the COMETT programme comes up for review in 1989 I will be pressing strongly for its continuance and expansion with a significantly increased level of funding.
I am sure the Minister would agree that the whole question of the Single European Act and the approach of 1992 have added a nationally new urgency to this question of language learning and that it is something which must be given top priority. Is the Minister aware of the findings of the most recent survey carried out by the Euro-barometer group, survey No. 28, taken in October and November last year which showed that Ireland is once again lowest on the table of language speakers in Europe? When people in Ireland were asked if they spoke any continental language other than their own well enough to follow a conversation, 80 per cent said they did not. This compares with, for example, 28 per cent in The Netherlands. We are proportionately in this respect the highest group in the EC who cannot speak another language fluently. This is another example of our problem and I would like to draw that to the Minister's attention. Has the Minister made any proposals to the Commission? I am aware that the Commission will place proposals before Ministers and that that is the way things are done. I am also aware that her officials attend meetings, long before the Ministers' meetings take place, at which they can put forward the Irish proposals. I was involved in doing so myself in other areas. Is it the Minister's intention that Irish proposals will be going to the Commission to be put before her colleagues in Europe?
As the Deputy knows, I have been very active in this regard. It is one of the issues on which I made a public statement here in the Dáil within a month of coming to office and my Government colleagues, as the question intimates, have been very active in that regard. A very successful seminar was held about a month ago which the NCEA convened and all the various interests attended. Following on that I met with Mr. Howard Jones informally when he was here at a dinner and we had a very full discussion on the real need for Ireland to be included positively in any initiatives which will be taken for language diversification.
With regard to the survey which Deputy Hussey has mentioned, I would question one of its findings because our indications are that we are not bottom of the league and that the take-up of European languages by English students is much lower. That is by the way and does not excuse the fact that we have a great amount of work to do in this regard. I hope that the business, economic and financial climate, the general European trend towards the very open statement of the needs of countries to participate in language diversification programmes, the steps which we have taken and the forthright statements which I have made in this regard will lead us to prepare proposals. I intend to give that matter my very close attention. My objective would be that come September 1988 and subsequent Septembers there would be more young people in this country taking up European languages other than French.
I want to deal with the remaining priority question No. 40 in the name of Deputy Michael D. Higgins.
