Vol. 489 No. 6
662 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason non-Irish teachers at second level are required to have oral Irish in cases where the job they undertake does not involve any use of Irish; whether this policy has been assessed by the EU for consistency with rules governing free movement of labour within the EU; and if he will sanction positions in schools for teachers requiring no fluency in Irish. [8578/98]
All second level teachers must have a certain competency in the Irish language. This requirement for teachers is an important component of the overall policy of successive Governments in relation to the promotion of Irish language and culture.
The importance of the policy in relation to Irish was recognised by the European Court in its judgment in the Groener case in which it stated that it was not unreasonable to require teachers to have some knowledge of the first official language.
As I indicated in my reply to Question No. 299 of 10 March 1998 from the Deputy, I have made a number of significant amendments to the Irish requirement for second level teaching with effect from the beginning of the current school year. I have no plans at present to make further changes to the requirement. The position will, however, be kept under review.
