Work has commenced on the development of a new policy for Irish-medium education which will contribute to achieving the Programme for Government target of providing a framework for the delivery of high quality Irish-medium education in Irish-medium schools and early learning and care settings outside the Gaeltacht. The new policy will complement the existing Policy on Gaeltacht Education which will continue to support early learning and care settings and schools in the Gaeltacht, the extended use of Irish in local communities, and the implementation of local Gaeltacht language plans, as set out in the Gaeltacht Act, 2012.
An intradepartmental working group has been established in my Department to progress work on the development of the new policy. A Steering Committee has also been established with representatives from relevant Government Departments and Agencies to oversee the development of the policy.
A public consultation process will take place in the coming months to gather the views of stakeholders, including young people, their parents, school staff and leaders, early years educators and Irish-language organisations. This consultation, along with a review of national and international literature which has been commissioned, will inform the development of the policy.