asked the Minister for Education whether, in view of the fact that the existing programme for primary schools requires the work in infant classes to be entirely in Irish only where the teachers are sufficiently qualified, it is intended that regard should be had to the capacity of the infants outside the Gaeltacht to absorb instruction through the medium of a language which they do not understand; and, if so, whether he will direct teachers to instruct such children through the medium of their home language, and at the same time impart to them elementary instruction in the Irish language as part of the programme.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Teaching of Infants.
I would refer the Deputy to paragraph 5, page 10, of the report of the National Programme Conference, 1925/26, on which the existing programme for infants is based. The members of the conference agreed on the supreme importance of giving effect as far as possible to the principle of teaching the infant classes through the medium of Irish, and in confirmation of their belief received authoritative evidence. There is no question of absorbing instruction through the medium, of Irish. As explained in my reply to the Deputy's question on the 12th February, 1936, neither reading nor writing in Irish or English is prescribed in the programme for infants; the main work of the teacher of infants' classes is language teaching (oral), and the kindergarten occupations, drawing, songs, games, etc., which constitute the rest of the work, are used largely as ancillary to the language lessons. The results of the work done entirely in Irish in infants' classes, by qualified teachers, confirm the principles enunciated by the National Programme Conference, based on the evidence which they received. In the circumstances it is not proposed to make any alteration in the existing programme for infants' classes.