asked the Minister for Education why only 5 per cent bonus marks are allotted to examinees answering a modern language paper through the medium of Irish whilst 10 per cent is allotted to those answering a Greek or Latin paper through the medium of Irish.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Bonus Marks on Language Papers.
112.
Mr. Barrett
Mr. O'Malley
The reason is that answering through Irish of a modern language paper calls for the use of very much less Irish than does the answering of a Greek or Latin paper through the medium of Irish.
Candidates who answer Greek or Latin papers through the medium of Irish must answer all questions, with the exception of one question which involves translation into Greek or Latin, through the medium of Irish. In practice, this means that most of the answering is done through the medium of Irish.
On the other hand, the answering in a modern language paper is done through the medium of whatever language forms the subject of the paper, with the exception of one question which involves translation from the modern language into Irish. In practice this means that a very much smaller proportion of the answering is done through the medium of Irish than in the case of Greek or Latin.
The answering of a modern language through Irish involves the use of Irish to an extent of only about 25 per cent. In the case of Latin or Greek the extent to which Irish must be used is between 60 per cent and 70 per cent.