§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to promote the Irish language in education, including nursery, primary, secondary and university levels.
§ Mr. HanleyGovernment do not directly promote the teaching of the Irish language but has, through the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989, provided a statutory curriculum for grant-aided schools in Northern Ireland within which any school may offer teaching of the Irish language if it so chooses.
The Department of Education also grant-aids two voluntary maintained primary schools in Belfast in which teaching is conducted through the medium of Irish. There is also an Irish-medium unit at Steeltown primary school, Londonderry.
The Department has not funded the provision of Irish-medium nursery schools, in the light of the financial priority which has had to be accorded to nursery education in general and the number of outstanding proposals for nursery schools.
In addition, the Department of Education has:
introduced a prescribed programme of study for Irish for pupils receiving their primary education through the medium of Irish; provided for the development by the Northern Ireland Schools Examinations and Assessment Council of assessment materials in Irish for pupils receiving their primary education through the medium of Irish; andprovided for the development by the Northern Ireland Schools Examinations and Assessment Council of a special Irish GCSE examination for pupils who have received their primary education through the medium of Irish.Universities are autonomous and independent institutions and are, as such, entirely responsible for both the range and the content of courses provided by them including those involving Irish language.