§ 23. Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proposals he has to promote tuition in Goidelic languages. [121167]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 gave the Department of Education the power to fund a body which has as its objective the encouragement or promotion of Irish-medium education. Work is currently in hand to establish a new body, Comhairle Na Gaelscolaiochta, for this purpose. An Irish-medium curriculum materials unit has been established in St. Mary's University College, a College of the Queen's University of Belfast, under the auspices of the Education and Library Boards' Curriculum Advisory and Support Services, to provide a central source of Irish-medium expertise to support schools throughout Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment provides GCSE and GCE A level examinations through the medium of Irish in subjects as required.