The Government must provide adequate opportunities for migrants to learn English if it intends to make proficiency in the language a requirement for citizenship, the Immigrant Council of Ireland has said.
Speaking at the launch of a council report on the issue of language provision agency chairman John Cunningham said demand far exceeds supply when it comes to existing English language courses. "If, as it has been suggested, the Government were to make competency in English a requirement for long-term residency or citizenship, it has an obligation to ensure there are enough courses available to allow migrants with limited language skills the opportunity to learn," he said.
In its report, the council examined what language provision was made available to migrants in Europe, north America and Australasia. Drawing on this research, it recommended that the Government set up a central agency to tender out course provision so that a wide range of language needs could be addressed, from classes for people with little or no English to courses for those who would benefit from learning more about Irish society.
"We have already moved on this," Minister of State for Integration Conor Lenihan said yesterday. "The assessment will give us an outline of how we can ramp up existing provision. Language skills are absolutely essential for integration."