Proposals to create a bilingual society over the next 20 years have been unveiled by the Government today.
The Government's policy statement on the Irish language was announced at Farmleigh House, prior to the last Cabinet meeting of 2006 this morning.
In the statement the Government said that 92 per cent of people surveyed felt that promoting the Irish language is important to the country, to themselves personally or to both.
It also found that almost 1.6 million people in Ireland can speak Irish.
The statement lists 13 key objectives, and it comes as Irish is due to become the 21st official working language of the European Union on January 1st.
The 13 objectives include;
- Full implementation of the Official Languages Act and facilitation of the public's right to use Irish in dealings with the State.
- Provision of a wide range of services to parents who wish to raise their children through Irish.
- Continuous development of high-quality broadcast services through Irish, especially on TG4, RTÉ and Raidió na Gaeltachta.
- Special support for the Gaeltacht as an Irish-speaking area.
- Continuation of teaching of Irish as an obligatory subject from primary to Leaving Cert level while fostering oral and written competence.
- Enhanced investment in professional development and ongoing support for teachers as well as in provision of textbooks and resources and in support for innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
- Further development of all-Irish secondary education.
Speaking today, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that the statement marks "a major evolution" in national policy on the Irish language.
"The aim of 20th-century Government policies was to reinstate Irish as the main language spoken by the people, but the Government now plan to focus firmly on the practical development of a bilingual society where as many people as possible use both Irish and English with equal ease," Mr Ahern added.