The North's Minister of Education, Mr Martin McGuinness, has indicated he views the teaching of the Irish language in schools as high on his list of priorities.
He said that while the people of the North should have the right to choose whether their children were educated in Catholic, Protestant or integrated schools, the teaching of Irish had been neglected and this needed to be addressed.
In an interview yesterday on the BBC's Breakfast With Frost, he said people coming from all denominations had a great love of the Irish language, and many parents had attempted to build schools where their children could learn though Irish.