Primary schools in the Gaeltacht are being forced to use English for teaching because many pupils lack a basic knowledge of the Irish language, according to a new report.
The report cites the experience of two Gaeltacht schools.
In one school, "English is favoured as a language of instruction for subjects because the children are more familiar with terminology in English".
In the other school, teachers said "the biggest challenge" facing a Gaeltacht school was "the amount of time spent on developing children's competence in Irish, particularly in junior classes".
The report prepared by an advisory group to Minister for Education Mary Hanafin examined language in Irish-medium schools. The findings underline what is seen in education circles as the growing crisis facing Irish language teaching.
According to the report, English-medium textbooks were used in senior classes as the availability of Irish-language texts was a continuing problem.
The report was prepared by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). It focuses on three schools, two in the Gaeltacht and one from the thriving Gaelscoileanna sector. But in each case study, concern is expressed by school staff about Irish language skills.
In one Gaeltacht school, the principal said the pupil profile had changed significantly in recent years. Most of those who came to the school had scant knowledge or no knowledge of Irish, "as one or both of their parents were not native to the Gaeltacht". Teachers also reported that "children did not have the same richness of language in Irish now that children had a few years ago".
The school reported major difficulties in building language skills in both Irish and English at the same time. "Some parents who were newcomers to the area did not have any Irish and this posed a challenge in teaching children how to read."
In another Gaeltacht school, developing the children's competence in Irish was "one of the biggest challenges in the curriculum". It was a particular challenge to get children to speak Irish in the schoolyard. "Children also needed greater encouragement to speak Irish with each other and with teachers as they moved toward the senior cycle."
The NCCA report also noted how parents were "a lot more concerned about children's progress in English than in Irish".
Responding to the report, John Carr of the INTO called for the appointment of language support teachers to Gaeltacht schools on the same basis as English language teachers are appointed for non-English speaking international children.
This week only 12,000 students will take Irish at higher level in the Leaving Cert, several thousand less than the number taking higher level French.
