Schools continue to neglect the teaching of foreign languages and most Irish pupils can only communicate with other European children through English, the National Parents' Council (Primary) has said.
The organisation said Irish primary schools in particular were failing to prepare children to "communicate with their future partners in Europe".
Opening their annual conference, their president, Mr Desmond Kelly, said: "Are our children learning a modern European language in primary school other than English? No."
He added: "The fact remains that the majority of our children remain unable to communicate with their European friends except through English.
"In this age of instant and mass communication we must prepare them to communicate with their future European partners.
"Meanwhile, our European partners have progressed language teaching to such an extent that at a recent European Parents' Association meeting I attended, parents were discussing strategy for the teaching of three foreign languages in their schools.
"The National Parents' Council (Primary) was a lone voice in its early years in calling for foreign language learning. At that time our partners maintained that the teaching of a third language would have a detrimental effect on the Irish language.
"It is now generally accepted that this is not the case and we have the experience of our own Gaelscoileanna to prove that this is not true. Many children in Gaelscoileanna are happily learning three languages," he added.
"Our education system must meet the requirements of modern citizens of Europe - anything less is just not good enough. Enough time has been wasted in discussing language teaching, it is now time to get on and do it." The council has long supported the idea of giving pupils a greater role in the running of their schools, Mr Kelly told the conference.
"National Parents' Council (Primary) endorses an active role for children in schools. They have a right to have their views and opinions listened to and acted upon in matters which effect them," he said.
He added that parents' associations should take children's opinions into account when developing their policies and making decisions.
"We can start this through encouraging the establishment of students' councils, as provided for in the Education Act," he said.