According to an opinion poll published today by the on-line news service, Tuairisc.ie, over half the public believe that Irish should remain a ‘compulsory’ subject for the Leaving Cert.

Results of the Tuairisc.ie/Millward Brown poll show that a majority believes that Irish should retain its status as one of the ‘compulsory’ subjects at Leaving Cert level.

Fifty five per cent of those questioned agreed that Irish should remain a ‘compulsory’ subject.

Those groups most in favour of Irish retaining its status included women (58 per cent); those aged between 45-54 years (60 per cent); those in higher income brackets (62 per cent); and those resident in Connacht and Ulster (62 per cent).

Those groups most in favour of Irish losing its ‘compulsory’ status included those aged 15-17 years (44 per cent); those aged between 33-44 years and 55-64 years (38 per cent); and those resident in Dublin (38 per cent).

The sample of those in the 15-17 years was relatively small and as such should be treated with caution, according to Millward Brown.

The study of Irish at Leaving Cert level became a live issue in the last general election, when Enda Kenny proposed abolishing its ‘compulsory’ status. Mr. Kenny argued that such a giving students a choice whether or not they wanted to study Irish after the Junior Certificate would benefit the promotion of the language. The proposal met with opposition from rival parties who argued that the Fine Gael policy would diminish the status and wellbeing of the language.

Meanwhile, according to results of the Tuairisc.ie/Millward Brown poll published on Monday, three in every five people believe that the State should do more to promote the Irish language.

The same number of people believe that the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, was wrong to appoint Mr Joe McHugh TD as Minister of State with responsibility for Gaeltacht and Irish-language affairs.