Teachers could get extra money if they take Irish lessons and pass tests aimed at improving their proficiency under new Government plans.
It follows concern over what officials describe as a “vicious circle” in the teaching of Irish where teachers with poor standards in the language result in weak students entering teacher-training colleges with deficient skills.
Under a new scheme being proposed by the Department of the Gaeltacht, teachers could enroll voluntarily to learn Irish and sit language proficiency examinations.
Financial incentives would be paid to participants who pass the exams.
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The issue was raised in briefing documents prepared for Minister for the Gaeltacht Patrick O’Donovan by officials in the Gaeltacht and Irish language division of his department.
“It is recognised that a vicious circle currently exists as regards the teaching of Irish whereby many teachers in the early years, primary and secondary school systems have a poor standard in the language, and that there is a resultant failure to effectively teach the language to students,” the documents state.
“Students are, as a result, entering teacher training colleges with weak and deficient skills in the language, perpetuating the problem and denying language acquisition opportunities to young learners.”
The briefing documents say the Department of the Gaeltacht has engaged with the Department of Education on the Irish language teaching issue.
“In addition, as an initiative to assist in addressing the issue, the department is currently developing a new scheme whereby teachers could enroll on a voluntary basis to learn Irish with their learning outcomes to be evaluated under the Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge system administered by Maynooth University,” the documents state.
“Financial incentives would be paid to participants when they pass their exams. It would be intended that the scheme would initially be rolled out on a pilot basis, subject to availability of resources.”
There have been long-standing concerns within the Department of Education over the standard of Irish among teachers.
Primary schoolteachers are required to be able to teach the language and a range of subjects through Irish.
However, a department report last year found “a significant proportion of teachers do not feel they have a sufficiently high level of competence in Irish to do so”.
Similarly, a 2022 report by the then chief inspector reported that pupils’ learning outcomes in Irish at English-medium primary schools were “very concerning”.
At second level, the quality of teaching and learning in Irish was also considerably below standards achieved in other core subjects.
Minimum entry standards for admission to primary teaching college courses include a H4 (60-70 per cent) in Leaving Certificate Irish.
This was raised from a H5 (50-60 per cent) in 2019 in an attempt to boost Irish standards among new entrants.
Post-primary teachers do not need to have a qualification in Irish language unless they are employed by a Gaeltacht school or a school where Irish is the medium of instruction.
Separately, officials in the Department of Arts told Mr O’Donovan that in the arts, “precarious incomes remained a hallmark of the sector”.
Officials said the greatest likely demands from the sector would be for continued enhanced support for the Arts Council and Culture Ireland and retention and expansion of the basic income for the arts support beyond the end of a pilot scheme.
“The Basic Income for the Arts is a three-year pilot research programme under which 2,000 artists are in receipt of payments of €325 a week. The department administers the scheme and collects survey from participants for analysis. The pilot is due to conclude in late August 2025.”
Officials also said, “it may be challenging to agree and implement significant changes to the current system of TV licence collection which have the capacity to reverse long-term declines in revenue which predate the RTÉ crisis”.
