New Research Shows That Children Want to Learn Irish but Their Needs are Not Being Met - 05/01/2026

School children have a positive outlook when it comes to learning the Irish language and want to improve their language skills — but their needs are not being met.That’s according to a consultation done by Sealbhú, DCU’s research centre, in partnership with the Department of Education and Youth.It was carried out as part of the Policy for Irish-Medium Education and Action Plan for Irish in English-Medium Schools, which was published in November.Two reports were prepared by Dr Aisling Ní Dhiorbháin and Dr Patrick Burke with recommendations for the government. Over 200 school students were surveyed in various focus groups at primary school, junior cycle in post-primary and senior cycle in post-primary levels.Associate Professor at the School of Language Literacy and Early Childhood Education in DCU, Dr Aisling Ní Dhiorbháin, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.