571. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any initiative in place that seeks to meet the demand for Irish-medium secondary schools at a national level. [65145/26]

572. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any initiative in place that seeks to meet the demand for Irish-medium primary schools at a national level. [65144/26]

573. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any initiative in place that seeks to meet the demand for Irish-medium primary schools at a local level in areas where demand has been proven. [65146/26]

575. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any mechanism in place within her Department that seeks to specifically increase the provision of Gaelscoileanna; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65153/26]

576. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any mechanism in place within her Department that seeks to specifically increase the provision of Gaelcholáistí; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65152/26]

581. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding initiatives in place that seek to meet the demand for Irish-medium secondary schools at a local level in areas where demand has been proven. [65147/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 571, 572, 573, 575, 576 and 581 together.

I can confirm that the Government is fully committed to supporting Irish-medium education and to providing increased opportunities for children and young people to receive their education through the medium of Irish.

The Policy for Irish-Medium Education outside of the Gaeltacht was launched by my Department in November 2025, setting out the vision that high-quality Irish-medium education will be available to all, in inclusive and multicultural educational settings. I am committed to my Department working collaboratively with stakeholders to achieve this vision.

A key initiative under this policy is the establishment of the Taskforce on Models of Provision for Irish-Medium Education, which will provide a platform for collaboration between my Department and key stakeholders to develop a pathway to increase provision of Irish-medium education.

A range of organisations and stakeholders whose input will be important in agreeing recommendations in this area have nominated members to the taskforce. I am grateful to the members of the taskforce for their time and commitment in contributing to its body of work over the coming period.

In June 2026, my Department published the results of the Primary School Survey. This initiative gathered the views of both parents of children currently attending primary school and parents of children yet to enter the school system on important aspects of primary school provision, including preferences regarding language of instruction (Irish or English).

Schools are now being asked to share the results of the survey with parents, staff, patrons and the wider community and to engage openly on the preferences indicated in the survey results. If a school community decides that it is interested in transitioning to Irish-medium education, they should inform their patron and the Department of Education and Youth by 31 October 2026. My Department will assign a facilitator to schools that express an interest in transitioning to Irish-medium education to support them through the process.

A number of primary schools have already indicated that they are interested in transitioning to Gaelscoileanna from September 2027. I welcome their interest in supporting the promotion of Irish-medium education in their local areas and my Department looks forward to working with them in this regard.