Too many students associate Irish with “pressure, boredom or frustration,” according to Fianna Fáil’s Ryan O’Meara, who is calling for a mandatory Gaeltacht stay as part of the Leaving Cert curriculum.
The proposal was made in a statement from the party’s Education Spokesperson and Tipperary North TD, urging the Education Minister to begin departmental planning for a compulsory immersion course aimed at changing attitudes towards the national language.
“This isn’t just about exams or fluency,” O’Meara said.
“It’s about changing attitudes. Right now, too many students associate Irish with pressure, boredom or frustration, and not with pride or identity.”
Describing a widespread lack of spoken fluency among students despite years of learning, he said the system was not working as intended.
“At the heart of this is a question we’ve all heard,” he said.
“‘How can someone go through 14 years of education and still be unable to hold a basic conversation in Irish?’ That shouldn’t be the case.”
He added that the Government had an opportunity to harness recent interest in Irish culture through school policy.
“What I’m proposing may seem ambitious,” he said.
“But that’s where this conversation needs to begin. We are witnessing a cultural renaissance in Ireland, with a newfound Grá for our native language, and we need to support and harness that momentum.”
He said immersion in the Gaeltacht could help create a connection between students and the spoken language.
“Currently, many students view Irish as just another subject,” he said.
“Something they’re required to study, rather than something they feel connected to.”
“We need to create more immersive experiences,” he continued.
“So that young people see Irish as a living language, something they can use and enjoy in real life, not just a subject confined to the classroom.”
He said the experience of hearing and using Irish in daily life could be transformative.
“By ensuring all students have access to a Gaeltacht course, we offer them a chance to hear the language spoken naturally, use it in daily situations, and to develop a genuine connection to it,” he said.
“Immersion is the best way to learn and gain a Grá for our language,” he added.
He also argued that if Irish is to remain compulsory in schools, the system has a responsibility to make the subject functional and engaging.
“If Irish is going to remain a core subject in our education system, then we have an obligation to ensure students aren’t just learning about it, but living it,” he said.
“This is about more than language,” he continued.
“It’s about our national identity, our heritage, and our future. We cannot accept a system where, after over a decade of learning, students are still unable to speak our national language. Something clearly isn’t working, and we need to change that.”
Currently, many secondary students travel to the Gaeltacht on a voluntary basis during the summer months. However, these trips are generally organised outside of the formal school curriculum and vary depending on family finances and school arrangements.
Under O’Meara’s proposal, all students would be required to undertake a Gaeltacht stay as part of their studies before sitting the Leaving Certificate.