Walsh urges halving Irish language budget [Independent.ie]
- Published: 17 October 2010
The amount of time spent teaching Irish in schools should be slashed and 'smart economy' subjects such as maths, science or even Chinese should be taught instead, according to an influential educator.
Dr Edward Walsh, founding president of the University of Limerick, has proposed that the €1.2bn a year spent on teaching the Irish language in schools should be halved.
Dr Walsh is advocating that half the resources should be diverted into teaching pupils international languages, particularly Chinese, French and German.
Dr Walsh, a well-known critic of the Department of Education's policy on the national language, has frequently proposed making Irish compulsory for only three years, making room on the curriculum for other languages.
Furthermore, he suggests that within the narrower spending limits reserved for teaching Irish "we should broaden the teaching of the language to include Irish culture. But let those who are not enthusiastic about Irish drop out after primary school. We should bring them to the well."
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