[lg policy] Ireland: State’s language policy is costing its citizens jobs, Senator says

[Harold Schiffman]

 State’s language policy is costing its citizens jobs, Senator says

Thu, Mar 5, 2015, 19:47
<http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/state-s-language-policy-is-costing-its-citizens-jobs-senator-says-1.2128096#>

*First published:* Thu, Mar 5, 2015, 19:47
   <http://www.irishtimes.com/cmlink/irish-times-politics-rss-1.1315953>

The Republic cannot give its own citizens jobs because the State is failing
at teaching languages, the Seanad has heard.

Independent Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames said that “70 per cent of the
people hired by the likes of Google
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Google&article=true>
are from abroad because Ireland
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Ireland&article=true>
does not have enough graduates with languages”.

Ms Healy-Eames said: “We are not even able to give our own people jobs
because we do such a bad job of teaching languages.”

Ms Healy-Eames was speaking after concerns were raised about proposals to
remove maths and languages as university entrance requirements.

Senator Sean Barrett
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Sean%20Barrett&article=true>
said discussions were underway on the proposals this week in the University
of Limerick
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=University%20of%20Limerick&article=true>
and UCC
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=UCC&article=true>.
He said that UCD
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=UCD&article=true>
was reported to be in favour of them while TCD
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=TCD&article=true>
dissented.

Mr Barrett said he did not believe Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan
was “in the loop” on these kinds of proposals, because she had previously
told the Seanad that “the report of the expert skills group indicated to
her that we needed more language skills in Ireland and not less”.

Mr Barrett said: “We are members of a multilingual European Union
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=European%20Union&article=true>
and we should not be cutting back on languages. Mathematics is the basis of
all our investment in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics,
Stem subjects.”

He said Ms O’Sullivan should be advised of these proposals because “they
seem to contradict what we are seeking to accomplish in the development of
this country”.

*‘Outrageously wrong’*

Senator Feargal Quinn said he believed the proposals to drop language
requirements were “outrageously wrong”.

Mr Quinn said: “We need languages if we want to export, and to take
languages off the curriculum would be a huge error. We must make sure that
we do not do that.”

Seanad leader Maurice Cummins
<http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Maurice%20Cummins&article=true>
(FG) said: “We need to upgrade our language and maths curricula.”

Mr Cummins said the issue should be discussed by the education committee as
a matter of urgency, as “there is a need for greater emphasis on language
and maths skills”.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/state-s-language-policy-is-costing-its-citizens-jobs-senator-says-1.2128096

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