Basic information on the spoken languages and the educational system:

Irish, or Gaeilge, is an autochthonous language spoken in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. It is a Celtic language closely related to Scottish Gaelic and Manx, and more distantly related to Welsh, Breton and Cornish.

The 1996 census indicates that 1.43 million people or 43,5% of the population have the ability to speak Irish. Of that number 353 thousand people speak Irish every day; only about 100 thousand are mother tongue speakers. The Irish-speaking heartland areas (the Gaeltacht) are widely dispersed along the Western seaboards and are not densely populated. They contain about 82.700 people, of them 76,3% are Irish speakers. The Constitution of Ireland (1937) specifies that Irish, as the national language, is the first official language, and that English is also an official language. A seperate government department is responsible for the Irish language. Two state boards function under its aegis, one for developing Irish-speaking districts and one for promoting Irish language throughout the country. Currently there is no official language act, although provision for Irish is made in several pieces of legislation.

All pupils in state-aided primary and secondary schools study both Irish and English, and teachers in these schools must be competent in both languages. For the majority of the children English is the mother tongue and Irish is studied as a second language. Pre-primary education through Irish is available through an extensive network of voluntary pre-school groups. All primary schools in the Gaeltacht areas are Irish-medium. There is also a network of Irish-medium primary schools outside the Gaeltacht. At secondary level, a number of state-recognised schools provide education entirely or partially through Irish. Irish is taught as a subject in all other secondary schools. The five teacher-training colleges are expected to provide sufficient education to enable all students to become competent in teaching through Irish, as well as in teaching the language as a subject. One teacher-training college, three universities, and two institutes of technology use Irish as a medium of instruction for some courses. Irish is a compulsory subject for entrance to all constituent colleges of the National University of Ireland and to all Colleges of Education. There is an extensive network of adult language classes in Irish.

On 07-05-99 Ireland has ratified the European Framework Convention of National Minorities.

Eurostat surveys showed that 12.% of the population can take part in a conversation in French.

Websites:

Information on the Irish State: www.gov.ie

Irish language resources: www.wit.ie/library/irish‑lang.htm

Ireland directory, the beginning of a virtual tour www.islandireland.com

Information and facts about Ireland: www.ireland-now.com/