A report by Department of Education inspectors has found that one third of newly qualified teachers have difficulty teaching Irish.
The report, published today, is based on a survey of new teachers. It also uses data from inspectors' reports on the work of 250 newly qualified teachers.
However, while the report expressed concern at difficulties in teaching Irish, just 16% of teachers surveyed said they felt they were poorly prepared to teach the language.
Almost half of new teachers said they felt poorly prepared to teach music. A third said they were poorly prepared for drama. While 28% felt the same about Maths.
In 2004 less than 6% of new teachers had their one-year period of probation extended due to insufficient progress in developing teaching skills.
Inspectors found that just 1% of new teachers were experiencing serious difficulties in their teaching.
