The Minister for Education has been asked to consider introducing a mandatory three-week Gaeltacht course for every Leaving Certificate student studying Irish.
The request was made by Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O'Meara who told the Dáil that the "inability of so many Irish people" to be able to "converse in our national language after 14 years of education" is well-known.
He said he was concerned "whether we are actually addressing it and enhancing all of our ability to communicate as gaeilge".
Minister Helen McEntee said her department is committed to improving the teaching and learning of Irish "in line with the 20-year strategy for the Irish language".
She acknowledged that "we all went through school and would like to have better Irish than we do".
Minister McEntee said there are no plans to make attendance at a Gaeltacht summer course mandatory but her department is "mindful" to take a "flexible approach in relation to giving students opportunities for immersive experiences in the Irish language outside of school".
She said as someone who attended Gaeltacht courses "numerous times", she acknowledges the benefit of them for young people "for so many reasons".
"Any way we can support outside of school hours, the provision of Irish, is something that I would support," she said.
She said the Department of Education will publish an action plan for Irish in English-medium schools and implement it.
The minister said it was particularly focusing on how it can make learning Irish "fun".
Deputy O'Meara said it seems like the purpose of 14 years of education is to "get to the Leaving Certificate exam" and get as many points as possible.
"Instantly the day the [Irish] oral is over, and the paper is over - that’s it.
"The love of it hasn’t been introduced," he added.
