Some progress was made on the issue of compulsory Irish testing for teachers at the last meeting between the INTO and officials of the Department of Education and Science last month. After a series of meetings, the Department is now considering reimbursing fees to teachers for attending Gaeltacht courses.

According to the INTO, the issue of compulsory exams is of particular relevance to primary teachers trained in Northern Ireland, where the INTO has 5,000 members. There is a shortage of teaching jobs in the North, whereas the Republic has a chronic shortage of teachers.

After last month's meeting between the union and the Department, a number of areas are "under consideration," including the fact that the Department is considering granting the same treatment to teachers undergoing Scrud u Cailiochta sa Ghaeilge (SCG) as that which is given to students in the colleges of education attending Gaeltacht courses. However, no budget is available at present to provide financial support to teachers attending Gaeltacht or other courses. A motion to abolish compulsory Irish tests was debated at the INTO annual conference in Ennis, Co Clare, last year. Only between 50 and 60 per cent of candidates pass the exam each year. The union decided it would support the Minister for Education and Science in finding ways of ensuring that every child is taught Irish other than by making every teacher take a compulsory language test.

Some months later at another INTO conference, a discussion document entitled Irish in the Primary School pointed out that teachers must pay a fee to attend a course in preparation for the exam. They pay for this out of their own pocket and attend the course in their own time. The document showed that teachers trained outside the State are dissatisfied with the SCG and with the process of getting recognition as a primary teacher.

"A change of system is urgently required and a negative culture is associated with the present system and this does not encourage an interest in the teaching and promotion of Irish among those teachers who are preparing for the exam," it stated. "If teachers who qualified outside the State are required to achieve a recognised competency in Irish, the system must provide support for them and facilitate the process. The teaching of the Irish language in primary schools will be better served through encouraging the interest of teachers in Irish, rather than having them struggling with examinations which do not aid them in their work in the classroom."

The document also pointed out that a three-year period is not adequate for beginners who are undertaking the exam on a part-time basis to achieve the standards required. During this time they are given provisional recognition as teachers. The INTO wants a full salary to be paid to teachers who have provisional recognition. They also want the three-year period extended to five years.