Almost two-thirds of voters believe Irish should no longer be a compulsory subject for the Leaving Certificate examination, according to a TNS mrbi survey conducted for Fine Gael.
Some 62 per cent believe it should become a subject of choice after the Junior Certificate, 34 per cent that it should remain compulsory and 4 per cent have no opinion. The proportion favouring the retention of compulsory status is highest among the 18 to 24 age group (52 per cent), followed by the 25 to 34 group (37 per cent). It falls to 30 per cent among those aged 35 to 54, 25 per cent in the 55 to 64 age group and 30 per cent among the over 65s.
The poll also shows more men than women favour the ending of compulsory status. Among men, 68 per cent believe it should be a subject of choice, 28 per cent that it should remain compulsory and 4 per cent have no opinion. Among women, 57 per cent believe it should be a subject of choice, 40 per cent that it should remain compulsory and 3 per cent have no opinion.
The telephone poll was conducted between November 15th and 24th, among 962 interviewees. It was taken immediately after Fine Gael proposed in a policy document that compulsory Irish be dropped from the Leaving Cert.
Responding to the poll, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said it "confirms my instincts in relation to public attitudes to the teaching and presentation of the Irish language in our schools". He called for a national audit to assess the level of usage of Irish, public attitudes to the language, and the potential for the language to develop.
He said Fine Gael would organise a conference next March to examine these issues.