Two thirds of young people favour compulsory Irish

29/11/2005 - 07:34:18

Almost two thirds of young Irish people are in favour of Irish being compulsory in schools, according to a survey carried out by the Irish language newspaper Foinse.

The newspaper said a telephone survey carried out last week found that 64% of people under the age of 34 believed pupils should be forced to study Irish.

However, that figure fell dramatically to just 26% in the over-34 age group.

The debate over compulsory Irish resurfaced earlier this year when Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said he favoured making the subject optional at Leaving Cert level.

Hundreds of people marched on Fine Gael's offices earlier this month to protest at the proposal.

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