The learning of the Irish language in Ireland should be non-compulsory during the senior cycle

"--> Most of which receive government funding, which means they'd change their requirements." I didn't see that in your resolution. You gave a brief overview in which you brought this point to the voters attention, but nowhere did you say it would need to be changed. The only thing you argued in round one was that Irish should not be compulsory for the leaving cert. "--> Amount of people who can speak it doesn't equate to a great interest in the language. I would regard my self as 'competent', but competent varies from person to person. That percentage are competent due to the compulsory teaching of it up until 6th year of secondary school." So you would have that percentage fall, rather than rise. Personally I think it is a disgrace that so small a number would regard themselves as competent after so much study, but one argument that is often made for the compulsory learning of Irish, is that it would generate an interest in the subject which may cause people to volunteer to send their children to Irish medium schools. Can you think of any other reason that might be the cause of this rise in interst:http://www.gaelscoileanna.ie... If not, do you see this as a bad thing? There are many studies to suggest that early learning of a second language greatly improves ones mental abilities. http://www.ncssfl.org... Would improving the overall mental ability of the Irish population not be a justifiable reason for its compulsory learning? "--> Letting it be non-compulsory doesn't mean purging every school of everything Irish. It leaves it as an option. If you have an interest in it and want to learn it, you take it. If you don't, take a different subject. The government houldn't be in a position to decide what we do and don't study based on ad populum." "--> It's not as if we're purge pour libraries of Irish works. It leaves an option to study the language for your leaving certificate. You still do it up to Junior certificate and that covers most basic conversational Irish, enough to still claim national pride." Both more or less make the same point. You might aswell be purging our libraries and schools of everything Irish. As you have said, all that is covered up to junior cert is basic conversational Irish. It is not until leaving cert that you are exposed to some of the great Irish works. And from my experience, you cannot develop an interest in something until you have come in contact with it. Why even bother learning Irish up to junior cert if you do not intend to put it to use? "The government shouldn't be in a position to decide what we do and don't study based on ad populum." What? Is that not the only way that a government should be able to make decisions regarding the population it governs? "--> Great, but under that logic, learning Irish dance, Irish history,Irish music, etc." Your logic is incorrect as the majority of Irish people will have already come in contact with Irish dance, Irish history and Irish music enough to know whether they have an interest in it or not, so there would be no need to have these subjects as compulsory. Whereas with the language itself, it takes up until junior certificate to develop a basic use of the language, after which point you are exposed to some of the Irish works. I believe that the exposure of students to these works should be compulsory as they would not know whether they would be interested in them or not prior to exposure. And Irish history is taught in the final years of primary school and learning Irish dance and Irish music is highly encouraged. In my primary school for example, anyone who wished to learn Irish music was left out of class for the last two hours of every friday to do so, which was encouragement enough for me anyway. "The modern Irish is influenced by English." Whats your point?