Sinn Féin has called for the establishment of a new 10-year development plan to preserve and advance the Irish language.
Outlining the party's Irish language policy in Dublin today, Bairbre de Brún MEP said Sinn Féin was also seeking a monitoring programme for the Gaeltacht and a mechanism to officially recognise "Breac-Ghaeltachtaí" - areas where both Irish and English are widely spoken.
She said the party was pushing for increased use of Irish in the Oireachtas and the retention of the language as a core subject at post primary level.
In its manifesto, the party proposes the teaching of a second subject, like PE or drama, through the medium of Irish at primary and secondary school level.
The party also wants funding for Irish language pre-schooling and the adoption of an Irish language stream in English language pre-schools.
"Every child in Ireland at secondary level should have the right to be schooled through the medium of Irish," the manifesto contended.
The party said the State should tackle resistance within government departments to changes brought about by the status accorded to Irish as an official language of the EU.
Sinn Féin also wants funding to be made available to provide access to language classes for all, including Irish language classes for foreign-nationals living in Ireland - for whom classes in English are already provided for.