Four-year-old children could face interviews to test their ability to speak Irish, under new measures to prioritise admission for children from Irish-speaking families to Gaelscoileanna.

Is this fair?

Caoimhín Ó hEaghra of An Foras Pátrúnachta says there's "nothing new in this."

"When you consider the sacrifices these families make in raising their children through Irish when surrounded by English, it would only seem a natural continuation that a place would be found for them in a school in their first language."

According to Caoimhín, the current admissions system consists of an informal meeting between parents and class teachers, during which the teacher observes the normal conversation between parent and child to confirm that they speak Irish.

While he says they "would like to have as many people as possible in Gaelscoileanna, there's a great demand for the model and parents are sometimes disappointed."

"The problem is supply and demand."