The Fine Gael Seanad Justice spokesman warned that some schools were buckling under the pressure of coping with large numbers of non-English speaking pupils.

“It is estimated that 31,000 foreign national children are currently in the primary school system. Many classes, particularly in urban areas, have significant numbers of children who do not speak English as a first language. Yet the current system for allocating language support teachers is not serving the interests of these children, their classmates or teachers.

“As things stand, schools with 14 non-English speaking pupils get one language support post, while those with 28 or more receive a second. But a third support post can only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

”These rules take no account of the reality of the new situation, where many schools have far more than 28 non-English speaking pupils.

“This system is not serving the interests of either our own population or the immigrant community and must be changed. As a first step, language support services must be revamped to ensure that schools with higher demands get the support they need.

“We must also undertake a national audit to find out the true extent of this problem and to determine whether other measures, such as providing additional language support outside normal school hours, are needed and what teaching resources are required.

“There are also serious deficiencies in services for adult non-English speakers. More than a quarter of those who have who have taken adult literacy programmes are from non-English speaking backgrounds. But these programmes were not designed as language classes and should be targeted at people with literacy programmes, rather than those with fluency problems.

“Integration Minister Conor Lenihan and his colleagues should develop dedicated English language classes for adult immigrants that focus on their needs,” Senator Regan said.