IBEC concerned about falling interest in languages

Employers' body IBEC has expressed concern at the falling number of students studying foreign languages.

Recent figures show that the numbers taking French, German, Spanish and Italian at Leaving Cert level has dropped from 79% to 72% over the past decade.

IBEC says Ireland has also been ranked bottom in a list of 11 countries in terms of language skills among primary-school pupils.

Spokeswoman Caroline Nash says this is particularly worrying, given that Irish business relies heavily on exports to non-English-speaking countries.