Have you seen this exciting new circular? It makes provision for additional allocation for schools that would like to introduce Italian, Japanese, or Russian (additional languages likely to follow when teacher registration becomes available e.g. Chinese). Gradual increase in hours for three years to incentivise the introduction of the new language, gradual decrease thereafter to build in sustainability.
https://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0031_2019.pdf