Kildare Gaeilgeoir slams government inaction over Irish teaching
Gaelscoil Chill Dara, Moorefield, Kildare
KILDARE South TD Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh has criticised the government for not doing enough to provide for the right of every child in this state to receive an education through the medium of Irish.
She made her comments following an Oireachtas Irish language committee meeting during which officials from government departments with a remit over education were questioned about actions being taken to ensure an adequate supply of workers with proficiency in the Irish language, as new legislation will require 20% of recruits in the civil service be able to provide service through Irish by 2030.
“We need a step change from government if we’re to see the 20% target being met. It’s ambitious but doable, if the political will is there,” said deputy Ní Raghallaigh, herself a proud Gaeilgeoir.
“Sadly, to date, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have shown no vision or ambition whatsoever to promote and preserve . The most recent demonstration of this utter disrespect is both parties’ decision to run candidates for the presidency who can’t even hold a basic conversation in our first national language.
“The best thing we can do to ensure we meet this legally binding target is to invest in Irish-medium education as a matter of urgency.”
The Sinn Féin deputy pointed out that the number of young people studying through Irish has actually dropped in recent years, with a mere 6% of pupils enrolled in education through Irish at primary and post-primary levels.
“There are currently ten counties without a Gaelcholáiste, meaning that every year hundreds of budding Gaeilgóirí who wish to continue their education through Irish are being forced by the government to switch to English. “In these cases, government is shamefully denying young people their language rights.
“There’s lots that could be done to fix this, and we need not look further afield than to our neighbours in Wales who have set down an ambitious target to have 40% studying through Welsh and are well on their way to meeting that target.
“We need to see big, bold steps commensurate with the hunger that’s out there. The fervour among young people for the language is evidenced by the groundswell of support received by the Catherine Connolly campaign.
“The demand for is clearly there in communities. In Kildare South, one of the two [nurseries] is in danger of closing due to lack of government support, despite being oversubscribed.
“A gaelscoil in Kildare town has twice as many children on a waiting list for junior infants as there are places.”
