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Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin Supporting Irish-Language & Gaeltacht Commitments in General Election Manifestos

Conradh na Gaeilge Action Forums generating local support for investment plan & representative measures agreed by 80+ language community groups

Conradh na Gaeilge is hosting action forums north and south and open to all, to agree on specific actions to promote Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments in the 2016 general election campaigns. Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have officially pledged their support for the Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments, but Conradh na Gaeilge is calling on all other parties to do the same prior to the elections.

Conradh na Gaeilge has organised three action forums for this Wednesday (27 January 2016) – in the Longford Arms Hotel in Longford at 5.00pm; in Áras an Mhuilinn in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath at 7.30pm; and in Billy Byrnes Bar in Kilkenny at 8.00pm – and other meetings are planned in the County Carlow Museum at 10.30am Wednesday morning, 10 February 2016, and in the Loch Garman Arms Hotel at midday on Saturday, 6 February 2016, to spur the local community into action on behalf of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht in the run-up to the elections.

Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill, President of Conradh na Gaeilge says:

“Conradh na Gaeilge is asking local voters – those that are fluent Irish speakers, those that are learning Irish, or indeed those that support the language in any way – to put these commitments to all the candidates standing for election in their own constituency.

Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge says:

“Ní neart go cur le chéile - there is strength in unity, and politicians will listen to their local communities if each and every candidate that comes to the door is questioned about whether or not he or she officially supports these commitments for the Irish language and for the Gaeltacht.”

Following these action forums, Conradh na Gaeilge will share information with local communities in each constituency in relation to every candidate and political party officially supporting the Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments, prior to the general elections.

Conradh na Gaeilge has already organised action forums in Dublin, Kildare, Ennis, Limerick, and Roscommon, and more open forums are being planned in association with local community groups in the coming weeks. If any community group would like to help the Conradh to organise an action forum in their own area, they can contact Conradh na Gaeilge’s headoffice at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or +353 (0)1 4757401.

Further information on the commitments being sought by Conradh na Gaeilge and the Irish-language and Gaeltacht community is available by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the Twitter hashtag #GaelVóta.

Conradh na Gaeilge is calling on all political parties and election candidates to officially support the Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments, and local voters will be questioning each election candidate on this.

NOTE FOR THE EDITOR:

Irish-Language & Gaeltacht Commitments:

Over 80 Irish-language community and Gaeltacht groups, along with relevant authorities and their funding authorities, have agreed an all-island investment plan that could create over 1,160 jobs and provide a huge variety of opportunities for the public to use the Irish language, and the groups are calling on all political parties to include the specific commitments in their election manifestos: http://bit.ly/1JKDS6H

The community and all-island organisations are also looking for representative commitments to ensure that the investment plan is acted upon, including the appointment of Senior Ministers north and south to act on behalf of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht and to ensure that the plan is well managed and implemented in full: http://bit.ly/1PXrvUd

3 Main Commitments for the Irish-Language and Gaeltacht in the south:

  1. An additional investment of €18 million in an Irish-language and Gaeltacht plan to expand the use of Irish and to create 1,175+ new jobs
  2. The appointment of a senior Minister for Irish and for the Gaeltacht, who has Irish, so that there is Irish language input at the Government table
  3. The establishment of a joint Oireachtas committee for the Irish language and Gaeltacht affairs of the same standing as other joint Oireachtas committees

Did you know?

  • Nearly 2 million people on the island of Ireland have some proficiency in Irish
  • Interest in Irish and the use of the language is continuously growing, especially amongst young people. For example, over 1 million people have recently listened to the famous celebrity Ed Sheeran singing in Irish.
  • The investment plan* proposed above will cater for the 93% of the population who support the revival or preservation of the Irish language (ESRI & NUI Maynooth, 2009) through:
    • Providing an comprehensive programme of usage and learning
    • Funding for Irish language centres in towns across the island
    • Providing Gaeltacht scholarships for young people and families

*N.B. The additional funding that is needed for the investment plan is €5 million less than the funding made available for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht in 2008

  • The investment plan and the additional political structures that we are looking for will help achieve the vision for the Irish language as envisaged by the rebellion generation and will properly commemorate 1916.

 

 

 

Conradh na Gaeilge

6 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
Phone: +353 (0) 1 475 7401, Fax: +353 (0) 1 475 7844, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.