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Four Parties Support Commitments for Irish-Language & Gaeltacht, Candidates & Parties Can Still Pledge Support

#GaelVótaConradh na Gaeilge informs public about election candidates’ stance on Irish-language & Gaeltacht affairs through #GaelVóta

Information on every political party and each general election candidate officially supporting the three main Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments has been published on Conradh na Gaeilge’s website at www.cnag.ie/gaelvota as part of the #GaelVóta campaign, but candidates and parties still have time to pledge their support for the commitments before Friday’s general election in the south (26 February 2016).

Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the Anti-Austerity Alliance, and People Before Profit officially pledged their support for the commitments as entire parties, but references made by the other political parties to the Irish language and to the Gaeltacht in their respective manifestos can also be found at www.cnag.ie/gaelvota.

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

“Each individual candidate that officially supports the commitments has also been referenced in the #GaelVóta campaign, and any party or candidate can contact Conradh na Gaeilge at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if they wish to pledge their support for the commitments, and the relevant changes will be made at www.cnag.ie/gaelvota.”

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.”

The #GaelVóta campaign is about letting the public know where the election candidates stand on language issues in the run-up to the general election in the south this Friday (26 February 2016), and before the general election in the north in May. #GaelVóta is based on three main Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments – stemming from an investment plan and representative measures agreed by over 80 Irish-language and Gaeltacht community groups – and the commitments are as follows:

  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

Conradh na Gaeilge worked with local community groups throughout the country to organise action forums in 25 counties in Ireland so far as part of the #GaelVóta campaign, and all candidates were contacted on at least two occasions regarding the Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments, as per the contact details that were publicly available. The responses of candidates and parties are available at www.cnag.ie/gaelvota.

 

 

 

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.