Need for Education Minister and Communities Minister who support the Irish language in the next Government to ensure provision of learning opportunities and to strengthen development of language in all sectors
Independent research conducted by Millward Brown for Conradh na Gaeilge earlier this year indicates a need for an Education Minister and a Communities Minister in the next Executive in the north who support the Irish language to ensure the provision of opportunities for the ‘one in five’ (20%) who revealed in this survey that they would “like to learn Irish or learn more Irish”.
Niall Comer, Tánaiste of Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“There is a new figure in this research which demonstrates that one in five wish to learn Irish or learn more Irish. This supports the statistics we have seen for years which all show an increase in the number of people using Irish and in those who are expressing an interest in the language. This reinforces the importance of the Irish language commitments in the upcoming May Election, to secure further investment alongside the appointment of Minsters committed to the language in the Department of Communities and Department of Education.”
This research also highlights the need for an Education Minister who would support the language. 41% of respondents agree that “there are not enough opportunities for young people to use their Irish outside of the formal education system”, whilst only 26% disagreed with this statement. The duty towards youth provision outside of the formal education system lies specifically with the Education Minister. In the same survey carried out by Millward in 2015, 63% of respondents in the north agreed that “every child should be entitled to have their education through the medium of Irish, if that is their preferred choice”. This strengthens the urgent need to have an Education Minister favourable to the Irish language and determined to practically implement the statutory duty of the Department of Education in regard of Irish medium education.
Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, Advocacy Manager with Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“Again there is a clear message here from the general public in the north in support of implementing language rights, especially through satisfactorily meeting the needs of the Irish medium education sector, through bringing in rights-based legislation for the language in the north, and through strengthening and perpetuating current thriving schemes and initiatives, such as Líofa, Irish in the Community Scheme and the new GaelAcadamh academy. Supportive, determined Ministers are needed who will be willing to build on the fantastic developments currently ongoing in the wider Irish language community.”
