Community welcomes intention to plan.

We received this press release from the group trying to rescue their community from continual decline. (Leagan Gaeilge)

"Coiste Jabanna do Iorras Aithneach (@JobsforCarna) is extremely pleased that Údarás na Gaeltachta is willing to embark on a Development Plan for the Iorrais Aithneach (Carna/Cill Chiaráin) area. It is extremely important to prepare a plan to secure the future of the community.

 We highly commend the Údarás for their efforts in this regard. It is great to have a Development Plan in the works, but efforts must be made to follow through on this plan. It is crucial that Coiste Jabanna do Iorras Aithneach and local people have an input into the drafting of this plan.

We believe a task force is needed to ensure the plan is implemented, this was confirmed by the Minister of State Seán Kyne and local County Councillors at a recent meeting in Cill Chiaráin."

• See also our item:"But all these charms are fled "... maybe not? (19 Feb 2018)

"But all these charms are fled "... maybe not?

Thousands of people have fled the area of Iorras Aithneach area due to unemployment.

This area is in the largest Gaeltacht District in the country, Conamara, and is situated on the western shore of Cill Chiaráin Bay stretching almost from Doire Iorrais in the North to Carna and its environs and islands in the south. The whole area is often referred to as the Carna/Cill Chiaráin area (See map at bottom of page). People in this area look with askance, if not with out right cynicism, at boasts from the Dublin government of rising employment rates. This area is looking at abysmal to non-existant figures of employment.

It appears that the words of the Anglo-Irish poet, words from who's famous poem on "Sweet Auburn," entitle this piece, are to ringing true once more:

"Far, far away, thy children leave the land. Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey..." as does his warning: "...a bold peasantry, their country's pride, When once destroyed, can never be supplied." Goldsmith

But this community is fighting back. This community is looking for sustainable jobs to keep their children from emigrating.

Páirc na Mara, Cill Chiaráin

The complexity of the way things are not really helping. Údarás na Gaeltachta, the cash-stretched development for the Gaeltacht has however instigated a Marine Park at Cill Chiaráin. Planning for such an enterprise must be submitted to the Local Authority and during the planning process people not from the area are opposing the initiative.

The local community have set up a committee recently, Jabanna do cheantar Iorras Aithneach (Jobs for Carna). This committee has a facebook page to support the Údarás plans.

The committee is two months old and one of the first steps decided upon was to implement a support petition for Páirc na Mara (Marine Park) in Cill Chiaráin. This was both on paper (for those many people in the area who are unable to get broadband cover) and on-line.  If you haven't signed already your signature would be appreciated. Tacú le Udarás na Gaeltachta & Páirc na Mara i gCill Chiaráin! (Support Marine Park!)

The committee has achieved the goal of 1000 signatures to support Údarás na Gaeltachta’s development of a Marine Park in Cill Chiaráin, Co Galway by getting over 1250 signatures. According to a report carried out by the local secondary school Scoil Phobail Mhic Dara in Carna and the Carna/Cashel GAA club, 70% of the young people from our area have left in the last 30 years and this loss has to stop for the Iorras Aithneach (Carna/Cill Chiarán) area to survive.

The committee chairman Mícheál Ó Cadhain says, “I see the Marine Park as one aspect of creating local employment and I very much welcome it”.

Colm Ó Neasa, committee secretary, sees the amount of signatures for the proposed Marine Park and the plans that Údarás na Gaeltachta have, as a positive sign that the local community strongly endorse these development plans.

"In the upcoming weeks we will be looking at ways to increase employment in the area and will want to meet with Údarás na Gaeltachta, Galway County Council and local politicians to determine the best method to move forward. It is extremely important that the petitions do not go unnoticed and the committee will make every effort that this is so."

The committee is grateful all the people who signed the petitions, whether on paper or online. This is proof that there is support for the Marine Park and the vision to create more local employment.

John Healy, the incomparable "Backbencher" in the Irish Times wrote a book on his home place in the Eighties. It is an instructive read and indeed tragically "No one shouted Stop!' is relevant  of many places in rural Ireland. In Iorras Aithneach the local people ARE shouting stop.

Is anybody willing to listen and act?

Body to disband next month for lack of Government support.

The latest twist in the story of the inadequacy of the funding made available for the approved Language Planning initiative in the Cois Fharraige District (Na Forbacha west to Ros a'Mhíl) was the decision of the Forum to disband unless a realistic increase in funding becomes available. This ought not be regarded as a threat according to their chair, Máire Ní Neachtain, speaking on the radio this morning, but rather as the only option as the plan could not be operated as envisiged and approved without this support.

They have spent three long years in developing this plan at the request of the Government. It is not unreasonable at this stage to be able to see the fruits of their labours!

An unanimous decision was taken by the Forum last night (20 November 2017) to resign en mass unless the Department came up with realistic funding by Christmas. They are hopeful that a response will be forthcoming from the Department (Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht).

There were 22 representatives of 17 local community organisations present at the meeting.

Great dismay was expressed at the report from the forum committee on their meeting (earlier this month) with representatives of the Department & the Udarás in so far as the Department seemed unable (unwilling?) to provide funding to enable a plan approved and permitted by the Minister in accordance with the legal provisions to proceed.

The comprehensive plan, suitable for this complex area, was developed and submitted on the request of the Government and approved last May and launched by Minister of State Joe McHugh  at a function in Gaoth Dobhair in September, calls for three full-time employees to accomplish the work and funding of €250,000 per year. However during this launch it transpired that the Department would only finance it to the tune of €100,000 pa and one employee. The Minister said at the time "The allocation of up to €100,000 for each area means that the Gaeltacht communities will now be able to put their plans into action and have a greater influence than ever on the state of the Irish language, with ongoing assistance from my Department, Údarás na Gaeltachta and other stakeholders." This despite the fact that the Cois Fharraige Forum had carefully costed and fine tuned their plan, the plan launched and approved that day by the Minister, at €250,000 per annum. Quite obviously the Department or the Minister or both had not read the plan.

The Forum believes that this decision leaves the entire scheme in ruins and their diligent work of three years a complete waste of time.

In a statement after the meeting last night the Forum expressed its anxiety that "time is slipping by and severe neccessity for a plan to progress for the language requirements for the district from No Forbacha to Ros a'Mhíl" (our translation). The unanimous decision was to allow the Department and Udarás na Gaeltachta until Christmas 2017 "to submit an offer with a substantial increase in the annual funding and human resources for implementation."

A former head of RTÉ Raidío na Gaeltachta, Tomás Mac Con Iomaire has said that all the Gaeltacht Language Planning Forums and/or Committees should come together to take a stand on the attitude of the Department. Professor Dónal Ó Baoill, workig on the scheme in Gaoth Dobhair & Na Rosann, has said that these plans cannot succeed without adequate support and leadership. Páidí Ó Sé from the Corca Duibhne Co-operative, said last month that the team in that district was supporting the stand being taken by the Cois Fharraige Forum.

• See also "Keep your €100,000!"

Listening and thinking...action?

As we mentioned in our previous posting the Language Planning Forum of the Cois Fharraige area of South Conamara rejected as inadequate the funding offered for the action plan which it had previously approved. (see Keep you €100k!).

Statement from the Forum

In making their unanimous decision they did however leave the way open for discussions with the Department and with Udarás na Gaeltachta (who had assisted in funding the research which lead to the final approved plan).

Now we learn that five members of the Forum met officers from both the Department & the Udarás on the 9th November to discuss the impasse. They pointed that the plan could not progress or even start thier plan without the resources as outlined in the plan.

At the end of the meeting, which lasted two hours, the Department of the Gaeltacht officials requested more time to think on what they had heard from the delegation. They indicated that the Department would revert to the delegation after that.

Meanwhile in the words of the former Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, in his last statement before resigning in principle( translation): "Meanwhile tick-tock, Tempus fugit and if, as is said in Irish, “God’s mills grind slowly” it appears the wheels of the state turn more slowly still, particularly in the case of the language."

Perhaps we could also say while the Department mulls Rome burns.

The Forum itself is to meet on the 20th November to discuss the meeting and progress, if any, in the discussions.

Listening and thinking is well and good but will it lead to action?

What does history tell us?