Govt decisions on 20 year strategy for Irish

Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs announces Government decisions regarding the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 - 2030

Leagan Gaeilge

Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs, Dinny McGinley T.D., announced today (3 June 2011) that final decisions have been taken by the Government regarding the new definition of the Gaeltacht and the implementation structures for the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language. These decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (31 May 2011).

The Minister of State said: "I am delighted that final decisions have been made by the Government regarding the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language. As a result, officials in my Department, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, can proceed with drafting the Heads of the Gaeltacht Bill. I hope that the Bill will be published as soon as possible, depending on the Government's legislative schedule."

The new definition of the Gaeltacht will be based on the 20-Year Strategy and on the recommendations made in the Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht. The Minister of State said: "My Department, in conjunction with other State bodies, will work closely with Gaeltacht communities on the ground in order to assist them in developing and implementing language plans, which will incorporate all aspects of community life."
Regarding the implementation structures for the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language, the Minister of State said: "These Government decisions will ensure that existing structures will be used to deliver the Strategy and that the functions of the key stakeholders with responsibility for implementing the Strategy, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht, will be clearly defined." 

The Minister of State said: "As a result of these Government decisions, I believe that the future of Údarás na Gaeltachta is secure, that Údarás na Gaeltachta will retain its statutory functions and that Údarás na Gaeltachta and other enterprise agencies will cooperate to ensure investment in the Gaeltacht."

New definition of the Gaeltacht
• Provision will be made in the Gaeltacht Bill for a new statutory definition of the Gaeltacht, which will be based on linguistic criteria rather than on  geographical areas, as is currently the case. 

• Provision will be made under the legislation for a language planning process in order to prepare language plans at community level for each Gaeltacht area and for the Minister to approve and review those plans periodically.

• Statutory status will be given to a new type of 'network Gaeltacht' area outside the existing statutory Gaeltacht areas. These will be areas, predominantly in urban communities, that will have a basic critical mass of community and State support for the Irish language.

•  Gaeltacht Service Towns, i.e. towns which service Gaeltacht areas, will also be given statutory status.

Implementation structures under the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language
• The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will retain primary responsibility for matters concerning the Irish language, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht.

•  Foras na Gaeilge will continue to fulfil its responsibilities on an all-island basis as an agency of the North South Language Implementation Body.

• The Department, in partnership with relevant State bodies, will be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy outside the Gaeltacht. The potential for Foras na Gaeilge to deliver certain elements of the Strategy, on an agreed basis, will be explored.

• Údarás na Gaeltachta will be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy within the Gaeltacht.

Údarás na Gaeltachta
• The status quo will be maintained regarding the current functions of Údarás na Gaeltachta, including its enterprise functions, subject to the following:
(c)    statutory provision to enable the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to direct Údarás na Gaeltachta to focus its limited resources towards specific enterprise sectors; and
(d)     the development of a mechanism to facilitate Údarás na Gaeltachta to cooperate with other enterprise agencies, particularly with regard to significant Gaeltacht projects with high potential. (Labelled c and d in the English Language document issued by the Department they are lablled a and b in the Irish version!)

• Provision will be made under the Gaeltacht Bill to significantly reduce the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta and to end the requirement to hold elections.

Government agenda for Irish and the Gaeltacht!

Guth na Gaeltachta and Conradh na Gaeilge are inviting newly elected and re-elected members of the Dáil and Seanad to come to discuss in particular questions on Irish-language education, Údarás na Gaeltachta and the implementation of the Government's 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 - 2030, with representatives of both organisations and local constituents from politicians' own constituencies at the information day.

Conradh na Gaeilge and Guth na Gaeltachta are continuing the consultation process with TDs and Senators regarding Irish-language and Gaeltacht issues by organising another information day in Buswells Hotel, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, from 8.00am - 6.00pm on Wednesday, 01 June 2011, for the third year running. Leagan Gaeilge

Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge says: "This is an opportunity for new TDs to consult with representatives of Conradh na Gaeilge and Guth na Gaeltachta from their own constituencies with regards to language issues, while for politicians with whom we have already met, it affords them the chance to further their relationship with the Irish-language community, and to bring themselves up to speed on the current state of affairs as regards to Irish and the Gaeltacht areas."

Éamonn Mac Niallais, spokesperson for Guth na Gaeltachta says: "The Irish-language community made a big impact on politicians in the run-up to the recent general election, and every party issued manifestos that pledged their support for the Irish language and for the Gaeltacht in one way or another.

"The new Government now has the opportunity to show they are serious about supporting both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht areas by acting immediately to appoint a new Chief Executive for Údarás na Gaeltachta, and by supporting the Údarás with adequate funding and resources to fulfil their duties and programme of work efficiently and effectively."

Some of the excellent recommendations made in the parties' manifestos, in particular regarding the teaching of Irish and how to promote the language through the education system, will also be under discussion at the information day. Amongst the recommendations made, there will be a particular focus on the Labour Party recommendation to teach one further subject, in addition to Irish, through the medium of Irish at primary school level; the Fine Gael recommendation to have two subjects for Irish at Leaving Certificate level; and the recommendation of both government parties to improve the training of teachers by increasing significantly the period of time spent by trainee teachers in the Gaeltacht, etc.

Report outlines concerns and alarm of Coimisinéir.

Leagan Gaeilge

More than a quarter of Government departments and agencies consistently failed to provide even the most basic level of service through Irish to customers who contacted them by telephone, while the level of service provided by a further 29% was deemed to be inadequate to meet their statutory obligations, according to the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga. Details of an audit carried out by that Office are contained in its Annual Report for 2010 published in Galway 15th March 2011.

“This level of failure is all the more significant as the audit covered only those public bodies which had statutory language plans in place for more than 4 years” said An Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin.

During the year, 700 complaints were made to An Coimisinéir Teanga about difficulties or problems accessing state services through Irish – more complaints than were made in any year since the Office was first established. The vast majority of cases were resolved through informal negotiations with the relevant public body or by providing advice to the complainant. The majority of the complaints came from Dublin (41%) with significant numbers also came from counties along the western seaboard: Clare (9.5%), Galway (9%), Kerry (6%), Donegal (4%), Cork (4%) and Mayo (3%). Nearly one in five complaints came from Gaeltacht areas.

Investigations

A total of 11 formal investigations were commenced during 2010. In addition, one investigation was ongoing from the end of the previous year. These investigations were initiated only when it appeared that a statutory obligation had been breached and when informal efforts to resolve the issues were not successful.

Public bodies found to have failed to comply with specific provisions of language legislation during the year included the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Dublin City Council, Clare County Council, Kildare VEC, Iarnród Éireann and the Private Residential Tenants Board.

An Coimisinéir Teanga found the Department of Education and Skills to have contravened a provision of the Education Act 1998 by providing a range of educational websites in English irrespective of the requirements of gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht schools.

While an investigation found that Dublin City Council was in breach of regulations in regard to use of official languages in public signage in its new wayfinder signs, An Coimisinéir Teanga did not recommend the replacement of the signage because of the additional costs involved. Instead, he recommended that the non-compliance be noted and that all further signage put in place by the council would be in compliance with the statutory requirements. 

Alarming

He described as “alarming” the revelations during the past year that only 1.5% of the administrative staff of the Department of Education and Skills could provide service in Irish. This represented a decrease of 50% in the past five years. Acknowledging this to be a common problem throughout the civil and public sector, he said it showed more clearly than anything else the gap between the ability to provide services through English and the ability to provide services through Irish.

Myth

The suggestion that translating official documents to Irish costs a fortune while their production in English is virtually free has been challenged by An Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, who described it as a “myth”. Mr Ó Cuirreáin said very few official documents were required by law to be provided bilingually and the legislation allowed for their publication electronically rather than in print form as long as both official languages were treated equally.

His report reveals that the full cost of translating Clare County Council’s draft development plan for the six year period between 2011 and 2017 was €10,112 – less than one third of the amount suggested in a media report. However, an investigation by his Office revealed the true cost of preparing the document in one language – English – was estimated by the Council itself at over €350,000, over one third of a million euro. “This equates to 97.3% of the budget for the English version and 2.7% for the Irish version,” he said.

He referred to media reports had indicated little or no demand previously for a similar document in Irish as judged by reference to sales at €50 per copy. “The media was either unaware or omitted to include the fact that the Council had quite properly provided these documents as free of charge downloads from its website. Demand for hard copies in English was also very low as most people quite sensibly opted to download the documents for free in their choice of official language. While neither version will ever achieve bestseller status, 'compulsory English' in public information matters clearly isn’t the answer either,” he said. Mr Ó Cuirreáin said that the requirement for public bodies to publish a small number of core documents simultaneously in Irish and in English was enacted by the Houses of the Oireachtas in the Official Languages Act. The only function of the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga in this regard is to act as a compliance agency and an ombudsman service.

Concern

An Coimisinéir Teanga has again expressed concern at the delay in confirming “language schemes” with public bodies under the Official Languages Act and said that 51 of 105 confirmed schemes had lapsed by the end of the year without their replacement by new schemes. Of the 51 schemes, 12 had expired more than two years ago.

In addition, there were 26 other public bodies whose first draft schemes had been requested by the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs but remained to be agreed and confirmed. In the case of 10 of those public bodies, more than 4 years had passed since they were requested to prepare the draft schemes.

An Coimisinéir Teanga has warned in his report that it cannot be presumed that his Office will be able to fulfil all of its statutory functions due to staff restrictions which has left it with five staff members

despite having eight sanctioned as a minimum.

Enda's reply!

The answer given by Enda Kenny to the student Francis Whelan on Pat Kenny's show on Irish as a core subject in the Leaving Cert:

"I love the language. What I want to say here is my whole thrust here is to strengthen the language and what I want to do is examine first of all the content of the curriculum and see if it is relevant for future needs. 

Secondly examine seriously the impact of the investment that we are making in the training of our teachers to teach the language. Language is about sounds, music, words, it should be something that should be loved and if it is by primary school children then they don't have a difficulty with it up along the line. 

At the other end Emma, and I will not, I will not introduce the abolition of compulsion until I have finished those assessments and finished them properly. At the other end I will increase the oral Irish marks to 50% which is of an advantage to the people who go to Gaeltacht areas and get that líofacht or blas and also look at the question of increased marks for those who take honours Irish or the ordinary level who intend to go on to third level. 

So far from weakening the language or doing it down, I actually want to strengthen it in the sense that there are hundreds of thousands  of people in this country who spent 12-13-14 years studying this language and cannot put 5 sentences together and we've had 60 years of defence behind compulsion. Irish people have always rejected compulsion. 

Its time for us to grow up on these matters and my belief is if we teach this properly, if we have a relevant curriculum , people love the language and they take it right through to leaving cert  and it becomes much more important for everybody. 

And I respect the views on both sides here Pat. TG4, RnaG, many of the language movements do great work but we should not hide behind the defence of something that has failed.

Ejection of Irish - letter

A Eagarthóir, a chara,

Enda Kenny proposes to eject Irish from the core curriculum at Leaving Certificate level. When asked to explain how the survival prospects of an imperilled language could be improved by lowering its social status, he replied that his policy for Irish in the schools is based on a personal 'hunch.' 

Fine Gael prides itself on basing all its other policies on information and research, but there is no evidence, theoretical or empirical, that a threatened language can be saved from extinction by lowering its social status compared to that of its rival. It just does not happen.

Fine Gael's Policy

The authorities on the subject tell us that the speakers of high status languages rarely learn lower status languages. Some, of course, do so. They may be motivated by interest or love of the language and of its associated culture, or by national or local sentiment. Such people are at the heart of language maintenance, but in any society they will always be a minority. Majorities of speakers of high status languages learn second languages only where they perceive that language to be essential in their lives.

If the Irish people wish to maintain and restore the language that is unique to Ireland, the living link between past, present and future generations, they must provide the kinds of social supports that were lost through conquest. Those supports include the constitutional and legal standing of the language, the social standing and number of those who habitually use the language, the degree to which the language is perceived to be essential in education and in all other domains of social life, the extent of its use in government and public administration, its visibility and presence in public communication, the prestige of its literature and associated culture and the measure of the social functions that can be performed through the language.

Since 1893, when the language was on the point of extinction, it has been the objective of the national movement, in its widest sense, to ensure survival and restoration of Irish, and on several of the above-mentioned counts Irish is now doing well. But in 1973-75, a part of the national movement, Fine Gael, told us that it would vastly improve the prospects for the survival of Irish if its status was lowered in the state apparatus. We opposed their idea. In the absence of the strongest possible balancing status-supports and interventions, we pointed out that in any society the subordinated language would, in a short time, be driven out and replaced by the dominant language. As they are telling us today, Fine Gael told us then that our critique was 'nonsense'. They went ahead and withdrew the status-supports of Irish in the state apparatus. What was the result?

The Department of Education once operated almost entirely through Irish. Recent research has shown that of the adult population, born in Ireland and of all levels of education, over 9 percent are Fluent or Very Fluent in Irish. Yet, as a result of Fine Gael's removal of the status of Irish in 1973 and its replacement by some voluntary incentives, in the Department of Education, which is the state's primary and most influential cultural agency, and which one must assume has a highly educated workforce, the proportion of staff who can provide a service through Irish is down now to 1.5 percent! That is hardly an advertisement for lowering the status of Irish in the education system.

Is sinne,

Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa, uachtarán Chonradh na Gaeilge

Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh, iar-uachtarán

Séagh Mac Siúrdáin, iar-uachtarán

Tomás Mac Ruairí, iar-uachtarán

Gearóid Ó Cairealláin, iar-uachtarán

Áine De Baróid, iar-uachtarán

Íte Ní Chionnaith, iar-uachtarán

Pádraig Ó Snodaigh, iar-uachtarán

Maolsheachlainn Ó Caollaí, iar-uachtarán

Cathal Ó Feinneadha, iar-uachtarán

Donegal Gaeltacht community confronts Fine Gael!

Gráinne Mhic Géidigh addresses the meeting

 Tuairisc ar an gcruinniú i nGaeilge

A large crowd of 150 attended the public meeting organised by Guth na Gaeltachta and Coiste Mhná Tí Thír Chonaill in An Chrannóg, Gaoth Dobhair, on Tuesday 15 February. The meeting was chaired by Éamonn Mac Niallais and he got proceedings underway shortly after 7:00pm. He explained that the purpose of the meeting was primarily to discuss Fine Gael’s policy of ending the compulsory status of Irish in the Leaving Certificate.

After introducing the guest speakers: Dinny Mc Ginley TD (Fine Gael), Pearse Doherty TD (Sinn Féin), Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fáil), John Duffy and Seán Ó Maolchallann (Green Party) Mac Niallais relayed apologies  from An Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Councillor Frank McBrearty (Labour). The chairman then read out the statement he had received from Councillor McBrearty. The content of that letter set the tone for the night i.e. vehement opposition to Fine Gael’s policy!

Before hearing from the guest speakers, Mac Niallais outlined the work Guth na Gaeltachta had been involved in since its last public meeting and the impartial role that it was undertaking as a non-political cross-party support group for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. He explained the critical importance of the Leaving Certificate in the Irish education system as a whole and how Fine Gael’s policy would have a disastrous impact on the role of the Irish language throughout the system, not just for the Leaving Cert.  As a result, the future for the Irish Summer Colleges and the very economic viability of Gaeltacht communities would be severly threatened. This view was strongly echoed by Gráinne Mhic Géidigh who was representing the Mná Tí.

Seán Ó Maolchallann, acting as a spokesperson for John Duffy, outlined the Green Party’s policy  on the Irish language. He finished by saying that their party was 150% opposed to Fine Gael’s policy! Pearse Doherty TD referred to the launch of Sinn Féin’s Irish language proposals outside Fine Gael HQ earlier that day. He expressed his party’s dismay at Fine Gael’s policy and spoke of the terrible economic consequences for Gaeltacht communities.

"...uncomfortable with the
policy..."

Dinny McGinley TD was the next to speak. He spoke of his personal opposition to any attempt to harm the Gaeltacht or the language.  He emphasised that he remained to be convinced that Fine Gael’s policy would not be harmful to both but that he was waiting to see what the outcome would be of the research and consultation process that Enda Kenny had promised.  He said however that there were many positive measures in Fine Gael’s policy as well and he stressed his own commitment to the language and his efforts to use Irish as often as possible in Dáil proceedings. He stated that he was uncomfortable with the policy but that research such as the Comprehensive Linguistic Survey of 2007 showed that the future of the Irish language was in jeopardy unless radical steps were taken.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill was the last of the politicians to speak. He outlined the progress made in recent years: TG4, Foras na Gaeilge, Official Languages Act, EU status and the 20 Year Strategy. He voiced his party’s opposition to Fine Gael’s policy and, like other speakers, referred to the negative economic impact such a change would have on Gaeltacht areas.  

After hearing from all the politicians the chair invited questions from the audience. It was clear from the first speaker that Fine Gael’s policy is a very sore point amongst the Gaeltacht community.

Speaker after speaker left McGinley in no doubt that the community is very upset and worried about the Fine Gael proposal. He was asked to explain how his party had arrived at such a decision; had it been carefully considered or was it a populist move designed to attract votes in urban areas?

One of the most robust exchanges of the night saw McGinley admit that he had never been consulted on the formulation of Fine Gael’s Irish language policy. He was also at a loss to explain what specific research had been used by the party in devising its policy. McGinley attempted to calm the audience’s fears by saying that that he hoped proper consultation and research would be carried out before any changes were made to the status of Irish.

Éamonn Mac Niallais asked that Deputy McGinley do as other Fine Gael candidates in the Kerry and Galway Gaeltacht had already done and express openly to Enda Kenny his opposition to this policy.  He brought the meeting to a close after the question and answer session. He thanked everyone for attending and urged everyone to sign the online petition against Fine Gael’s proposal. He also appealed to people to raise the issue of the Irish language with all politicians when they come looking for votes and to attend next Monday’s public meeting in Ionad Naomh Pádraig, Dobhar to raise the issue again.

Independent support for Irish!

Independent candidates for the General Election 2011 expressed their support for the Irish language in a recent letter to the Editors of the national and regional press.

This follows a recent study on attitudes towards Irish as a school subject commissioned by Comhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge, Conradh na Gaeilge, Gael Linn, Gaelscoileanna Teoranta and Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge and carried out by MRBI/Ipsos.

The results of the study indicate support of 61% in favour of the retention of the Irish language as a core Leaving Certificate subject.

The independent candidates from constituencies across Ireland expressed their belief that all students are entitled to learn their national language. They pledged their full support for retention of the Irish language as one of the core subjects at Leaving Certificate level and for maintaining its current status as a minimum entry requirement to third level courses.

The 31 candidates who expressed their support for the Irish language include:

James Breen- Clare

Sarah Ferrigan-Clare

Pádraig O Sullivan- Cork North Central

Paul O Neill - Cork East

Mick Finn- Cork South Central

Diarmaid Ó Cadhla - Cork South Central

John Kearney -Cork  South West

Michael O Sullivan- Cork South West

Michael Healy Rae- Kerry South

John Dillon- Limerick

Séamus Sherlock-Limerick

Dr. Ben Nutty- Waterford

Eamon Walsh- Galway West

Catherine Connolly – Galway West

Mike Cubbard – Galway West

Noel Grealish - Galway West

Michael Kilcoyne- Mayo

Luke Ming Flanagan -  Roscommon/South Leitrim

John McDermott  - Roscommon/South Leitrim

Gabriel McSharry Sligo/North Leitrim

Cllr Seamus Treanor- Cavan/Monaghan

Caroline Forde – Cavan/Monaghan

Ian McGarvey – Donegal North East

Thomas Pringle- Donegal South West

Stephen McCahill- Donegal South West

Eugene Finnegan-Wicklow

Michael J Loftus- Dublin North West

Maureen O’Sullivan- Dublin Central

Christy Burke- Dublin Central

Cieran Perry- Dublin Central

Raymond Whitehead-Dublin South