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<h1 class="gmail-article-heading">Government approach to the Irish language ‘massively inadequate’ - Peadar Tóibín TD</h1>
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<p class="gmail-image-caption">Peadar Tóibín TD will be launching a series of policy documents regarding the future of the Irish Language</p>
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<p class="gmail-author"><span>»</span> Peadar Tóibín</p>
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<p>"The needs of Irish speakers outside of the Gaeltacht are not
being met. A decade after leaving school the number of those who state
they have Irish falls by half." - Peadar Tóibín TD</p>
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<p>The Taoiseach’s appointment of a non-Irish speaker, Josepha Madigan TD, as Minister for the
Department of the Culture and the Gaeltacht has raised questions within the Irish
speaking community.</p>
<p>Leo Varadkar posed for selfies with revellers at a Gaeltacht pop-up event,
where hundreds of Irish speakers regularly gather in bars. Many Irish speakers
were delighted to see Taoiseach Varadkar participate; however his enthusiasm
was eclipsed by his appointment of a Minister Madigan earlier that day, who admitted on
television that she did not intend on learning the Irish language, despite her
‘great love’ for it.</p>
<p>This is Fine Gael’s approach to the Irish language laid out exactly when the
truth is - Irish is a wonderfully rich, cultural gift that is an irreplaceable
part of the diversity of the planet. It’s been our voice for nearly two
thousand years and yet, we might well be the last generation to have Irish as a
community language. </p>
<p>The 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language was
published in 2010, to halt its decline within the Gaeltacht and the state,
aiming to triple the number of daily Irish speakers by 2030 to 250,000. With
figures going in the opposite direction this document has been an unmitigated
failure, yet we are still waiting for a revised plan over two years after a
review was initiated. </p>
<p>Central to this is the real time collapse of our Gaeltacht regions. The census
results published this year showed a drop of 11% of daily speakers. Only 502
children aged between 3 and 4 speak Irish daily at home in the whole of the
Gaeltacht. 56% of Gaeltacht children have to attend English language
preschools. 94% of principles of Irish-medium schools said that sometimes they
had no choice but to hire a substitute teacher with little Irish. The
recruitment of full time teachers with fluent Irish in some Gaeltacht areas is
becoming next to impossible.</p>
<p>Critically those who have made a life for themselves in the Gaeltacht are faced
with a state that has a policy of compulsory English. There are seven Government
departments without any Irish language positions at all, including the
Department of Children who are charged with the provisions of Preschool
Education. </p>
<p>When the Department of the Gaeltacht is taken out
of the equation, there are only 29 jobs out of 19,795 with an Irish language
requirement in the state service. This is not reflective of any effort to build
a bilingual state despite the fact that 1,761,420 people self-identified with
Irish speaking ability in the last census. Sociolinguists predict that the
Gaeltacht will survive only ten, perhaps 20 more years at best. This would be
in my view cultural cleansing by Government disinterest. </p>
<p><img src="https://www.anphoblacht.com/files/images/380/2018/Peadar_003.jpg" alt="Peadar Tóibín TD" class="gmail-img-center"></p>
<p>Gaeltacht areas have not received fair play economically, and some of the
strongest Gaeltacht areas are among the most deprived of infrastructure and
employment opportunities in the state. Capital funding for Údarás na
Gaeltachta, the body responsible for the economic development of Gaeltacht
areas, has fallen by 70% since 2007. Compare this with a 66% increase in
funding for IDA, and a 42% increase in funding for Enterprise Ireland in the same time period.</p>
<p>‘Language Planning’, which was hailed by Fine Gael as the saviour of the
Gaeltacht regions, has fallen asunder. 26 different volunteer Language Planning
groups worked to produce a deep and rich seam of plans in order to rebuild the
Gaeltacht, but before any of these plans were read, the department plucked a
paltry funding figure from sky. </p>
<p>There is a palpable sense of disempowerment from the Gaeltacht communities who
have been promised a lot but have been consistently undelivered to. Ministerial
decisions even more sharply reflect political needs than in the rest of
Ireland. The vast majority of capital spending (87%) was in Donegal in the
months since the appointment of Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Joe
McHugh. </p>
<p>While the Policy on Gaeltacht Education which was introduced last year is to be
commended, the absence of pre-schools in the Gaeltacht School Recognition
Scheme is a real blind spot. It’s absurd that there is no provision for
Gaeltacht school status for pre-schools considering the majority of children in
the Gaeltacht receive their pre-schooling through English. This will dilute the
efficacy of immersive teaching through Irish in primary schools, with English
from the outset the more dominant language. </p>
<p>Outside of the Gaeltacht there is no plan for the development of Gaelscoil
education despite huge demand. 23% of parents seek Gaelscoil education for
their children while only 5% of primary school children actually receive it. </p>
<p>The needs of Irish speakers outside of the Gaeltacht are not being met. A
decade after leaving school the number of those who state they have Irish falls
by half. Leo Varadkar admitted that his Irish went rusty after school because
of the lack of opportunities to use it. </p>
<p>There is no Cultúrlann (Irish Language Centre) in
Dublin city centre in which people of all ages can socialise. Belfast has had a
Cultúrlann since 1991. </p>
<p>Personal efforts of a couple of TDs to speak the language aside there is no
vision, plan or leadership. To the Government Irish exists as no more than a
hobby. </p>
<p>Despite all of this there is much positive energy in the Irish language. 67 per
cent of the respondents in the south of Ireland and 45 per cent from the North
are positive about the Irish language (ESRI, 2015). Inside the Gaeltacht some
individuals, families and organisations are starting to stand up for their
language rights. Outside the Gaeltacht more and more people are choosing to play
for an all Irish GAA club, raise their children in Irish and drink in a Pop-Up
Gaeltacht Pub. </p>
<p>The decline of Irish and the Gaeltacht is not inevitable but resurgence is
possible - it’s not rocket science. Volumes of research and detailed policy are
available. The Irish language needs a Government who will no longer kill the
language with platitudes and who will draw a line under the past. It does not
need a Government who after teaching everyone Irish then prevents public
services being accessed in Irish. The Irish Government needs to create a new
deal for the language. We need to send a message to Gaeltacht communities, Irish
speaking families, students and adult learners – ‘speak the language today
because tomorrow the language will be stronger, more extensive and
more valuable’. </p>
<p>2018 is Bliain na Gaeilge. It’s time for Government to stand up for Irish
speakers and the Gaeltacht. There will no second chance for the Irish language.</p>
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<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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