Sinn F éin seeks Irish development plan

[Harold Schiffman]

SF seeks Irish development plan

Fri, May 18, 2007

Sinn Féin has called for the establishment of a new 10-year development plan
to preserve and advance the Irish language. Outlining the party's Irish
language policy in Dublin today, Bairbre de Brún MEP said Sinn Féin was also
seeking a monitoring programme for the Gaeltacht and a mechanism to
officially recognise "Breac-Ghaeltachtaí" - areas where both Irish and
English are widely spoken. She said the party was pushing for increased use
of Irish in the Oireachtas and the retention of the language as a core
subject at post primary level. In its manifesto, the party proposes the
teaching of a second subject, like PE or drama, through the medium of Irish
at primary and secondary school level.

The party also wants funding for Irish language pre-schooling and the
adoption of an Irish language stream in English language pre-schools. "Every
child in Ireland at secondary level should have the right to be schooled
through the medium of Irish," the manifesto contended. The party said the
State should tackle resistance within government departments to changes
brought about by the status accorded to Irish as an official language of the
EU. Sinn Féin also wants funding to be made available to provide access to
language classes for all, including Irish language classes for
foreign-nationals living in Ireland - for whom classes in English are
already provided for.

(c) 2007 ireland.com
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