Ireland: Poll on Fine Gael on the Irish language

[Harold Schiffman]

Poll on Fine Gael on the Irish
language<http://darrenjprior.blogspot.com/2008/03/poll-on-fine-gael-on-irish-language.html>

I have added a poll to this blog that I will leave up for a week or two.

I am happy with Fine Gael's policies regarding education and Irish.

These are:

Modernise the syllabus in school so that the emphasis is on speaking the
language.
Make the language optional for the Leaving Cert.
Increase investment in our gaelscoileanna.
Address the issue of the lack of some educational publications as Gaeilge as
a matter of urgency.
Bring in a language corps that will "hit the road" to help teachers who are
struggling to teach the language effectively in their classes.
It may not officially be a policy but Olwyn Enright while our spokesperson
on Education and Science raised the issue of our country's placenames being
taught in school as part of the Gaeilge syllabus.

We are also in favour of having a language strategy to make a "clear and
honest assessment of
• Where we are,
• What the Government wants to achieve for the language,
• What Government can do and what we want and expect others in society to do
to support us."

We also believe that the money spent on Irish should be audited to ensure
that we get value for money.

Dinny McGinley made
this<http://www.finegael.ie/news/index.cfm/type/details/nkey/28124>speech
at our Ard-Fheis in 2006 which addressed several other issues.

However, Dinny McGinley, Enda Kenny and Fergus O' Dowd have not got back to
me on a couple of emails I sent them regarding a couple of other issue on
the language. Maybe they have me down as a crank. Raising the issue of
setting up new gaeltachtaí might easily make one think that the person
raising the issue is a crank. I don't care. That is not the most important
issue anyway.

The most important issues that have not been raised by Fine Gael are that:

• We should have a national, all-island young persons radio station- a 2FM
as Gaeilge.

• The Government should bring in statutory naming committees at council
level to name new residential developments. The use of Irish names should be
"encouraged"- although not compulsory unless individual local councils vote
to name all of their new developments in Irish.*

• The Government should set up new gaeltachtaí on the basis of demand. A
national survey should be carried out. If, for example, only one thousand
people decided that they wanted to live in a new gaeltacht then one thousand
houses/apartments should be built. No more. Sin é.

• Although Fine Gael have already said that the most modern marketing
techniques must be used to promote the language they have not specifially
provided more detail. Annual marketing campaings in the media and on public
transport are essential. A Baile Átha Cliath Le Gaeilge should be set up in
Dublin on the basis of the Gaillimh Le Gaeilge model. The possibility of
setting up other similar organisations in other counties should be looked
at.

There are a couple of smaller issues and some other issues are being
addressed. As a member of Fine Gael it is the failure to me of Enda Kenny,
Dinny McGinley and Fergus O' Dowd to look at the above points that makes me
conclude that Fine Gael are not doing enough for the Irish language.

• Note: Obviously TG4 should have a full or a near-full schedule in Irish.
The Government have increased funding to the station by 5% in the last
budget. Providing the money given to TG4 increases every year to the stage
where the station has a full or (more realistically) a near-full schedule in
Irish there will not be an issue here.

* To be fair Phil Hogan has put down a question to Minister Gormley on the
issue. Still Fine Gael don't have a policy on the issue.



http://darrenjprior.blogspot.com/2008/03/poll-on-fine-gael-on-irish-language.html
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