Súil Siar – Saol na scoile
August 9, 2013
Ná milltear an samhradh fada buí
August 7, 2013
Naíonra subsidies cut
August 6, 2013
At the end of June, the Board of Foras na Gaeilge made a decision to discontinue the subsidy scheme for naíonraí which has been administered by Forbairt Naíonraí Teoranta (FNT) since 1999.
In 2012, € 876,900 was provided to FNT to pay to individual naíonraí as part of the scheme, and in the first six months of this year €545,000 was awarded to FNT under the scheme but Foras na Gaeilge have now decided that no funding will be made available for the period July – December 2013. “A disastrous blow to the preschool sector” is how Clíona Frost, CEO of Forbairt Naíonraí Teoranta has described the decision and says 31 positions are in jeopardy, and up to eight Naíonraí could potentially close as a direct result of the decision. According to FNT no advance notice was given to either FNT or Na Naíonraí Gaelacha, and they did not understand this item was even up for review by the Board, or that such an important decision was to be made. FNT claim it was not until they received their funding allocation for the period July – December 2013 at the end of June that the decision became apparent.
In a statement provided to Gaelport.com from Foras na Gaeilge it is stated that the scheme was under review for a number of years and officers of Foras na Gaeilge informed FNT at a meeting on 1 March 2013 that the item was being scrutinised and that there was a chance that the subsidy would not be paid in the July-December allocation of funding. Foras na Gaeilge state clearly that the decision was not made without advance warning and discussion. Foras na Gaeilge contend “double funding” was being provided as payments were also being received by naíonraí under the Government’s Early Childhood Care and Education scheme. Gaelport.com spoke to Rebecca Uí Bhruachail of Naíonra Thír na nÓg in Malahide, Co. Dublin. This naíonra provides services to ten children, and Ní Bhruachail explains that funding received under this scheme was used to pay for stationery, teaching aids, books, toys, and Irish lessons for staff. In total, this naíonra received €1,800 annually under the scheme.
Rebecca said: “When the naíonra closed at the start of the summer, we had two employees, but with these latest cuts, I will not be able to employ a second person. Under the Childcare Act 1996 two adults must always be in charge of the children, so therefore my choices are to find somebody who is willing to do this work voluntarily, or close the naíonra. It is as simple as that”. Catherine Allen is the Director of Naíonra na gCéimeanna Beaga in Westport, which caters for 22 children. This cut will mean a reduction €4,000 per year for the naíonra, and Catherine contends this will have a detrimental effect on the standard of the service. Catherine stated: “This subsidy used to allay some of the normal running costs of the naíonra; books, jigsaws, resources and classes for the staff. Our naíonra was only founded two years ago, and I took out a loan to found it. That loan has not yet been repaid. Every penny is important as I aim to provide the highest standard possible. Without this subsidy, one part-time position will go in September. Under the ECCE scheme, I cannot raise the fees for parents which leaves me snookered. I intend to continue for the next year, but I don’t know what I will do in the future. It is quite possible that I will have to close the naíonra”.
In the statement from Foras na Gaeilge it is stated that Foras na Gaeilge do not believe the subsidy to be critical to the sustainability of any naíonraí.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Tuarascáil ar fheidhmiú na Straitéise 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge foilsithe
August 6, 2013
Irish-medium education sets a high standard
August 6, 2013
IN his opinion piece on Irish-medium education (Comment, July 30), Danny Kinahan is unfairly dismissive of the role of Irish-medium schools in helping to create a truly integrated education system.
He rejects the many possibilities it affords for educational cooperation and plurality. Contrary to Mr Kinahan, I unequivocally state that Irish-medium schools are open to all parents and pupils who seek an excellent, bilingual educational experience. Regarding the question of whether Irish-medium schools deliver a quality education, the previous chief inspector’s report, under the previous assessment arrangements, shows that 83% of Irish-medium pupils achieved Level 4 or above in English Keystage 2 assessments. It also showed 79% achieved a similar standard in maths, out-performing their peers in English-medium schools. This trend continues under the new assessment arrangements.
I challenge Mr Kinahan’s defeatist presumption that the low percentage of pupils from a Protestant background at Irish-medium schools won’t change. If anything, the argument should be made that the percentage will increase, particularly following the growth of Gaelic-medium education in Scotland where the vast majority of pupils are Protestant. This refutes the assertion that there is a lack of interest or a disconnect among the Protestant community. Our view is that demand for this new, vital and dynamic sector will increase across all sections of the community when parents become more aware of the choices available to them. Prince Charles has spoken passionately about the Gaelic language, acknowledging not only its cultural and linguistic benefits. A truly shared vision for education should not pigeon-hole entire sectors and pander to the ‘them-and-us’ mentality.
I challenge Mr Kinahan to play a positive role in ensuring that language is never perceived as a political weapon, rather that it can be enjoyed and learned by all for the many benefits it offers to children – bilingualism, cognitive advantages, greater tolerance and cultural awareness.
DR MICHEAL O DUIBH
Chief executive, Comhairle na Gaelscolaiochta
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Clár na nImeachtaí Gaeilge ag Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann
August 2, 2013
Cruinniú Poiblí do mhná tí in ionad Naomh Pádraig, Dobhar
August 2, 2013
Making the great escape to the Gaeltacht
August 2, 2013
Famous faces recall their Gaeltacht experiences
Ruairi Quinn, Minister for Education
I only attended Irish college once — as a 12-year-old with a couple of my older brothers. It was based in what is now today known as Trabolgan Holiday Centre in Cork but the facilities at the time were so primitive it reminded me of a prison camp. I recall two of my brothers escaping from the camp and they got as far as Whitegate Oil Refinery before they were caught. I’m always reminded of the film The Great Escape whenever I think of my time in Irish college!
Siobhán Bastible, News presenter, TV3
The Gaeltacht for me was invaluable as I was about to attend an Irish-speaking school, Coláiste Íosagáin, in Dublin, coming from an all-English primary school.
I was 11 when myself and my cousin Jennifer were sent to Coláiste Ciarán in Carraroe, Co. Galway. My parents were enthusiastic about us learning to speak as Gaeilge and all of my six siblings had gone to the Gaeltacht at one point or another.
I do remember struggling to speak for the first week but it gradually got easier. We were in a house of around six other girls. I was always late for breakfast and missed the Rice Krispies, my cereal of choice! The ‘full Irish’ didn’t appeal to me!
There was a social element to Coláiste Ciarán, but at the age of 11, my cousin and I didn’t avail of it. We were simply too young — the other girls were mostly in their teens and had a ball, according to the talk at the breakfast table some mornings.
Like most of my generation, I’ve travelled in Europe, Asia and America… but to appreciate other cultures, we must also understand our own.
and one who missed out…
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Independent TD
I would love to have gone to the Gaeltacht when I was younger. Unfortunately, this was the preserve of the more well-off. When it came to a choice between feeding us and teaching us Irish, my parents were forced to do as many before had, and that was to choose food. Pity it had to be that way, still is. A bit like brown bread, the poor only get to eat it when the rich didn’t want it.
www.irishexaminer.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 02 Lúnasa 2013
The Irish Examiner
Getting lucky as Gaeilge
August 2, 2013
If you’re going to try and make Irish appeal to the i-Pod generation, then Micheál Ó Foighil, bainisteoir at Coláiste Lurgan in Indreabhán, Co Galway, seems to have found the very answer.
This is cutting-edge Gaeilge, brilliantly tailored in what Micheál describes as ‘New Age Irish’: typical three-week summer courses running from June to late August but with an emphasis on music, performance and making Irish trendy and applicable to the teenage market.
It’s no surprise, then, that the college in south Connemara has in the last 18 months become something of a home-spun internet sensation on YouTube. This summer, the students’ version of Daft Punk’s dance hit ‘Get Lucky’ — ‘An Ádh Nocht’ in Irish — clocked up an incredible 62,000 hits, registering 10,000 hits alone within just 24 hours of being posted. (Their ‘Cup Song’ has had almost 250,000 views).
In short, it’s ‘Gaeilge Rap’, performed and filmed by Blanchardstown student Ian Mac Gabhann and with the Irish lyrics subtitled at the bottom so viewers can sing along, with the song recorded in the Coláiste’s own state-of-the art studio.
The team in Indreabhán have also launched an Irish language video app.
www.irishexaminer.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 02 Lúnasa 2013
The Irish Examiner
Leaving Cert must be transformed, says minister
August 2, 2013
Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has signalled that the Leaving Certificate will be overhauled just like the Junior Certificate, as the education system was criticised as “unsustainable” amid fears of a “slide into mediocrity”. Mr Quinn said the “proliferation” of CAO courses was for the benefit of colleges, and not students.
“Just as the Junior Certificate is being abolished, the Leaving Cert must also be transformed,” he told the Mac Gill Summer school.
“The pressures on our Leaving Cert students are immense. This is, in part, caused by the proliferation of CAO courses — not designed to give students greater choice, but to create greater competition between courses — to the benefit of the colleges, not the students. This trend unfortunately continues.”
He said in 2000 there were 44 higher education institutions in the CAO offering 387 level 8 honours degree courses, but for the coming year, that figure had risen further to 919 courses in 45 institutions.
He said: “Some of the divisions between courses are questionable to say the least.”
The minister also said while changes to the Junior Certificate would be “uncomfortable” for some, choices needed to be made.
He said students needed to be able to make a choice and subjects, such as history, could not be compulsory. Some historians have made strong arguments for ensuring a prominent role for history in the secondary cycle.
Earlier, Mr Quinn said: “If you make history compulsory, why not make science compulsory, if you make science compulsory why not make geography compulsory? You have a compulsory curriculum. I think young people should be able to make a choice, I mean, in the replacement of the Junior Cert there will be an examination in a new format of examination for eight subjects as distinct from the 11 they do currently in the Junior Cert and we want young people to actually exercise choice.
“I don’t think compulsion is the way to go.”
President of Dublin City University, Prof Brian MacCraith, said one model Ireland could emulate was that of the Finnish government of the early 90s, which ploughed money into its education system following a severe recession.
He also claimed the current Leaving Certificate was inadequate for priming students for third-level and beyond.
“Many of the problems we are now facing arise from the incoherence in our approach and they become very evident at the transition points, eg, from primary school to secondary and, especially, from secondary to third level,” he said.
“Surely it should be relatively straightforward to agree on the overall outcomes desired from our education system and to align these objectives at every stage along the education continuum? In this context, it is somewhat surprising, shocking even, that, currently, there is no overall strategy in place for our education system.”
He also demanded the introduction of a new strategy for digital learning and said while some changes at secondary level were welcome, more needed to be done.
www.irishexaminer.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 02 Lúnasa 2013
The Irish Examiner – Noel Baker
