Number claiming they speak Irish reaches 1.7 million
April 2, 2012
ALMOST 2pc of people speak a cupla focal on a daily basis outside of school.
The first detailed results of last year’s Census show the number of people who claim to be able to speak Irish increased by 7.1pc between 2006 and 2011 to 1.77 million people. But almost one in three (30.9pc) of 10 to 19-year-olds said they couldn’t speak the language.
In total 1.8pc of people said they spoke the language every day, 2.6pc used it weekly, while 14.3pc said they turned to it less often.
However, 12.2pc of people within the education system said they spoke the language daily, but only at schools and colleges.
More women than men speak the language — 44.9pc of females compared with 37.9pc of males.
Of the 1.77 million who said they could speak it, 77,185 used it daily outside the education system (up 5,037 since 2006), a further 110,642 use it weekly (up 7,781), while 613,236 used it less often (up 27,139).
One in four said they never used it.
The total population of all Gaeltacht areas in April last year was 96,628, up from 91,862 six years ago.
Of these, 66,238 or 68.5pc, indicated they could speak Irish.
IRISH INDEPENDENT
Number of Irish speakers up by 7.1%
April 2, 2012
THE CENSUS recorded a 7.1 per cent increase in the number of self-declared Irish speakers.
Some 1.77 million people said they could speak Irish – 41.4 per cent of respondents.
More women than men answered “yes” when asked if they could speak Irish. Almost 45 per cent of women said they could speak Irish compared with almost 38 per cent of men. The Central Statistics Office noted that more women than men consistently identified themselves as being able to speak Irish.
Almost 31 per cent of 10-19-year- olds said they could not speak Irish. That increased to 36 per cent for 17-year-olds and 18-year-olds.
Of the 1.77 million who said they could speak Irish, just 1.8 per cent said they spoke it daily outside the education system.
This was an increase of 5,037 people since the previous census. A further 2.6 per cent said they spoke it weekly while 12.2 per cent spoke it within the education system.
Some 14.3 per cent said they spoke it less often – this was an increase of 27,139 and was the largest increase of all categories.
One in four said they never spoke Irish.
Of the 77,185 people who spoke Irish daily, outside the classroom, one in three lived in Gaeltacht areas.
The census recorded a 5.2 per cent increase in the Gaeltacht population. Some 96,628 people were living in Gaeltacht areas on census night 2011 compared with 91,862 in 2006.
Some 68.5 per cent of Gaeltacht dwellers said they could speak Irish and 24 per cent said they spoke it daily, outside the education system. This was an increase of 2.9 per cent on the number of daily Irish speakers in 2006. However, the number of Gaeltacht dwellers who said they spoke Irish less than weekly increased by 6.6 per cent.
The findings were welcomed by Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Dinny McGinley. He said the increase in the number of people able to speak Irish was a positive development in terms of the 20-year strategy for the Irish language.
“The increase in the number of daily Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas is good news, particularly since the 20-year strategy has set a target of a 25 per cent increase in this area over its lifetime,” said Mr McGinley.
IRISH TIMES
Rural primary schools hit as 73 posts to go
March 26, 2012
UP TO 73 small primary schools will lose a teacher in September because of changes in teacher allocations.
The full list of schools threatened with the loss of a teacher is revealed by the Irish Independent today.
They will only avoid the loss if their pupil numbers have risen since the last count in September — a major challenge for many because of their location.
With the exception of one in Clondalkin, Dublin, all the schools are in rural areas, mainly in the west. Last year’s Budget change to teacher allocation has sparked a major protest campaign amid fears that ultimately schools will close — to the detriment of local communities.
The Department of Education has told the 73 schools that, based on the last official pupil count, they will lose a teacher next September.
In recent weeks, schools were advised of their September 2012 allocations based on their September 2011 figures.
But there is an appeals process and — in a bid to soften the blow — Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has said that if schools succeed in enrolling higher numbers than in September 2011 the new figure will be included in the calculations.
This has pushed schools into a major competitive drive for new enrolments.
The cuts will continue for three years, starting in September, and will put the schools under ongoing pressure to keep increasing numbers.
Under the department’s plan, a school which this year got a third teacher for 49 pupils or above will need 51 pupils in September to secure the third teacher and 56 in three years’ time.
It also means a school which this year has a fourth teacher for 81 pupils will need 83 next year and 86 in two years’ time to retain that number of staff.
The aim is to cut 250 teaching posts in all. However, the staff will be redeployed to fill vacancies elsewhere.
The cuts have sparked a huge outcry in rural Ireland.
Over the weekend, parents, teachers and community activists held a rally in Loughrea, Co Galway and handed a petition in to Junior Education Minister Ciaran Cannon.
Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) president Noreen Flynn told the protest that what was needed was a coherent, long-term and resourced strategy for sustainable schools into the future.
“Instead, what we have are budget proposals aimed at forcibly amalgamating some small schools by cutting teachers”, she said.
Ms Flynn said the department should wait for the outcomes of a value-for-money report it was undertaking.
There was a need to review the benefits of small schools in rural communities.
INTO says alternatives to school closure and amalgamations should be considered, such as examining the possibility of repopulating existing schools rather than constantly expanding larger schools in urban areas, often with unsuitable temporary accommodation.
Minority
The union said schools of minority denominations, island schools and Irish medium schools must be treated with particular sensitivity.
Separately, 16 disadvantaged rural primary schools are losing a teacher arising from the Budget decision to withdraw what are known as “legacy” posts. These were awarded under a programme which predated the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme in 2005.
IRISH INDEPENDENT
Nolan arranges talks on need for much-needed Knocknacarra school
March 22, 2012
The Department of Education will hold a meeting with Galway city primary school principals regarding the need for a new primary school in the Knocknacarra area.
The meeting has been arranged by Labour Galway West TD Derek Nolan and a date will be set in the coming weeks.
The department has sanctioned funding for the provision of a new primary school on the west of the city citing the projected rise in the area’s population as the reason. The upcoming meeting will determine whether the data the department is using matches with what school principals are seeing on the ground.
“There is some concern that the school may not be necessary,” said Dep Nolan. “I hope the meeting will bring all the facts into the open and determine once and for all whether a new school is necessary.”
Dep Nolan said a number of schools around the city are in need of upgrading.
“With so many school building projects necessary in Galway,” he said, “it would make no sense to build a new school where existing schools are well placed to take on the extra numbers.”
Dep Nolan has also raised the exclusion of Gael Scoil Mhic Amhlaigh in Knocknacarra and Clifden Community School from the five-year school building programme with Education Minster Ruairi Quinn.
“I was very disappointed to see the exclusion of these projects,” he said. “I know these schools have been planning and preparing to start these projects for some time now and the works are badly needed.”
Dep Nolan has pledged to follow up with the minister and his officials to see what options are possible to advance the projects.
GALWAY ADVERTISER
Foirgnimh nua do Ghaelscoileanna
March 22, 2012
An Seó tallainne náisiúnta ‘Scléip’ ag dul ar aghaidh i mBaile Munna
March 21, 2012
Anger over decision to omit Gaelscoil from building list
March 16, 2012
PARENTS AND school management at a long-established Gaelscoil in Galway have condemned the Government decision to omit it from the latest school building programme.
The board of management and parents’ committee have promised a “campaign of action” to reverse the decision.
Galway West TD Brian Walsh of Fine Gael has also questioned why the Department of Education plans to build a new primary school in Knocknacarra, one of the city’s largest surburbs, while the existing nearby Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh has had its extension shelved.
Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh, an all-Irish, Catholic co-educational primary, was established in a rented house in the then developing western suburb of Knocknacarra on the Galway Gaeltacht boundary in 1993. It eventually moved into a purpose-built eight-class school in 1999. However, more than half of the 460 pupils on its roll have spent much, if not all, of their school life in prefabs, due to its rapid expansion. The school secured approval for an extension in 2009, and the Department of Education had already paid for architectural designers and quantity surveyors for the project.
When the department signalled inclusion of a third primary school for the suburb, it attracted patronage applications from Educate Together, City of Galway VEC, Lifeways Ireland Ltd and An Foras Pátrúnachta. Mr Walsh said that “under no circumstances should the development of a new school proceed until the needs of existing primary schools in the area were addressed”. He said he had contacted Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn, who had agreed that officials from his department would meet local school principals to discuss the demographic needs.
“Our 460 children, and teaching staff have patiently endured overcrowded and substandard accommodation for far too long and this unjust decision to shelve our building project at the 11th hour and without warning defies belief,” said Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh principal Dairíona Nic an Iomaire yesterday.
The department said that the five-year programme was focused on meeting demographic needs, and the Galway city area showed a requirement of 47 additional mainstream classrooms by 2017. This increase was concentrated on Knocknacarra in the west and Doughiska in the east, which was provided with a school in 2010. A new Knocknacarra school in 2013 would cater for extra demand, it said. It said the building project for Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh was at an advanced stage of architectural planning, with detailed design approval issued by it on January 10th, 2012, and it would “continue to advance this project”.
IRISH TIMES
Rivals rally over small school cuts
March 15, 2012
Sporting rivalries are being abandoned as Cork and Kerry communities plan a joint protest over cuts to small school teacher numbers at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday.
Tomás Ó Sé and Noel O’Leary, past pupils of gaeltacht schools, support the protest, which sees the Save our Small Schools groups in both counties join forces with Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta, which represents schools in gaeltacht areas.
They are campaigning against changes to staffing levels in schools of four teachers or less, which will see over 70 schools lose a staff member in September.
The group will gather outside the grounds, where the Cork-Kerry national football league clash will be preceded by the Cork-Galway hurling tie which throws in at 12.45pm.
IRISH EXAMINER
Ag tógáil clainne
March 14, 2012
40 Irish-medium schools on the department’s list of building projects for the next five years – but disappointment for 27% of Irish-medium schools at primary level and 38% at post-primary level still lacking permanent accommodation
March 14, 2012
“We welcome the Minister for Education and Skills’ announcement concerning new school accommodation to be developed in the period 2012-2015. This will create a favourable learning environment for the 40 Irish-medium schools amongst the 275 mentioned on Ruairí Quinn’s list”, GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. President, Máirín Ní Chéileachair stated today. “These schools have had huge obstacles to overcome in recent years in their fight for better conditions for their children and we wish the pupils, staff and parents every success in this new era”.
The announcement came as a huge disappointment, however, to the 27% of primary schools and 38% of post-primary schools teaching through Irish that are still without permanent accommodation and are not on any of the Department’s lists. These schools are left with little hope of improvement in their accommodation.
“There has been an ongoing accommodation crisis in the Irish-medium education sector for years now” said Bláthnaid ní Ghréacháin, CEO of GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. “60% of Irish-medium primary schools established in the last 25 years are currently in temporary accommodation – that’s without taking into account other schools that have grown since they moved into permanent accommodation and now have part of the school housed in temporary accommodation. It’s unacceptable that schools are left without any guarantee from the Department that appropriate accommodation will be provided for them. The Department’s new development plan covers a period of 5 years – too long to wait for schools that have not been included in this plan. This will result in some schools having no choice but to close, their enrolment numbers having fallen due to their poor accommodation”.
Among those who have been left out of the plan are 7 schools that have been waiting more than 20 years for permanent accommodation, and the Minister’s announcement of the investment plan worth €1.5 billion was a serious blow to them. “These school communities feel that they are being completely ignored by the Department and that an injustice is being done to their children” said ní Ghréacháin. “The temporary accommodation arrangements in place in these schools make it impossible for them to develop, they give rise to health and safety concerns and they have a huge impact on the children’s experience of education”.
Temporary accommodation arrangements also have a huge impact on the Department of Education’s budget. The Department is paying rent on inappropriate accommodation, often in dilapidated prefabs, where the money could be better spent on building projects and investment in the future of our education system. These temporary accommodation arrangements need to come to an end and the Department needs to be put under pressure to provide healthy learning environments for students.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. is seeking an urgent meeting with the Forward Planning Unit of the Department of Education to discuss the conditions in these schools and to demand that priority be given to addressing the accommodation crisis in Irish-medium schools with permanent recognition in temporary accommodation, so that these schools are not left to suffer as they have for too many years now.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. is the national coordinating body for Irish-medium schools at primary and post-primary level. It provides assistance and support to parents and local communities who wish to found a school and it supports existing Irish-medium schools in their development.
Note:
The Department of Education’s plan for school accommodation are available on www.education.ie.
The list of Irish-medium schools included in the Department of Education’s plan is available here.
Below is a list of Irish-medium schools not included in the Department of Education’s plans for accommodation:
Schools established in the 1980s that are still without permanent accommodation:
1. Gaelscoil Dhonncha Rua, Sionna, 1984
2. Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers, Corcaigh, 1984
3. Scoil Chaitlín Maude, Baile Átha Cliath, 1985
4. Gaelscoil Sheoirse Clancy, Luimneach, 1986
5. Gaelscoil Uileog de Búrca, Clár Chlainne Mhuiris, 1989
6. Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí, Trá Lí, 1989 (Post-primary)
Schools established in the 1990s that are still without permanent accommodation:
1. Gaelscoil Sairséal, Luimneach, 1990
2. Gaelscoil Uí Choimín, Cill Rois, 1991
3. Gaelscoil Dhochtúir Uí Shúilleabháin, An Sciobairín, 1993
4. Gaelscoil Lios Tuathail, Lios Tuathail, 1993
5. Gaelscoil na Camóige, Baile Átha Cliath, 1993
6. Gaelscoil Chluain Meala, Cluain Meala, 1994
7. Gaelscoil Dhroichead na Banndan, Droichead na Banndan, 1995
8. Gaelscoil Phádraig, Baile Breac, Co. Átha Cliath, 1995
9. Gaelscoil Eois, Cluain Eois, 1995
10. Gaelscoil Bhreifne, An Cabhán, 1995
11. Gaelscoil Chnoc na Ré, Sligeach, 1996
12. Gaelscoil na Bóinne, Baile Átha Troim, 1996
13. Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna, Baile Átha Cliath, 1996
14. Gaelscoil Thulach na nÓg, Dún Búinne, 1998
15. Gaelscoil Charraig na Siúire, Carraig na Siúire, 1998
16. Gaelscoil na gCeithre Maol, Béal an Átha, 1998
17. Gaelscoil Phort Laoise, Port Laoise, 1998
18. Gaelscoil na gCeithre Máistrí, Dún na nGall, 1999
19. Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha, Bun Chranncha, 1999
20. Coláiste Ráithín, Brí Chualann, 1991 (Post-primary)
21. Coláiste Pobail Osraí, Cill Chainnigh, 1991 (Post-primary)
22. Coláiste Daibhéad, Corcaigh, 1993 (Post-primary)
Schools established in the 2000s that are still without permanent accommodation:
1. Gaelscoil de hÍde, Ros Comáin, 2000
2. Gaelscoil Chois Feabhail, Bun an Phobail, 2001
3. Gaelscoil Éirne, Béal Átha Seannaigh, 2002
4. Gaelscoil Mhúscraí, An Bhlárna, 2002
5. Gaelscoil an tSlí Dála, Buiríos Mór Osraí, 2005
6. Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin, Baile Átha Cliath, 2005
7. Gaelscoil an Choillín, An Mhuileann gCearr, 2006
8. Gaelscoil na Lochanna, Baile Choimín, 2006
9. Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil, Gleann Maghair, 2006
10. Gaelscoil Chionn tSáile, Cionn tSáile, 2007
11. Gaelscoil na bhFilí, Gort Inse Guaire, 2007
12. Gaelscoil Chluainín, Cluainín Uí Ruairc, 2007
13. Gaelscoil Lorgan, Baile na Lorgan, 2008
14. Gael-Choláiste Chill Dara, 2003 (Post-primary)
15. Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh, Luimneach, 2006 (Post-primary)
16. Gaelcholáiste na Mara, An tInbhear Mór, 2006 (Post-primary)
17. Meánscoil Gharman, 2006 (Post-primary)
18. Gael-Choláiste Phort Láirge, 2007 (Post-primary)
19. Gaelcholáiste Chineál Eoghain, Bun Chranncha, 2007 (Post-primary)
