Post nua do Shiobhán
August 12, 2010
Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh approved to move to next expansion stage
August 12, 2010
The announcement by the Department of Education to approve the next stage of the Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh building expansion has been welcomed by Independent Deputy for Galway West, Noel Grealish, and Galway City Councillor Donal Lyons.
The approval also includes planning permission, Fire Safety Certificate and Disability Access Certificate. I recently discussed the school’s plans at a meeting with An Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science Mary Coughlan, and I asked her to move the project forward as quickly as possible, says Deputy Grealish. An Tánaiste has now informed me that she has given approval to the school to advance with their building plans.’ Deputy Grealish says the announcement is good news for the parents, teachers and pupils of Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh.
Councillor Donal Lyons has also welcomed the decision: In September this school will have 440 pupils and half of these will be housed in portocabins,’ he says. This announcement means that the school can now proceed with their plans for eight new classrooms at the school, which will significantly improve facilities for teachers and children.
Galway Advertiser – Trevor Quinn
05 Lúnasa 2010
All-Irish body ready to control schools
August 12, 2010
A body that is patron to more than 60 all-Irish schools has offered its services in areas where the Catholic Church may decide to hand over control of some of its schools.
The move by An Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna LánGhaeilge follows the release last week of a Department of Education report outlining more than 40 towns where primary schools are predominantly Catholic or other denominations but where there is unlikely to be sufficient population growth in the next six years to warrant new schools being opened.
The Catholic bishops had sought the information and have promised to consult with local communities, schools, parents and staff before deciding if they will divest patronage of schools in areas where there may be demand for a greater choice of school ethos.
While observers have highlighted the possibility of multi-denominational patron body Educate Together, which controls more than 50 primary schools, or city and county Vocational Education Committees (VECs), filling the gap, An Foras Pátrúnachta has stressed it is also available.
The organisation is patron to 58 primary and three second level schools, including a mix of Catholic, inter-denominational (for children of Catholic and Protestant faiths) and multi-denominational schools (where pupils of all faiths and none are taught but no specific religion is taught in classes).
General secretary Caoimhín O hEaghra said that the process of consultation before bishops take any decisions may take time. But, he said, if all parties are serious about the proposal, then gaelscoils are an obvious place to start.
“There is greater demand than ever for gaelscoileanna throughout the country in both rural and urban areas.
“This demand is seen in areas of stable population and in areas where the population is growing,” he said.
“If a gaelscoil currently under the Catholic Church wishes to change to the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta they will hold onto their Catholic ethos, plus being with An Foras Pátrúnachta whose main focus is Irish-medium education is immediately of benefit to the school and the change of patronage would be seamless,” Mr O hEaghra said.
More than 92% of the country’s 3,165 primary schools have a Catholic ethos, 69 are multi-denominational and eight are inter-denominational.
Irish Examiner – Niall Murray
09 Lúnasa 2010
Oireachtas Report recognises role of voluntary sector in Strategy
August 12, 2010
An Oireachtas committee, which today published a report on the Draft 20 Year Strategy for the Irish language, has highlighted the importance of Irish language organisations in the in future implementation of the Strategy.
One of the recommendations made in the report states that the success of the strategy will depend on harnessing and co-coordinating the support given to the sector and it stresses that it is essential that “effective support structures are in place for this sector that will allow the government to assist them and monitor their achievements during the lifetime of the Strategy”.
The report, which was compiled by the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Sport, Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs, also recommends that that Údarás na Gaeltachta or any new body established under the strategy should retain the primary responsibility to develop the economy and infrastructure of the Gaeltacht.
The Chairman of the committee, Tom Kitt, TD presented the report to Minister Pat Carey, TD, earlier today, 28 July 2010 at a press conference held in Leinster House.
The report contains 39 proposals to be included in the Strategy which covers aspects of Irish language education, Gaeltacht education as well as the normalization of Irish in society.
The report also makes recommendations on the role played by state agencies and the public in the implementation of the Strategy.
The Minister welcomed the publication of the report and said that he was hopeful that there would be cross-party support for the strategy when the Taoiseach chairs a debate in the Houses of the Oireachtas in the autumn.
If the Government accepts the recommendations made by the report, the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga, the Irish language Ombudsman would be responsible monitoring the strategy’s implementation.
The report also recommends that the Strategy should contain a clear outline of the separate responsibilities of Údarás na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge in the strategy.
Minister Carey stated that it was unlikely that any merger between the two organizations due to the time constraints.
Pádraig Mac Criostail, Director of Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge welcomed the publication of the report. “ I wish to congratulate the Joint Committee for the comprehensive report which contains strong recommendations which have been agreed ona cross-party basis, recoomendations which will no doubt benefit the Irish language in the coming twenty years.”
“ The proposals followed a consultation process which was established by the committee to examine opinions, the wishes and the needs of the Irish speaking community. An Chomhdháil hopes that the Government will accept the recommendations of the report in it’s entirety and that the final 20 Year Strategy for the Irish language be published soon.
Julian de Spáinn, Secretary General of Conradh na Gaeilge also welcomed the publication of the report and thanked the committee for seeking the opinions of the public on aspects of the draft Strategy. “It is imperative that the Government approves all the recommendations in the Joint Oireachtas Committee’s report in their entirety, that they are included in the final draft of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language, and that cross-party agreement is fostered for the Strategy to ensure its value is appreciated and supported across the board in coming years.”
The Report has been published online on the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas here. What do you think of the proposals made by the Committee? Contact us on our facebook page or send a message to @gaelport on Twitter.
©Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 28 Iúil 2010
Official Recognition for Four Gaelscoileanna in Northern Ireland
August 12, 2010
Four new Gaelscoileanna recently received official recognition from the Department of Education, Northern Ireland for the next school year.
Parents and local organisations responded with great joy to the announcement which followed an intensive campaign by community groups to establish Irish language medium schools in Maherafelt and Limavaddy in Co. Derry, Kilkeel in Co. Down and in Ballymena in Co. Antrim.
The schools hope to open on the first day of September this year once conditions set out by the Department are complied with.
The good news added to the festivity of a fund-raising dance held ast Saturday week in the Europa Hotel, Belfast in aid of Gaelscoil an Seanchaí, one of the newly recognised schools.
The schools received recognition based on the consistent demand for Irish medium education in these school areas. It has been recognised that Irish medium secondary schools may be established in these areas in the coming years if demand persists at a local level.
©Gaelport.com 10 Lúnasa 2010
Athrú don Ghaeilge i gcritéir nua
August 12, 2010
Irish to be included in assessment criteria for new schools
August 10, 2010
Tánaiste and Minsiter for Education and Skills, Mary Coughlan, TD, has recently announced major reforms in the system employed in recognising new second level schools. An Tánaiste intends to set out a framework of criteria, which will be used as assessment criteria, to allow for a transparent system for recognising new schools.
The Tánaiste is to establish a new expert group, known as the Second-Level Patronage Advisory Group, who will consider applications for new schools and advise the Tánaiste in relation to those applications, having undertaken survey work of parental views and using the criteria to be set down.
It is expected that the number of students in the second level education system will rise by 67,000 by the year 2024, and the greatest rise is expected in the east of the country. An Tánaiste said: ‘The need for clear criteria and increased transparency in decision making on the patronage in these cases arises as there are now a number of patron bodies seeking to establish new schools.
While specific criteria are yet to be established, the Department of Education and Skills have proposed that criteria include whether the school can cater by way of an Aonad for pupils desiring tuition through the Irish Language (in areas where there are insufficient numbers for an Irish medium second-level school);
New criteria suggested will also examine whether the school model proposed has the capacity to operate schools in the size range of 800 to 1,000 pupils, however a lower threshold of 400 would apply for Gaelcholáistí having regard to the alternative of establishing an Aonad within a school.
With regard to Irish-medium Units within English-medium schools Bláthnaid ní Ghréacháin cautions “while we welcome the proposal to provide Units to cater for the demand for Irish-medium education in cases where there is insufficient demand for an independent Irish-medium school, it is vital that consultation between ourselves and the Department continues with a view to reviewing and comprehensively developing the existing model of the Irish-medium Unit in both concept and approach. Clearly, the Unit model can cater for demand to an extent, however the current model has many challenges to overcome.”.
©Gaelport.com 10 Lúnasa 2010
A significant revision of the recognition process planned for post-primary schools
July 30, 2010
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. welcomes the Tánaiste’s statement of 28th July 2010 announcing a significant revision of the recognition process for post-primary schools.
The criteria for judging applications to establish post-primary schools will be agreed under the proposed new framework. This will ensure the transparency of the decision making process for new schools at Departmental level.
Referring to the implications for Irish-medium post-primary schools, Bláthnaid ní Ghréacháin, Chief Executive of GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. commented , “we warmly welcome the revision of the recognition process for post-primary schools and we believe it’s timely in light of the recent review of recognition criteria at primary level. We are confident that this proposed revision will facilitate post-primary provision and satisfy the needs and justifiable demands for Irish-medium education at post-primary level”.
The need for any proposed school to be able to cater for diversity in its pupil population is amongst the criteria already cited by the Tánaiste. Irish-medium schools cater for diversity in provision on grounds of language/religious ethos and they cater and welcome pupils from every linguistic, social and academic background.
With regard to Irish-medium Units within English-medium schools ní Ghréacháin cautions “while we welcome the proposal to provide Units to cater for the demand for Irish-medium education in cases where there is insufficient demand for an independent Irish-medium school, it is vital that consultation between ourselves and the Department continues with a view to reviewing and comprehensively developing the existing model of the Irish-medium Unit both in both concept and approach. Clearly, the Unit model can cater for demand to an extent, , however the current model has many challenges to overcome. We would greatly welcome the opportunity for consultation with the Department on the development of a new model and on the criteria for founding Irish-medium post-primary schools going forward”.
The Tánáiste intends to form a consultative group in the Autumn which will prepare a set of proposals with regard to the recognition of post-primary schools. These will focus on the need for school places to be made available for an extra 67,000 pupils by 2024.
Ní Ghréacháin congratulates the Tánaiste for undertaking this process and states “we are committed to co-operating with the Tánaiste and the Department of Education and Skills on this all-important issue and we are greatly looking forward to playing a central role in the challenge of putting the most effective education system into operation. We would advise that the Tánaiste ensures that a representative with specialised knowledge of the needs of Irish-medium schools be present on the Consultative Group ”.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. is the national co-ordinating body for schools teaching through the medium of Irish. It helps parents and local groups to set up new schools and supports the established all-Irish schools. There are 169 primary schools and 38 secondary schools currently providing education through the medium of Irish.
Further Information:
Bláthnaid Ní Ghréacháin, Chief Executive Officer GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. 01 8535195
Mícheál Ó Broin, President GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. 087 9467700
ENDS
Four Irish schools set to open in North
July 30, 2010
Four new Irish language primary schools will open in Northern Ireland in September, Education Minister Caitríona Ruane has announced.
The schools are Gaelscoil an tSeancha, Magherafelt; Gaelscoil na mBeann, Kilkeel; Gaelscoil Léim an Mhadaidh, Limavady; and Gaelscoil Choin Rí Uladh, Ballymena. The decision was made on the basis of growing demand for Irish language education, said Ms Ruane. Funding from the Department of Education will be conditional on the schools achieving admissions thresholds and proving their long-term viability.
Tom Elliott MLA, of the Ulster Unionist Party, criticised Ms Ruane’s stance on Irish-medium education, claiming that, on average, pupils in Irish-medium schools receive £460 per annum more than those in mainstream schools. Mr Elliott had previously expressed concern over preferential treatment of Irish-medium pupils.But Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta chief executive Seán Coinn welcomed the decision, and said it reflected a growing confidence in the merits of bilingual education.
The Irish Times – Hugh McDowell
30 Iúil 2010
Sports stars at Gaelscoil’s open evening
July 28, 2010
A packed room of parents and children from Ratoath were informed and entertained at last week’s open evening to publicise Gaelscoil Ráth Tó (Ratoath Gaelscoil) which will be opening for classes in Ratoath Community Centre on 30th August.
Sports personalities, boxer Bernard Dunne, Meath footballers Caoimhín King and Paddy O’Rourke with the Delaney Cup, and jockey Barry Geraghty, whose daughter will be attending the school in its first year, also attended the launch.
The presentation was to let all interested members of Ratoath’s community see the new classroom that has been set up for the first classes that will begin in just over a month’s time and also gave a chance to parents to meet the school’s new teacher, Tricia Ní Mhaolagáin, who has been working hard recently with the establishing committee, the parents’ committee and the Irish-language organisations involved in the ‘Aitheantas’ campaign, to equip the room being used and make the new classroom a reality.
Speaking on behalf of the establishing committee, Seán ” Buachalla expressed the committee’s delight that the night was such a success and so well-attended.
“We were very lucky to have some prominent sports stars there to show us their support and we are very grateful to them for giving their time for this cause,” he said.
“We would also like to express our thanks to all the parents involved in organising the night and to the Irish-language organisations who have been supporting the establishment of the school so far as part of the ‘Aitheantas’ campaign,” he added.
The ‘Aitheantas’ campaign (Irish for ‘Recognition’) is an umbrella campaign under which a number of Irish-language organisations are co-operating to help establish the school on an unofficial basis, in order to pressurise the Department of Education to recognise the school as soon as possible.
The organisations involved are Glór na nGael, Conradh na Gaeilge, Comhluadar and Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge.
“We are very happy with the huge interest and positive attitude of all those who attended the night and we look forward to the successful opening of the school within a few weeks. Since the school is being funded on a unofficial basis and receives no State funding, we welcome all donations, big and small, to aid its success.
Anyone wishing to donate to the school or simply to get more information about it can contact us at gaelscoilrathto@gmail.com or phone (087) 332 8650,” Mr ” Buachalla concluded.
Meath Chronicle – John Donohoe
28 Iúil 2010
