Gaeloideachas statement on the divestment of patronage and provision for Irish-medium education
February 1, 2017
It was announced on the 30th of January that the Department of Education & Skills have a new plan to accelerate provision of multi- and non-denominational schools through divestment of patronage. The Minister’s statement can be read on the Department of Education & Skills website: https://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2017-Press-Releases/PR17-01-30.html
Gaeloideachas welcomes the Minister’s commitment to progress regarding the divestment process. We recognise that it will provide Irish-medium schools with the opportunity to consider changes to their school’s patronage, or to their school’s religious ethos under their current patron. We understand that there will be a demand for this amongst Irish-medium schools, which is to be welcomed, and we hope that the divestment process will give schools the conviction and support necessary to make changes when it is clearly the wish of their school community.
Gaeloideachas is worried, however, that those communities who do not have Irish-medium primary education available to them will be neglected. The revised divestment process was not discussed with Education partners, including Gaeloideachas, in advance of the Minister’s statement, and we were given no opportunity to discuss our concerns. Neither assessment of demand for nor the provision of Irish-medium education is evident in the proposed process. This is in spite of provision for Irish-medium education being a primary aim of the divestment process as it was originally conceived.
The ‘live transfer’ approach to divestment outlined in the Minister’s statement is not appropriate when changing the language ethos of a school. It seems unlikely that this new process will allow for additional provision of Irish-medium schools. 30% of Irish-medium schools outside Gaeltacht areas are oversubscribed at present, and there are many areas where children have no access at all to Irish-medium education at primary level. Research published by the Economic and Social Research Institute stated that 23% of people would choose an Irish-medium primary school if there was one available to them, but at present the schools can cater for just 8% of our primary school children. No provision has been made in the proposed process to increase the number of places to meet this demand; children who would attend Irish-medium schools if there was an opportunity for them to are being excluded.
Gaeloideachas has written to the Minister for Education & Skills, Richard Bruton, and to the Secretary General of the Department of Education & Skills, Seán Ó Foghlú, to request urgent consultation with the Education Partners before the revised process is implemented, so that a fair opportunity be given to all to raise concerns about the potential impact of the process on children, parents and schools. Schools are welcome to contact us directly to discuss the implications the process might have for their own school – contact Clare on 01-8535193 or clare@gaelscoileanna.ie.
