1,550 children in North Kildare denied the option of Irish-medium post-primary education
February 10, 2012
According to a recent statement from the Department of Education and Skills, an application for a new gaelcholáiste will not be included for consideration along with other applications for the patronage of the new school due to open in Maynooth in 2014. This decision means that Irish-medium education at post-primary level will not be available to more than 1,550 children attending Irish-medium primary schools in Maynooth, Kilcock, Leixlip and Dunboyne.
In July 2011 the Department of Education and Skills announced that a new post-primary school to cater for 1000 pupils is to open in Maynooth, and that prospective patrons might apply for patronage of that school. The criteria the Department will use to assess the applications were also published, and diversity of provision and parental choice were specifically mentioned.
It is clear that the campaign being run by the local community since 2005 to demand a gaelcholáiste for the area is being ignored. Co. Kildare VEC have made two previous applications for a gaelcholáiste in Maynooth (in 2007 and 2010) and more than 430 expressions of interest from parents have been collected by An Foras Pátrúnachta, the prospective patron chosen by the school’s founding committee for this new application. Despite the very strong evidence of parental demand, the Department is not taking diversity of provision or the preference of the people of North Kildare into account in the assessment of applications for patronage of the new school.
The founding committee for Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara Thuaidh surveyed local parents in 2010 on their preferences for post-primary provision in the area, and the results showed that a local gaelcholáiste was the first preference for 88% of those who responded. The demand for a new gaelcholáiste has been recognised by parents and the education community in North Kildare, by the patrons and by the wider Irish-medium education community, and it would be negligent of the Department to ignore it.
The Department does not appear to be following the criteria set out in the New Arrangements for the Patronage of New Schools or respecting the expressed wishes of parents in North Kildare. GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. demands that the application by An Foras Pátrúnachta for the patronage of the new school be given due consideration, and we ask that the Department of Education support Irish-medium education and the will of the community in Maynooth.
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. is the national coordinating organisation 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.
Further information:
Clare Spáinneach, Development Officer, GAELSCOILEANNA TEO.
Phone: 01 8535193 Email: cspainneach@gaelscoileanna.ie
Máirín Ní Chéileachair, Chairperson, Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara Thuaidh Founding Committee
Phone: 01 6290667 Email: mairinnicheileachair@gmail.com
