Silent protest over FG Irish language policy
February 14, 2011
STUDENTS will gather outside the Dáil today for a “silent protest” against Fine Gael’s policy on the Irish language.
Party leader Enda Kenny last week reiterated his vow to abolish Irish as a compulsory subject at Leaving Certificate level if returned to power. Mr Kenny, himself a fluent Irish speaker, told Raidió na Gaeltachta that Irish as a compulsory subject had clearly failed. Instead, Fine Gael believes that if it is made optional at Leaving Cert, students fond of the language would be drawn towards it, thus helping Irish survive. But an online petition organised by Irish teachers calling for Fine Gael to reconsider its stance has so far attracted 15,000 signatures.
And the Union of Students of Ireland is today organising the “silent protest” outside the Dáil to make clear its opposition to the Fine Gael proposal. The organisers of the protest argue that making Irish optional “will cause irreparable damage to the future of our native tongue”. They claim that if it is optional, students will not choose Irish as a subject because languages are harder subjects to study in the Leaving Cert and it would no longer be available in every school. Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin reiterated his own opposition to the Fine Gael proposal yesterday. “I disagree with it and I’ve made that clear that I support the retention of Irish as a compulsory Leaving Certificate subject, because to remove it now I think would spell the death knell to the language,” Mr Martin said.
“I feel there’s been a tremendous renaissance in recent times, particularly in the cities, with young people in gaelscoileanna, who have transformed the attitude towards the Irish language across the country and outside the Gaeltachtaí. “I think the policy would have very negative impacts on the Gaeltachtaí and the economies of those areas in terms of summer colleges and the income that goes into those areas. “So many of those summer colleges that we’re all familiar with serve more than just a function in relation to language; I think they open up people to another world that’s important in terms of our cultural heritage.” Last week, Mr Kenny said his party’s manifesto would propose a period of consultation and review of the current curriculum before ultimately making Irish an optional subject for students after the Junior Certificate examination.
Irish Examiner – Paul O’Brien & Niall Murray
