In January 2023, the Department of Education had a consultation on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. Below is our campaign for the consultation.
Can you help us to increase the provision of Irish-medium education for those who wish to choose it?
The Department of Education has opened a public consultation process to inform the development of a new policy for Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht. You can find more information about the Consultation from the Department of Education at this link.
Our main recommendations for change:
- That the number of students attending Irish-medium education be increased from 6.7% to 20% in the next 20 years
(The 20% objective recommended here aligns with the recruitment objective in the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, that at least 20% of new recruits to the public service will be proficient in Irish by the end of 2030, and with the percentage of Irish-medium advertising that public bodies must now do, arising from the same Act. Also, in Wales the government has committed to the goal that 40% of students will be attending Welsh-medium education by 2050) - That a new Gaelcholáiste will be established within 5 years in any school area that has a Gaelscoil, but does not already have a Gaelcholáiste
- That a strategy be implemented within two years to ensure a supply of teachers for Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí (in the case of Gaelcholáistí, a sufficient number of teachers must be available to provide a satisfactory range of subjects)
How to take part in the Consultation?
- Click here to view a template submission you can send or edit for the consultation on Irish-medium education.
- You can send a written submission with the above points and/or other information to POLG@education.gov.ie.
- There is an online survey that you can fill at the following link: https://dessurveys.education.gov.ie/surveys/polg
Recommendations from Gaeloideachas for the survey are available at this link and from An Foras Pátrúnachta available at this link.
Deadline
The deadline for submissions to the Consultation is 16 January 2023.