Language Research

Updated (November 2002)

IRISH LANGUAGE MINISTER TO REVIEW A CONTROVERSIAL LANGUAGE SCHEME

The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, said he wanted to conduct a review of the "Speaking of Irish Scheme" (Scéim Labhairt na Gaeilge), which has been in operation since 1932. According to this controversial scheme, families whose children of school-going age are fluent in Irish get a grant of 260 Euro per year in the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area).

The Minister told the Irish language radio that he invites opinions from the public about the future of the scheme. He is not certain that financial incentives such as this one are the best way of ensuring the future of Irish as a community language in the Gaeltacht

Source: Eurolang News, Dublin, October 29, 2002, by John Walsh, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=3905

Top of page

Updated (February 2003)

CONTROVERSIAL IRISH LANGUAGE CRITERIA IN HOUSING DROPPED

A highly controversial proposal to restrict a house planning permission to fluent Irish speakers in the Conamara Gaeltacht has now been amended by its sponsor.

Councilor Pól Ó Foighil, a well known stalwart of the Gaeltacht community, had made this proposal to try to ensure that Irish speakers were given priority in housing in one of Ireland's largest Gaeltacht areas.

Galway County Council already requires a "language impact statement" from building applicants in the Gaeltacht. The 2000 Planning Act states that there must be mandatory policy objectives to protect the linguistic and cultural heritage of the area, including Irish.

Pól Ó Foighil's proposal to restrict a planning permission to Irish speakers evoked an enormous amount of controversy especially in the media in England. Many Irish papers also covered the story extensively. When the proposal was in the course of being accepted by the Council, it started to be criticized by an unexpected source - Irish speakers.

Councilor Ó Foighil suggested in an interview for Raidió na Gaeltachta that not only a planning applicant but also all members of his/her family must be fluent in the Irish language. This raised even stronger criticism from Irish speakers. Conamara people who had immigrated to Boston feared that they would not be able to return home with American spouses and families who do not speak Irish fluently. After their protests Pól Ó Foighil apologized and he also announced that he had put forward a new amendment to replace his earlier proposal.

This new amendment stresses that Gaeltacht emigrants will not be a subject of language restrictions. The authorities will help members of any family to learn or improve their Irish. Further amendments proposed at Galway County Council stress that there should be no compulsory level of fluency in the Irish language. Instead there will be a commitment by the authorities to provide support to anyone moving into the area that wishes to learn and use Irish.

Source: Eurolang, Belfast, February 18, 2003, by Eoghan Ó Néill, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=4096

Top of page

Updated (July 2005)

ÚDARÁS NA GAELTACHTA REVEALS AN AMBITIOUS PLAN TO STRENGTHEN IRISH

The Gaeltacht authority, Údarás na Gaeltachta, has revealed an ambitious plan to strengthen Irish as the community language of the Gaeltacht.

The launch of the comprehensive five-year plan coincides with the appointment of a new Údarás Chief Executive, Pádraig Ó hAoláin, who worked in Údarás for several years.

Údarás is primarily responsible for a job creation in the Gaeltacht. While at present there are 7,507 full-time employees in Údarás client companies, in 2003 it was 7,346.

In recent years the Údarás has been under pressure to play a role not just in the job creation but also in all aspects of language and community revitalization in the Gaeltacht. Its five-year plan emphasizes this new role as well.

Among the main proposals of the 2005-2010 plan are the following:

• the recruitment of a sociolinguistic expert for the language planning section;

• the establishment of thirty Irish-language learning and improvement centers in the seven Gaeltacht regions by 2006;

• the use of surplus State property for community projects, including affordable housing;

• actions to attract further investment specifically targeted at the Gaeltacht islands and other parts of the Gaeltacht, which are marginalized;

• and the creation of 800 jobs annually¹.

Between now and the end of the year, the authority will be consulting all the Gaeltacht communities in Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Meath, and will draw up joint action plans to secure the position of Irish or revitalize it where necessary. A language-planning advisory group will in future provide ongoing expert guidance to the authority.

Mr. Ó hAoláin recognizes seriousness of the challenges, which the Gaeltacht is now facing. According to surveys, the size of Irish language communities has been reduced recently and the language has a smaller community and family foothold in comparison with the past thus it needs to be protected and invigorated so it could grow as a living language.

Many of the new language initiatives will be aimed at the largely English-speaking Galway suburbs, which are still officially in the Gaeltacht.

If the five-year plan succeeds, the number of employees in Údarás client companies in the Gaeltacht should rise to 8,500 by 2010.

Source: Eurolang News, Baile Atha Cliath/Dublin, May 17, 2005, by Eoghan Ó Neill, http://www.eurolang.net/news.asp?id=5022

1. Particularly creating employment in language and cultural based ventures such as cultural tourism and marine activities.

Top of page

Updated (January 2006)

ONE MILLION EURO AVAILABLE TO HELP PROMOTE THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY

In December 2005, The Irish Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has announced that he will provide 1 million Euros to help groups and organizations promote the Irish language in the business community in cities and counties throughout Ireland. The scheme will be funded by means of sub-fund of Ciste na Gaeilge, organization financed from proceeds of the National Lottery, which works as a funding source for Irish language organizations, principally functioning outside the Gaeltacht, as well as various Irish language projects.

This fund will be valued at €1 million over a three-year period and a further 250,000 Euro will be added by means of joint funding. In order to apply, a group or organization must provide a business plan including specific targets relating to the promotion of the Irish language as well as the explanation of how these goals will be met. Moreover, they must first arrange joint funding and partnership with the Local Government and/or The Chamber of Commerce. Departmental funding will be based on a 3:1 ratio. It means that the department will provide three Euros while the Local Government and/or the Chamber of Commerce just one Euro. It has been established that a maximum funding of € 500,000 may be made available to any organization over a three-year period.

The Minister hopes that this fund will encourage chambers of commerce and local authorities to enter into a fruitful partnership with groups focused on promoting the Irish language in their local areas. He said that many business people have already had a very positive attitude towards the Irish language and this will certainly provide a very solid foundation to this scheme.

Source: http://www.ciemen.org/mercator/index-gb.htm

Top of page

Updated (January 2007)

THE IRISH GOVERNMENT: "STATEMENT ON THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2006" HAS BEEN LAUNCHED

The Irish Government has released a "Statement on the Irish Language", which is effectively a language plan for Irish in the 21st century and a step forward to development of a National Language Policy. The Taoiseach explained that past policies were aimed at reinstating Irish as the people's main spoken language, where now they plan to focus firmly on the practical development of a bilingual society where as many people as possible use both Irish and English with equal ease.

According to Government figures, almost 1.6 million people in the Republic of Ireland can speak Irish and 92% of people surveyed feel that promoting the Irish language is important to the country, to themselves personally or to both.

The statement commits the Government to the development of a twenty-year strategy based on 13 objectives, including:

• Full implementation of the Official Language Act and facilitation of the right to use Irish in dealings with the State;

• Provision of a wide range of services to parents who wish to raise their children through Irish;

• Continuous development of high-quality broadcast services through Irish, especially on TG4, RTÉ and Raidió na Gaeltachta;

• Special support for the Gaeltacht as an Irish-speaking area;

• Teaching of Irish as an obligatory subject from primary to Leaving Certificate level while fostering oral and written competence;

• Enhanced investment in professional development and ongoing support for teachers as well as in provision of textbooks and resources; and

• Further development of all-Irish secondary education.

In regard to the Statement, The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, said that the Government’s position is that Irish belongs to everyone at all levels of fluency. He added that continuing commitment of each government to the language has ensured the increasing number of Irish speakers in one census after another. According to him, this statement should be seen as a foundation for a new policy on which practical action with regard to the Irish language, based on a modern approach and a complete strategy, will be established.

Furthermore, the Government states that the following arrangements shall be made in preparing the strategy:

1. Fóram na Gaeilge will have an advisory role in advising the Minister in relation to the strategy.

2. A person shall be appointed in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to direct the work on a daily basis.

3. € 300,000 has been set aside to cover costs related to the preparation of the strategy in the next two years.

4. Experts will be employed on a contract basis to advise the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and the Government in relation to the strategy and worldwide expertise will be used in order to complete the work.

At the time of the preparation of the strategy, which should be developed within the next two years, the public will be consulted when necessary as the Government considers that public support for the statement and for the strategy is vital.

The Tánaiste (deputy prime minister), Michael McDowell T.D., said that as the Gaelscoil (Irish-speaking school) movement flourishes and initiatives like TG4 (TV channel) grow in popularity, the language is experiencing an unprecedented revival. "The fact that we have almost 100,000 people throughout the country who speak Irish on a daily basis outside school, is undoubtedly due to the Constitutional, legal and practical protection afforded to Irish in a post-independence society."

The Government Statement on the Irish Language has also made a commitment to giving assistance and support to the Institutions of the European Union in implementing the decision to make Irish a working and official language in the EU from 1 January 2007. The Irish government's press release states that this is a major step forward for the language, both at home and abroad. It means that, for the first time, Irish will be spoken and understood in the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. The Government will continue to work closely with the Institutions to help build Irish language capacity as this new and greatly enhanced status for Irish takes effect.

The government's statement on Irish has been welcome as it sets out the aims of the government in relation to the Irish language, the first such statement in more than 40 years to do so.

Source: Eurolang News, December 19, 2006 by Davyth Hicks

http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2788&Itemid=1&lang=en

Top of page