Ó Murchú, Helen - More Facts About Irish, Vol 2 (Coiste Na HÉireann Den Bhiúró Eorpach Do Theangacha Neamhfhorleathana 2014)

Coiste na hireann den Bhir Eorpach do
Theangacha Neamhfhorleathana Teoranta
M
M
MORE FACTS ABOUT IRISH
Volume 2
Helen Murch
Copyright text: Helen and Mirtn Murch

Volune 2 Published 2014
Published by:
Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge
46 Srid Chill Dara,
Baile tha Cliath 2.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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without first seeking the written permission of the copyright
owners and of the authors and publisher.
Design Production:
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Based on an original design by
Atelier David Smith www.atelier.ie
Le maoini Fhoras na Gaeilge
Published with the financial assistance of Foras na Gaeilge
DO CHCH D BHFUIL THOS LEIS AN GCUCHIRI AGUS LEIS AN EASPA FSE

To all who are victims of rationalisation and lack of vision
CONTENTS
Additions to the 2008 edition are highlighted in black.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
IRELAND: LAND, LANGUAGE, PEOPLE
HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENT
NO LAND IS WITHOUT ITS HISTORY
43
43
The Diaspora
43
Tourism43
The Irish in the world
43
Scientific achievement
48
Ratings49
Changing times, changing focus
51
THE ECONOMY
51
The banking sector

52
The National Recovery Plan 2011-2014
53
EU/ECB/IMF assistance: Programme of Support
53
Analyses of the crisis: repercussions and reports
57
Outcomes61
Social outcomes
61
Citizens reaction
62
Culture as a national asset
63
LANGUAGE MATTERS AND RECESSION
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
66
66
Two visits
66
Two elections
67
Language and politics
70
20-Year Strategy for Irish
70
Irish pre-General Election 2011
70
General Election 2011
71
New Coalition Fine Gael/Labour Party
72
Reform73
Coalitions and citizens
74
Language affairs and the new Fine Gael/Labour Coalition
75
Department with responsibility for the language
75
Language and the implications of fiscal problems
76
More Facts About Irish
Language and Coalition 2011 (Fine Gael/Labour Party)

Towards Recovery: Programme for a National Government 2011-2016
Changes to the 20-Year Strategy for Irish
Reaction to the changes
Presidential Election 2011
76
76
77
79
79
SOCIETY80
Population80
Marriage and birth rate
80
Children and youth
80
Referendum on childrens rights
81
RELIGION81
NO PEOPLE IS WITHOUT ITS MYTHS AND PARTICULAR CULTURE
82
History82
Tradition82
Culture84
Whats in a name?
Celtic origins
The Irish
SYMBOLS OF THE STATE
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH
85
85
No language is without its heroes

STILL A REPUBLIC?
1. THE IRISH LANGUAGE

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
STATUS
Affinities and name

Social and political history
Records and varieties
Modern spoken and written varieties
Modern literature
86
2. THE PRESENT
LANGUAGE COMMUNITY
TERRITORIALITY AND PERSONALITY
89
DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
89
ABILITY IN IRISH
An Ghaeltacht 1996-2006
89
ABILITY AND SURVEYS
Survey conducted by Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge and other language

organisations (organisation for teachers of Irish)
Survey by Ireach
CENSUSES 2006 (ROI) AND 2001 (NI)
89
89
90
91
Language and occupational status: Linguistic litism in the Irish labour market 91
CENSUS 2011: NUMBERS OF SPEAKERS
92
CONTEXT92
Census 2011: Consequences of migration patterns
93
RESULTS94
General94
Irish language
94
CENSUS 2011: ABILITY IN IRISH IN THE GAELTACHT
95
SUMMARY ON ABILITY: CENSUSES 1851-2006

SUMMARY ON ABILITY IN IRISH IN THE GENERAL POPULATION:
CENSUSES 1851-2011
97
CENSUS 2011: USE OF IRISH
97
USE OF IRISH 1991-2002

Changes in competence
Census 1996: Use of Irish
Census 2002: Use of Irish
Use of Irish among preschool children 2002
CHANGES IN THE INTERCENSAL PERIOD 2002-2006
Immigration and its effects
Effects: Entry requirements for An Garda Sochna and Army
The organisation iMeasc
Language
Surveys
Attitudes
Ability
Use
An Ghaeltacht
Preliminary population returns

Ability and use of Irish in the State 2006
Ability and use of Irish in the Gaeltacht 2006
Ability and use of Irish outside the Gaeltacht 2006
Ability and use of Irish in various locations in the State 2006
Use of Irish among preschool children 2006
Ability and use of Irish among certain ethnic/cultural groups
SUMMARY ON USE: CENSUSES 2006 AND 2011
99
USE OF IRISH IN THE GAELTACHT 2011

SUMMARY OF ABILITY AND DAILY USE IN THE GAELTACHT 2011
100
ABILITY AND USE IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE STATE 2011
102
ATTITUDES: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

Attitudes: Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI)
All-Ireland Omnibus Survey 2000
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (NI) research 2001
Evaluation of language courses for civil servants (NI)
106
THE IRISH LANGUAGE AND THE IRISH PEOPLE

EMANCIPATION OF THE TRAVELLING PEOPLE
CARLOW IRISH LANGUAGE RESEARCH GROUP (GRPA TAIGHDE AR AN NGAEILGE
I GCEATHARLACH): PEOPLES EXPERIENCES AND OPINIONS ON THE IRISH
LANGUAGE IN CARLOW 2010
SURVEY ON IRISH IN EDUCATION CONDUCTED BY COMHAR NA MINTEOIR GAEILGE
AND OTHER LANGUAGE ORGANISATIONS (ORGANISATION FOR TEACHERS OF IRISH)
SURVEY ON EDUCATION CONDUCTED BY DIL NA NG (YOUTH PARLIAMENT)
SURVEY CONDUCTED BY MILLWARD BROWN LANSDOWNE FOR THE
IRISH INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
IPSOS MRBI 50TH ANNIVERSARY SURVEY REPORT NOVEMBER 2012
TAKE CHARGE OF CHANGE DECLARATION NOVEMBER 2012
AN GHAELTACHT
Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht
Decline and remedy: Family and community
DECLINE AND REMEDY: SCIM LABHAIRT NA GAEILGE
106
107
108
108
110
111
112
113
113
113
From Scim to Clr120

DECLINE AND REMEDY: EDUCATION
121
Preschool121
Primary school
121
Colist Samhraidh (Summer Colleges)
123
Adult education
123
Decline and remedy: The school
DECLINE AND REMEDY: THE FAMILY
DECLINE AND REMEDY: YOUTH
DECLINE AND REMEDY: LANGUAGE PLANNING AND THE COMMUNITY
DECLINE AND REMEDY: COMMUNITY AND OFFICIAL INITIATIVES
Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta

(MFG, Gaeltacht Development Working Group)
Fram agus Coimisin na Gaeltachta
5
123
124
124
125
125
Fram na Gaeltachta
Coimisin na Gaeltachta
Recommendations
Decline and remedy: State agencies in the Gaeltacht
Decline and remedy: Commissioned report on the Gaeltacht
Findings
Recommendations
Definition of Gaeltacht boundaries
Criteria for Gaeltacht status
Outcomes of proposals on criteria for Gaeltacht status
Towards criteria
PHYSICAL PLANNING IN THE GAELTACHT126
The Planning and Development Act 2000

Planning issues in the Gaeltacht
Language organisations and planning issues
An Bord Pleanla
Conditions and implementation
DECLINE AND REMEDY: PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE
2010-2030 (STRAITIS 20 BLIAIN DON GHAEILGE 2010-2030)
126
Context
The school
Language planning and the community
Towards criteria
Physical planning in the Gaeltacht
COALITION 2011 (FINE GAEL/LABOUR): CHANGES TO THE DRAFT STRATEGY
126
126
127
127
127
127
127
New definition of the Gaeltacht128

BILLE GAELTACHTA 2012 (GAELTACHT BILL)
General Context
Priseas Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Process)
Political context
Content of the Gaeltacht Act 2012
Language planning criteria
Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas
Gaeltacht Service Towns
Irish Language Networks
dars na Gaeltachta
Points of criticism
Points welcomed
DECISIONS ON PLANNING AREAS AND CRITERIA
SUMMARY ON COMPETENCE AND USE
128
128
128
130
130
130
130
131
131
131
132
133
133
134
ABILITY134
In the State
134
In the Gaeltacht134
USE135
In the State
135
In the Gaeltacht135
3. CONSTITUTIONAL,
LEGAL and ADMINISTRATIVE
PROVISION for IRISH
POLICIES OF REVERSAL
137
CONSTITUTION137
Referenda137
Constitutional Convention
137
LEGISLATION AND TRANSLATION
138
Court rulings on the translation of legislation and associated documents

138
Government response to Court rulings
139
An Bille um an Dl Sibhialta (Forlacha Ilghnitheacha), Civil Law
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2011
139
Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012
140
Environment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2011: Logainmneacha
(Placenames)141
Other legal matters
141
Bille Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Bill)
142
Other legislation proposed for 2012
142
Lr-Aonad Aistrichin (Central Translation Unit)
143
Publications144
Interpretation144
REVIEW OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT 2003
Changes to the Office of An Coimisinir

NON-LANGUAGE SPECIFIC LEGISLATION
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

Linguistic rights of citizens
Evolution of the Act
Coimisinir na dTeangacha Oifigila
REPORTS OF AN COIMISINIR TEANGA
144
146
148
148
148
Inaugural Report 2004

Annual Report 2005
Annual Report 2006
Annual Reports 2008 2010
148
Complaints149
Compliance Monitoring and Audits
150
Monitoring of telephone service
150
Monitoring of recommendations of investigations
150
Monitoring of compliance with the regulations issued on stationery
151
Monitoring of the draft development plans and development plans
of local authorities
151
Monitoring of annual reports and audited accounts/financial
statements of bodies
151
Investigations151
Language Schemes
151
Reports to the Houses of the Oireachtas152
Annual Report 2011
153
Context153
Investigations153
Complaints154
Language Schemes
154
Merger
154
PROGRESS OR NOT?
THE LEGISLATURE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS AND GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR LANGUAGE AFFAIRS
154
156
156
157
Context157
DEPARTMENT OF ARTS, HERITAGE AND THE GAELTACHT (2011)158
Functions158
Language, schemes and funding
159
Gaeltacht160
Grant-aid to third-level institutions
161
Some examples of grant-funding 2012
162
Budget 2013
163
LOCATION OF BROADCASTING AND OTHER CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
163
SUMMARY ON LEGISLATIVE AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION (TO 2007)

DARS NA GAELTACHTA (GAELTACHT AUTHORITY)
Background and composition
Powers, functions and recommendations
New directions
Funding
FORAS NA GAEILGE
Background and composition
Foras na Gaeilge: Political context and funding of language
organisations and initiatives
Functions of Foras na Gaeilge
Funding of Foras na Gaeilge
Funding by Foras na Gaeilge
Foras na Gaeilge and planning for the language
STRUCTURAL PROPOSALS 2009-2011
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY, RURAL AND GAELTACHT AFFAIRS TO
DEPARTMENT OF ARTS, HERITAGE AND THE GAELTACHT VIA SPORT, TOURISM
165
165
Departmental arrangements having implications for Irish language affairs

166
Funding of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht167
DARS NA GAELTACHTA TO DARS NA GAEILGE
(TO DARS NA GAEILGE/NA GAELTACHTA TO DARS NA GAELTACHTA)
167
Context167
Tumultuous times: 2009-2011
168
Current status (end 2012)

Appointment of Chief Executive
Grants and employment
Community and language
Reaction to the changes in the rle of dars na Gaeltachta
FORAS NA GAEILGE
169
170
170
171
171
172
Context172
An Foras Teanga and the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC)
172
Funding and Foras na Gaeilge
173
Funding of Foras na Gaeilge (FNG)
173
175
New Funding Model and Schemes
176
STRUCTURES AS PROPOSED IN THE FIONTAR (DCU)
REPORT ON 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE
STRUCTURES AS PROPOSED IN THE DRAFT
20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030
STRUCTURES AS PROPOSED IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY
FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030 (FINAL, DECEMBER 2010)
STRUCTURES AS DECIDED IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY
FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: CHANGES (FINAL, 3 JUNE 2011)
Reaction to the June 2011 changes

Further developments October 2011
STRUCTURES AND ACTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY
(2 NOVEMBER 2011)
OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE MEETINGS ON THE STRATEGY AND RELATED MATTERS
(MARCH 2014)
176
176
177
178
179
179
180
180
SUMMARY ON LEGISLATIVE AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION (2007 ONWARD)
180
LEGAL SYSTEM, POLICE AND DEFENCE
181
LEGAL SYSTEM: COMPETENCE AND SERVICE IN IRISH
Training and translation

Terminology
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR
THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: RSUM
AN GARDA SOCHNA (POLICE)
GLAIGH NA HIREANN (DEFENCE FORCES)
PLANNING FOR A BILINGUAL PUBLIC SERVICE

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ON A BILINGUAL PUBLIC SERVICE
IN THE FIONTAR REPORT
Strategic policy requirement

Language advocates (tathantir teanga) or mentors
GAELEAGRAS NA SEIRBHSE POIBL
TECHNOLOGY AND PUBLIC SERVICE
181
181
181
182
183
184
184
185
185
185
185
185
187
Postcodes187
IRISH LANGUAGE OFFICERS, SCHEMES AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE
Government Departments
Public Bodies
Third-level institutions
Local authorities
Health Services
Training for Irish Language Officers
Evidence of language planning through official structures
Other State-established cultural agencies
CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
STATE LANGUAGE PLANNING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

State-initiated committees to advise on planning
Government Statement on the Irish Language, 19 December 2006
188
188
188
189
189
189
190
190
190
190
Background
190
Comparison
191
The Fiontar (DCU) Report
191
The Government (Draft) Strategy
192
Criticism of the Draft Strategy
193
Planned legislation arising out of the Draft Strategy
194
Domestic194
194
EU legislation
194
FINE GAEL/LABOUR COALITION AND LANGUAGE POLICY
194
LOGAINMNEACHA (PLACENAMES)
History and background
195
AN DAINGEAN AND RELATED ISSUES
Research funding for placenames

IRISH IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)
Background 1972
EU regulations
Ireland and the Irish language
Background 1986 1998
Status of Irish in Europe
Enhanced status sought for Irish in Europe
Background 1998 2003
Status of Irish in Europe on the political agenda
2003 onwards
The action group STDAS
Government decision
Next steps
Public and political reaction
10
195
OFFICIAL STATUS OF IRISH IN THE EU: PRACTICAL OUTCOMES

In Europe
Practical outcomes for the Irish State
Language competencies
Other concerns
First of January 2007 and since
The Strategy and practical outcomes for the Irish State

Irish in the EU and ICT research
FIONTAR REPORT
SOME CRITICISMS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Application of the derogation

Job opportunities
TRAINING COURSES FOR LANGUAGE COMPETENCIES
198
198
198
198
198
198
198
199
200
Ireland and Europe

CORPUS PLANNING
Dictionary provision
1904 1999
2000 2008
CORPUS PLANNING: DICTIONARY PROVISION
DICTIONARY PROVISION 2008 2011
Foras na Gaeilge: Foclir Barla-Gaeilge (English-Irish Dictionary)
RIA DICTIONARY INITIATIVES
Dictionary of the Irish Language (1913 1976)

Foclir na Nua-Ghaeilge (FNG, Dictionary of Modern Irish)
200
200
200
200
200
201
201
201
SCHOOL OF CELTIC STUDIES
SUMMARY ON DICTIONARY PROVISION

CORPUS PLANNING script, orthography, grammar, standard and related issues: Evolution
and promulgation
Script
Orthography
Grammar
Spoken standard
Simplification
Terminology and its promulgation
Translation and interpretation
Literature in translation
An Gm
DEVELOPMENTS IN CORPUS PLANNING
TRANSLATION
Lr-Aonad Aistrichin (Central Translation Unit) and related matters

ISSUES OF STANDARD, GRAMMAR, MORPHO-PHONOLOGY AND SIMPLIFICATION
Official standard
TERMINOLOGY
11
202
202
202
203
203
204
FUNDING FOR IRISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

LANGUAGE AND THE ECONOMY 2007 ONWARDS
205
205
Context and background

205
Budgets, programmes and plans
205
Budget 2009 (14 October 2008)
206
Some examples of the practical outcomes of Budget 2009
on State-funded bodies
206
Citizens rights
206
Instances of public debate
207
Supplementary Budget 2009 (April 2009)
208
Budget 2010 (December 2009)
209
Infrastructure Investment Priorities Programme 2010-2016 (July 2010) 210
The National Recovery Plan 2011 2014 (November 2010)
210
Budget 2011 (December 2010 onwards)
211
Preparations for Budget 2012
214
Budget 2012 and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (D/AHG)214
Report on the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE):
D/AHG Submission and CRE Allocations 2012-2014
214
Departmental figures early 2012
216
Revised Estimates for Public Services 2012 (23 February 2012)
218
Budget 2013 and D/AHG
223
Budget 2014
223
Budgets, recessionary times and Foras na Gaeilge
224
ADVISORY GROUP REPORTS
224
The Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes

and subsequent McCarthy Report An Bord Snip Nua (July 2009)
224
An Bord Snip Nua and the Irish language
225
Department with responsibility for Language Affairs
225
Foras na Gaeilge
226
Education227
Broadcasting227
State commercial bodies
227
The Active Citizenship Office
227
The Local Government Efficiency Review Group
227
Implications for language
228
The Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities (July 2010)
228
230
Government decisions
231
Non-commercial State agencies
232
EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY ON THE GRANT-AIDED
VOLUNTARY SECTOR FOR IRISH
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: THE WIDER VOLUNTARY SECTOR
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, SNIP REPORT AND THE WIDER VOLUNTARY
SECTOR: RATIONALE
FINE GAEL/LABOUR PARTY COALITION AND THE WIDER VOLUNTARY SECTOR
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE GRANT-AIDED VOLUNTARY SECTOR
THE IRISH LANGUAGE SECTOR: DEFINITIONS
12
233
233
234
235
236
236
THE IRISH LANGUAGE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Background and context: The Department

NORTH SOUTH BODIES UNDER THE AEGIS OF THE (THEN)
DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITY, EQUALITY AND GAELTACHT AFFAIRS:
UISCEBHEALA IREANN (WATERWAYS IRELAND)
Practical arrangements: Resources
237
237
237
238
238
A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT FOR IRISH LANGUAGE CORE-FUNDED

ORGANISATIONS: RSUM
238
CONTEXT AND CHANGE

RSUM: FORAS NA GAEILGE (FNG)
RSUM: THE CORE-FUNDED VOLUNTARY SECTOR OF 19 ORGANISATIONS
238
238
242
Lobbying and third consultation

New Funding Model Mark II: The Way Forward
CONTEXTUAL DEVELOPMENTS JUNE 2011-JUNE 2012
243
243
245
The legal position

245
The political position
246
Consultations conducted by FNG
246
Outcomes248
The Sector
248
North South Ministerial Council
248
NI Assembly resolution and debate
249
Dil ireann
252
Oireachtas Joint Committee
253
Council of Europe (2011-2012)
253
Media254
DEVELOPMENTS JUNE 2012 TO END 2013
254
CONCLUSIONS256
FUNDING: THE CORE-FUNDED IRISH LANGUAGE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

AND FORAS NA GAEILGE
258
CONTEXT
258
COSTS258
FUNDING OF THE CORE-FUNDED SECTOR 2009 ONWARDS
259
RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE GRANTS COMMITTEE (MARCH 2010)
259
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GRANTS COMMITTEE (JUNE 2010)
261
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GRANTS COMMITTEE (MAY 2011)
262
264

THE IRISH LANGUAGE VOLUNTARY SECTOR: SOME EFFORTS AT SELF-FINANCING
SUMMARY ON THE STATES EVOLVING PROVISIONS FOR IRISH

INTEGRATED LANGUAGE PLANNING OR MANAGEMENT
IDEOLOGY
13
264
264
265
265
265
3. APPENDIX
ORGANISATIONS: DETAILS
268
CONTEXT268
THE NORTH/SOUTH BODIES UNDER THE AEGIS OF THE (THEN) DEPARTMENT FOR
COMMUNITY, EQUALITY AND GAELTACHT AFFAIRS
268
DETAILS: FORAS NA GAEILGE (FNG)268
Beginning of a process: FNG Board Minutes 2007 & 2009 strategic aims and funding priorities
268
Reports from FNG and consequent NSMC decisions:
Review of the core-funded Sector
269
Reports from FNG and consequent NSMC decisions: Reconfiguration
270
FNG Board Minutes 2010: rationalisation and new funding model
271
Reports from FNG and consequent NSMC decisions:
New Funding Model [Mark I] based on Schemes
271
Steps in a process: FNG 2008-2010272
Steps in a process: NSMC November 2010
274
Public consultations and information on schemes 2010 to 2011
274
Continuing steps in a process: NSMC 2011-2012
276
Public consultation 2011-2012
277
Context277
Arrangements278
Information on schemes
280
Funding and staffing
280
Draft Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)
281
Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)
281
Preparation of business case for FNG New Funding Model
through schemes
282
FNG and strategic priorities 2005 2011
282
Schemes and comparisons
284
New Funding Model (Mark II)
285
FNG: possible rationale for schemes
287
Possibilities other than the FNG schemes/themes
288
DETAILS: RESPONSE OF THE CORE-FUNDED VOLUNTARY SECTOR
288
Review by FNG; Report by the Sector

289
Discussion documents from the Sector to FNG290
I dTreo na Fse [In translation from the online version in Irish]
290
Athstruchtr na nEagraochta Bunmhaoinithe
(Restructuring of the Core-funded Sector)
291
An Fram Comhphleanla (Joint Planning Forum)
291
Demands of the Sector
292
Schemes and funding: views of the Sector
292
Joint change management structure
293
Lobbying leading to third consultation
294
294
14
4. ACQUISITION PLANNING:
EDUCATION
IRISH EDUCATION IN CONTEXT
298
GENERAL CONTEXT 2007-2012

298
LEGISLATION298
Vocational Education sector

Future Development of the Further Education and Training (FET) sector
The Education (Amendment) Bill 2012
298
300
301
STATISTICS302
STATE EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION
303
IRISH LANGUAGE CONTEXT 2007-2011
304
Research publications on Irish
305
ACQUISITION PLANNING THROUGH EDUCATION
305
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: RSUM
305
Context
305
Preschool education
305
Primary education
305
Post-primary education
306
National assessment
306
Primary306
Post-primary306
Teacher education
306
Mainstream Primary
306
- a new Gaeltacht scholarship scheme.Irish-medium
Primary and Post-primary
306
Support system
306
General306
Irish-medium
307
Links to use of Irish out of school
307
Third-level education
307
General307
Irish-medium
307
Academic307
Abroad307
Adult education
307
FIONTAR REPORT: ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Department of Education and Science (DES) [now Education and Skills]

An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaochta (COGG)
SOME ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS
Context
Aims
Proposals
15
307
307
307
308
308
308
308
POLICY CHANGES IN DIFFERENT AREAS 2007-2012

THE CROKE PARK AGREEMENT
EDUCATION REFORMS 2010
308
308
309
General309
Irish language
309
General
Irish language
References to Irish
New definition of the Gaeltacht
dars na Gaeltachta
CURRICULUM AND STUDENTS
COMPULSORY IRISH
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW POLICIES
310
310
310
312
312
312
312
313
313
313
New national policy on literacy and numeracy

313
Junior Cycle
313
Syllabuses314
System and legislative policies
314
CURRICULA314
Junior Certificate (JC) 2007 onwards

Junior Certificate to National Certificate of Junior Cycle Education 2011
Irish in the National Certificate of Junior Cycle Education
Leaving Certificate Irish 2007 and 2010
Meitheal Ghaeilge ATAL (LC Higher Level Irish Working Group/Party)
Review of the Senior Cycle
Reviews and schools abroad
The Leaving Certificate, the points system and entry to third level
Other proposals on curricula and forms of assessment
Irish and curricular reviews
Syllabus for Irish at third level
IRISH AT PRIMARY LEVEL
LITERACY THROUGHOUT THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
Some issues of context

Evidence of slippage in literacy skills
National assessments
International assessment from the OECD: Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA) of reading,
maths and science, December 2010
International assessment from the OECD: Programme
for International Student Assessment (PISA) of digital literacy,
Students on Line, June 2011
International survey on civic and citizenship education and on languages
Responses to the PISA results
International EU study
PIRLS and TIMSS: International reports on pupil achievement
International assessment from the OECD:
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) of
reading, maths and science, December 2013
Implications for Irish
16
314
315
316
316
317
318
318
319
319
319
320
320
320
320
320
320
321
321
322
322
322
323
324
324
NEW NATIONAL POLICY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY

IRISH AND THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY 2011-2020
324
326
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)

326
Teacher education
326
Curriculum327
Primary curriculum
327
Post-primary: Junior Cycle
328
Post-primary: Senior Cycle
329
Assessment329
Other proposals
330
Summer literacy camps
330
Literacy in English in gaelscoileanna330
IRISH AT POST-PRIMARY LEVEL
Statistics on students studying Irish
The current situation at Post-primary level
330
OPTIONAL IRISH FOR LEAVING CERTIFICATE (LC)

330
SURVEY ON IRISH IN EDUCATION CONDUCTED BY COMHAR NA MINTEOIR GAEILGE AND
OTHER LANGUAGE ORGANISATIONS (ORGANISATION FOR TEACHERS OF IRISH)
331
332
SURVEY CONDUCTED BY MILLWARD BROWN LANSDOWNE FOR THE IRISH INDEPENDENT
NEWSPAPER
334
FINE GAEL POLICY IN COALITION 2011
334
Counter-arguments
IRISH AND THIRD LEVEL: CURRENT SITUATION
335
EXEMPTIONS336
Context336
Exempted students studying other languages in addition to English
338
Exemptions granted 2007-2011
340
A way forward?
342
Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne
342
Special courses at Senior Cycle
343
Current official policy (early 2012)
344
IRISH AND THE STATE EXAMINATIONS
PRIMARY LEVEL
345
345
Assessment345
POST-PRIMARY LEVEL
346
Conduct of state examinations

346
Examinations: candidate numbers 346
Leaving Certificate (LC) applicant numbers and courses
Appeals and regradings
Appeals, regradings and languages offered for the
Leaving Certificate examination
347
Irish and examinations
Categories of programmes and students
Irish language assessment and certification
Languages offered for Leaving Certificate examination
STATISTICS ON NUMBERS TAKING IRISH IN STATE EXAMINATIONS
Leaving Certificate (LC)

Junior Certificate (JC)
17
348
348
350
IRISH AND CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS RESULTS
Leaving Certificate
Junior Certificate
JC optional school-based oral examination
LEVELS, GRADES AND GENDER
Leaving Certificate
Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA, since 1995)
Junior Certificate
IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION
STATE INITIATIVES
352
353
354
355
356
356
358
359
360
360
Literacy and teaching English in gaelscoileanna360

Research on literacy 2012
361
School accommodation policies
361
Evolution of current policy
361
Increased pupil teacher ratio and closure of small schools
362
Other measures of concern
363
Recent research
363
VOLUNTARY SUPPORT AGENCIES
364
POLICY AND STATISTICS AT 2012
364
NAONRA PRESCHOOL PROVISION
General context
Gaeltacht Naonra
Policy issues for Gaeltacht preschool provision
Development in the Gaeltacht sector
Naonra outside the Gaeltacht
Policy issues for preschool provision outside the Gaeltacht
Development in the sector outside the Gaeltacht
OVERALL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NAONRA SECTOR
GAELSCOILEANNA PRIMARY AND POST-PRIMARY PROVISION
General context
Internal policy issues
364
364
365
365
366
366
366
367
367
368
368
368
DEVELOPMENT368
Statistics368
Research372
POLICY AND SOME CURRENT CONCERNS/ACTIVITIES
Three areas of activity

The gaelscoil and the local parish
Statistics 2003 2004
Irish-medium education outside the Gaeltacht 2005 2006
Gaeltacht Naonra 2006 2007
Naonra outside Gaeltacht areas 2006 2007
Policy
Gaelscoileanna 2006 2007
18
372
372
373
NORTH/SOUTH COLLABORATION
North/South Committee on teacher education in the Irish-medium sector

North/South Standing Committee on Irish-medium education
Joint Policy
NI Review of Irish-medium Education, October 2008
GAELSCOILEANNA AND FORMS OF PATRONAGE
Effects of Gaelscoileanna: Domestic and European

IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION IN THE GAELTACHT
373
373
373
373
374
374
375
375
General context
375
Statistics376
IRISH-MEDIUM AND BILINGUAL EDUCATION: OVERVIEW
Primary education: Statistics and trends, continuum from Irish as curricular area to
Irish as medium of instruction
Post-primary education: Statistics and trends, continuum from Irish as curricular
area to Irish as medium of instruction
Development in the Gaelscoil sector
Current concerns
Linguistic policy statement
BILINGUAL EDUCATION: OVERVIEW 1976-2011
378
RESEARCH SUPPORT SYSTEM
379
GENERAL RESEARCH
379
Irish-medium sector
379
Irish language teaching and learning in schools
379
Primary379
Post-primary380
International
380
General Overview
381
IRISH AND MATHEMATICS IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL: RESEARCH RESULTS
AN CHOMHAIRLE UM OIDEACHAS GAELTACHTA IS GAELSCOLAOCHTA (COGG)
Campaign Supporting COGG (August, 2009)

Lobby against recommendations of An Bord SNIP Nua
to discontinue COGG
Materials from COGG
Current situation
Campaign Supporting COGG (December 2011) and decision
November 2012
Research on beginning or emergent literacy in Irish-medium schools
Research on the learning support system available for Irish-medium education
Research on Irish-medium education in the Gaeltacht
381
381
382
382
383
383
384
SUMMARY ON RESEARCH RESULTS
385
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION
385
OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR IRISH IN SCHOOLS: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS

(DES)385

OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR IRISH IN SCHOOLS: FORAS NA GAEILGE
Official support for Irish in schools: Department of Community, Rural and

Gaeltacht Affairs (D/CRGA)
19
385
385
OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR IRISH IN SCHOOLS: ICT

(INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY) AND IRISH
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION

Structures: voluntary
Structures: statutory
Structures: Gaeltacht
Voluntary structure for teachers of Irish
A designated Education Centre
STRUCTURES AND A DESIGNATED EDUCATION CENTRE
RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
LEARNING SUPPORT AND SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
SPECIAL ALLOWANCES IN THE IRISH-MEDIUM SECTOR
TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CURRENT SITUATION
EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION (ECCE): CECDE AND NCCA
385
386
386
386
387
388
388
388
388
389
Context389
The Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE)
389
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)
390
NEW NATIONAL POLICY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY: TEACHER EDUCATION
AND THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY 2011-2020

The National Strategy and Teacher Education
TEACHER EDUCATION
390
390
391
391
Context391
Primary
Irish: Requirements and practice
Postgraduate qualifications
Scrd Cilochta sa Ghaeilge (SCG: Qualifying examination in Irish)
Evolution of the qualification
Northern Ireland and the SCG
Gender and primary education
Teacher education through the medium of Irish: Primary sector
Teacher education and training: Post-primary
Competence in Irish and teachers at second level
Inservice
An Chomhairle Mhinteoireachta (The Teaching Council)
392
Strategy for the Review and Accreditation of [Existing]
Programmes of Initial Teacher Education
392
Reviews of primary teacher education programmes
392
Re-titling of postgraduate programmes
394
Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education (June 2011)
394
Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for
Programme Providers (June 2011)
394
Further Education: General and Programme Requirements for the
Accreditation of Teacher Education Qualifications
396
Induction and Probation
396
The Irish language requirement (ILR), registration and probation
396
Probation and Post-Primary Teachers
398
20
POINTS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY TO TEACHER EDUCATION
Primary 2009-2012
Early Childhood Education (and Care)
Post-Primary 2009-2012
Hibernia College
Gaeltacht courses
REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW PANEL ON THE STRUCTURE
OF INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION PROVISION IN IRELAND (JULY 2012)
Recommendations of the Review Panel

The Review of Teacher Education structures and Irish
TEACHER EDUCATION ENTRY CRITERIA
IRISH AS ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE AT THIRD LEVEL

INSTITUTIONS AND COURSES

TERTIARY EDUCATION
398
398
399
400
402
402
402
404
405
407
407
407
408
409

409
The Hunt Report/The Strategy for Higher Education
410
The Van Vught report on higher education
412
Irish Universities Association (IUA) proposals on possible re-organisation
at third level
413
HEA draft proposals 2013
413
DEBATE ON ENTRY MODES TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
416
Expansion416
The points system
417
Grade inflation
417
Policy options for third-level entry
417
Joint HEA/NCCA proposals to the Minister
419
University presidents, the points system and report to the Minister
419
IRISH AND THIRD-LEVEL ENTRY
420
RANKINGS420
Investment in research
CURRENT ARGUMENTS FOR IRISH IN THE THIRD-LEVEL SECTOR
Background
MATRICULATION REQUIREMENTS AND THE IRISH LANGUAGE
IRISH AS ENTRY REQUIREMENT TO THIRD-LEVEL COURSES
IRISH AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION
421
422
422
422
422
Coliste na hireann (sic)
428
HIGHER EDUCATION AUTHORITY (HEA)
428
AN IRISH-MEDIUM UNIVERSITY AND SUPPORT SYSTEM

Issues
University College Galway Amendment Act 2006: The language qualification
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG)
Fiontar, Dublin City University (DCU)
Third-Level provision in the Gaeltacht
Funding and lack of strategic planning
21
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR IRISH AT THIRD LEVEL: SCHOLARSHIPS,

BURSARIES, ACCOMMODATION AND STUDENT ORGANISATIONS
CURRENT PROVISION
THIRD-LEVEL SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME (DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS)
OIFIGIGH AGUS CUMAINN GHAEILGE (IRISH LANGUAGE OFFICERS AND ORGANISATIONS)
428
428
429
429
Gaeltacht resident students

Students in Irish-medium education outside the Gaeltacht
Campus support
Student activity
ADULT AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
430
GENERAL430
ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
430
GENERAL430
COLIST SAMHRAIDH (SUMMER COLLEGES)
430
TRAINEE TEACHERS
431
GAELTACHT432
IRISH AND THE DIASPORA
432
GLOBAL432
UK432
USA432
CANADA433
EUROPE433
OTHER433
FUNDING433
ASSESSMENT435
Permanent Gaeltacht project

Europe
IMMIGRANT DIASPORA IN IRELAND
ACQUISITION PLANNING THROUGH FAMILY TRANSMISSION

AND IRISH IN COMMUNITY LIFE
435
436
436
Context436
Aims436
Proposals436
SUMMARY ON IRISH IN EDUCATION 2007-2012
Irish in school
Teacher education
Education and the Irish-medium sector
Irish at Third Level
An Irish-medium university
Conclusion
SUMMARY ON IRISH IN EDUCATION 2007 ONWARD
TABLES
22
437
5. STATUS PLANNING
TELEVISION, RADIO, FILM, MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCTION
440
CONTEXT440
LEGISLATION: DOMESTIC
441
Broadcasting Act 2009

441
Irish and the Broadcasting Act 2009
442
BAI442
TG4442
Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 67 of 2011
442
Legislation: International
NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND THE IRISH LANGUAGE
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030:
TELEVISION, RADIO, FILM
442
443
General443
RT Raidi na Gaeltachta
443
Youth radio
443
TG4443
The independent production sector
443
DARS CRAOLACHIN NA HIREANN (BROADCASTING AUTHORITY OF IRELAND - BAI) 443
The BAI and Irish

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and Irish
Committee and Co-ordinator for Irish
Support schemes for radio broadcasters
Training, awards and publications
FUNDING CONTEXT
TELEVISION: PUBLIC SERVICE NATIONAL BROADCASTER
444
445
446
Background446
An Bealach ar Aghaidh (The Way Forward), A Proposed Strategy for
RTs Irish Language Output
447
TELEVISION: TG4449
Television: TG4 history, background and current status

TG4 and commissioning from independent production companies
TELEVISION: THE INDEPENDENT SECTOR
COMMUNITY TELEVISION
450
450
Youth and television

RADIO: PUBLIC SERVICE NATIONAL BROADCASTER
450
RT450
Raidi na Gaeltachta (RnaG)
COMMUNITY AND INDEPENDENT RADIO SECTOR: RAIDI NA LIFE AND OTHERS
Raidi na Life
Community and independent radio sector
Global listening
YOUTH BROADCASTING: RADIO
Raidi R-R
Demands and decisions
Research
Result
Publications on broadcasting
23
450
452
452
452
452
452
452
453
FILM453
Awards: Television
AWARDS: RADIO
MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCTION AND THE INTERNET
MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCTION
Multi-media production, publishing and the development of language skills

Information and Communication Technology
SUMMARY ON THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA
454
454
456
456
456
456
457
PUBLISHING457
PUBLISHING457
Rsum
Newspapers and news sources
Newspapers: Foinse and L Nua
FUNDING BY FORAS NA GAEILGE
457
457
458
Awards by Irish-language print media

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PRESS
459
MAGAZINES/JOURNALS/REVUES460
LOCAL GAELTACHT NEWSLETTERS AND REVIEWS
461
LITERARY AND PUBLISHING ACTIVITY
461
POLICY461
Discussion and debate

461
Research462
Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge (2007)
462
Foras na Gaeilge (2011 - 2012)
463
IS
BORD NA LEABHAR GAEILGE(BLG) TO CLR NA LEABHAR GAEILGE
Context
Funding for publishers
Scim na gCoimisin (Commissions Scheme)
Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge (BLG)
Publishing activity
Grant-aid
Publishing policy
Publishing for youth
LITERARY TRANSLATION IL/IRELAND LITERATURE EXCHANGE
(IDIRMHALARTN LITROCHT IREANN)
Translation from English

OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR PUBLISHING IN IRISH
SCHOOL OF CELTIC STUDIES AND AN GM
464
464
464
465
466
467
467
467
468
468
Literary and media prizes/awards and revues

LITERARY AND MEDIA PRIZES/AWARDS
24
468
MARKETING
Sales and income

Bookshops and libraries
Advertising and publicity
Media reporting and comment
469
470
470
MEDIA COMMENT
470
SUMMARY ON PUBLISHING
470
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: THEATRE
471
CONTEXT471
THE NATIONAL THEATRE
471
AMHARCLANN NISINTA NA GAEILGE AN TAIBHDHEARC
472
OTHER COMPANIES
472
Foras na Gaeilge funding for 2011

Siamsa Tre National Folk Theatre of Ireland
472
473
AMATEUR DRAMA IN IRISH
474
SUMMARY ON THE THEATRE
474
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: MUSIC AND DANCE
474
PRODUCTION: TRADITIONAL MUSIC

475
OPERA475
POPULAR MUSIC
475
Traditional music summer schools

Tradition as art and object of study
TRADITIONAL DANCE
CULTURAL CENTRES AND EVENTS

EXHIBITIONS/MUSEUMS/HERITAGE CENTRES
SUMMER SCHOOLS AND OTHER CULTURAL EVENTS
THE ARTS
476
476
476
476
477
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030 : THE ARTS 477
Rsum: Integrated Arts Strategy
477
CONTEXT477

Funding of An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council)
477
479
FUNDING OF ARTS IN IRISH BY AN CHOMHAIRLE EALAON

479
EALAN NA GAELTACHTA
479
LEGISLATION480
Planning for the arts: Arts strategy 2005 2008 and Irish arts
Literature in Irish
The traditional Arts
PLANNING FOR THE ARTS: ARTS COUNCIL STRATEGIC OVERVIEW 2011-2013
480
The Arts Council and Arts in Irish: Changing policy and approach
Aos Dna (People of Accomplishment)
ARTS OFFICERS
481
Culture Ireland
THE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
25
481
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: HERITAGE AND CULTURE IRELAND
483
SUMMARY ON CULTURAL LIFE
484
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE THE FAMILY AND TRANSMISSION OF IRISH 484
Context
Aims
Proposals
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: RELIGION
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (RC)
Services and pilgrimages

The Episcopate (RC)
Cumann na Sagart
The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector
Religious publishing
THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES
484
484
484
485
485
485
485
486
486
486
486
Services486
Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise (Irish Guild of the Church)
486
Publications487
OTHER FAITHS
FAITH SCHOOLS

IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: SPORT
NATIONAL SPORT AND CULTURAL ORGANISATIONS
CUMANN LTHCHLEAS GAEL (GAELIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION GAA)
Language, culture and the GAA

THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND (FAI)
OTHER FORMS OF SPORT
487
488
488
488
488
488
489
489
489
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: POLITICAL PARTIES
490
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: SOCIAL LIFE
490
Local groups and language plans

Resource Centres
ACHT NA GAELTACHTA (GAELTACHT ACT) 2012
490
490
490
491
National/Cultural organisations and centres

Local groups
NATIONAL/CULTURAL ORGANISATIONS AND CENTRES
491
LOCAL GROUPS
491
SUMMARY ON COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL LIFE
491
TABLES
26
6. ECONOMIC LIFE
ECONOMY AND LANGUAGE
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
LEGISLATION AND POLICY
Economy, employment and language

Branding and packaging
Schemes and awards in the private business sector
PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (STATE-SPONSORED BODIES)
PROFESSIONAL BODIES
493
493
493
493
493
494
494
494
495
National Organisations
TITLING OF COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES (Some current examples)
COMMERCIAL USES OF IRISH: NAMING COMPANIES, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
495
495
Packaging495
Companies & Services
495
THE BUSINESS SECTOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE
PUBLIC SECTOR
PRIVATE AND COMMUNITY SECTOR
FUNDING SCHEMES AND AWARDS
INTEGRATED SCHEMES
SUMMARY ON LANGUAGE AND ECONOMIC LIFE
496
496
496
498
498
498
7. THE VOLUNTARY
LANGUAGE MOVEMENT
VOLUNTARISM AND THE IRISH LANGUAGE
500
CONTEXT500

The voluntary sector
Conradh na Gaeilge The Gaelic League and its offshoots
Community-oriented activities
Target-group activities
Cultural activities
DIVERSITY OF THE SECTOR
Education
Specific target groups
Business-oriented
Culture and entertainment
Gaeltacht
Celtic languages
Glr na nGael All-Ireland competition
27
ASPECTS OF THE SECTOR

Constituent organisations (24) of Comhdhil Naisinta na Gaeilge
Education
Gaeltacht co-operatives
Community
Youth
Business-oriented
Traditional arts and drama
Women and family
Religion
Organisations listed in the schedule of the Act establishing Foras na Gaeilge
Funding for the voluntary sector
Professionalism and the future
The concepts of urban and virtual Gaeltacht
ASPECTS OF THE SECTOR 2006-2012
500
BACKGROUND500
501
Context
Proposed rle of the voluntary sector in the context of the Strategy
Other voluntary and community organisations with a language ethos
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE FIONTAR REPORT

RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE REPORT OF THE JOINT OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE
ON THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY (JULY 2010)
RESULTS OF REPORTS
THE SECTOR IN ACTION
501
501
501
501
501
501
502
502
Organisations502
Comhluadar (for families rearing their children through Irish)
502
Coliste na bhFiann (variety of services for young people)
502
Glr na nGael (community competition)
502
Oireachtas na Gaeilge
503
Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge (central steering council for the
Irish language community)
503
Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League)
503
Forbairt Feirste (language and economic development)
504
Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta (ESG, support organisation for
Gaeltacht schools)
504
Tuismitheoir na Gaeltachta (support organisation for Gaeltacht parents) 504
Groups504
Pobal Chluain Tarbh
504
Cairde Teoranta
504
Fram Phobal na Gaeilge (forum for Irish language community groups) 504
An Ghaeltacht
504
FUNDING FOR THE IRISH VOLUNTARY SECTOR
505
SUMMARY ON THE STATE AND THE IRISH VOLUNTARY SECTOR
505
TABLES
28
8. THE IRISH LANGUAGE in

NORTHERN IRELAND (NI)
THE PRESENT LANGUAGE COMMUNITY
DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
Knowledge of Irish and Ulster-Scots 2007

Census 2011 NI
Census 2011 NI: Results Phase One
Census 2011 NI and the Irish language
Census 2011 NI: Results Phase Two
507
507
507
509
510
511
511
SPEAKERS OF IRISH: CENSUS 2011 IN NORTHERN IRELAND

511
DRAFT STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
IRISH LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): FAMILY TRANSMISSION 513
CENSUS 2011 NI: ETHNIC GROUP, CITIZENSHIP, NATIONAL IDENTITY, MAIN LANGUAGE 513
Ethnic group
513
Citizenship514
National identity
514
Main Language
514
ULSTER-SCOTS514
Context514
DRAFT STRATEGY FOR ULSTER-SCOTS LANGUAGE, HERITAGE AND CULTURE
SPEAKERS OF ULSTER-SCOTS: CENSUS 2011 IN NORTHERN IRELAND
POLITICS IN NI 2007-2012
THE NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
515
518
519
519
Political Parties 2007-2012

519
2007-2008520
2009-2010 Devolution of powers in justice and policing
521
Assembly Election 2011 and Irish
522
Assembly Executive post-Election 2011
523
Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI)
523
Government and Opposition?
524
LOCAL AUTHORITIES
524
Local Elections 2011
525
WESTMINSTER ELECTIONS
EUROPEAN ELECTIONS
PARTIES AND POLICIES
525
526
526
A shared future and normalisation of relationships?

Union or re-unification?
526
528
PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT 2011 - 2015

529
ANNIVERSARIES AND COMMEMORATIONS
530
SOCIETY530
29
ECONOMY531
NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE UNITED KINGDOM
BUDGET 2011-2015
CUTS IN THE BUDGET OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, ARTS AND LEISURE
DRAFT STRATEGIC EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
TOWARDS A SHARED FUTURE IN THE AREAS OF BUSINESS AND CULTURE
PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT 2011-2015
ATTITUDES: NORTHERN IRELAND (NI)

531
531
532
532
533
533
533
533
Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report Number One (2012)

534
Gestures534
Identity
534
Community Relations
536
Politics536
Religion, society and economy
536
The Arts and Festivals
537
Sport537
Language and Culture
537
Conclusions of the Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report Number One
(2012) on Cohesion and Sharing
538
FINDINGS FROM THE NI OMNIBUS SURVEY 2012
Attitudes towards usage of Irish

Attitudes towards Irish as school subject (for those who wish it)
Attitudes towards the importance of Irish to NI culture.
ATTITUDES TO ULSTER-SCOTS 2010
IRISH AND ULSTER-SCOTS
538
538
541
542
546
549
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION FOR IRISH (TO 2007)

Reports 1990s
Some positive signs
The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998
New structures
An Foras Teanga
The Northern Ireland Assembly 2007
Language Diversity Branch (DCAL)
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION FOR IRISH 2007-2012
552
CONTEXT552
CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES
553
Third monitoring report 2010

COMEX, the Charter and legislation for Irish
THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE
PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
POLICIES FOR IRISH
553
554
555
555
Language policy and the Commission of the NI Assembly

555
Draft Language Policy
556
Northern Ireland Assembly Commission Good Relations Strategy 2012 2016 557
Lofa 2015557
Strategies
557
30
STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IRISH

LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012)
General background
General outline
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BELFAST (GOOD FRIDAY) AGREEMENT
Structures for Irish-medium education
Broadcasting
Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (RMLS): First report
The St. Andrews Agreement 2006
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and a Bill of Rights
NORTHERN IRELAND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AND A BILL OF RIGHTS 2009-2012
NI Human Rights Commission

A Bill of Rights for NI 2009-2012
ROI Human Rights Commission
THE COURTS AND POLICE
558
558
559
563
563
563
564
566
567
CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS
567
The Courts: Administration of Justice (Language) Act 1737

The Courts: Appointment of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
The Police (PSNI) and Irish
567
567
568
LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC SERVICES

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS: REDUCTION AND RE-ORGANISATION
Context 2011
Context 2012
567
568
569
569
569
SERVICES THROUGH IRISH

570
FORAS NA GAEILGE SCHEME570
PUBLIC SIGNAGE
572
Consultation on bilingual town and village signs 2011

Local Councils and street signs
Public services
Policies for Irish
Public signage
573
573
574
PLACENAMES575
Funding and expenditure on the Irish language

TOWARDS LANGUAGE LEGISLATION TO 2007
The Irish Language Act NI Acht na Gaeilge do Thuaisceart ireann
Content of the draft act of POBAL
Status of the draft act of POBAL
Official consultation paper on proposed language legislation
Draft clauses towards legislation
The restored Assembly and the Act for Irish
31
575
TOWARDS LANGUAGE LEGISLATION 2007-2012
577
BACKGROUND577
OFFICIAL APPROACHES
578
Some advances in 2011

Strategies North and South
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012) - AREAS FOR ACTION:
LEGISLATION AND STATUS OF THE LANGUAGE
Context
COMMUNITY APPROACHES
578
578
579
579
579
579
NI Irish language voluntary sector views on the 20-Year Strategy in the Republic 579
POBAL580
Irish Language Act NI 2012 and Strategic Framework for the Irish Language
in NI
582
Public attitudes to an Act for Irish in NI 2012
583
Conclusions585
CORPUS PLANNING
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): DICTIONARIES
586
586
SUMMARY ON LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION FOR IRISH
586
ACQUISITION OF IRISH THROUGH EDUCATION
586
Northern Ireland Assembly 3/08 (NIA 3/08)

DUP policy
BUDGET 2011-2015: FUNDING FOR EDUCATION
IRISH AS CURRICULAR AREA
STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
IRISH LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): IRISH IN THE
ENGLISH MEDIUM SECTOR
IRISH AND PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS
586
586
586
586
587
587
588
General background
588
Irish588
591
HISTORY591
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): AREAS FOR ACTION- EDUCATION 591
STATISTICS592
Development592
RESEARCH595

Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta and Department of Education research
POBAL and research on special needs education (SEN)
STRUCTURES AND SUPPORT
Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta
Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaochta
32
595
595
596
596
596
596
SUMMARY ON IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION

CURRENT CONCERNS
596
596
Administration and legislation: Educational and Skills Authority

596
Policy, accommodation and personnel needs
597
Resources597
Funding597
IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION ON THE ISLAND OF IRELAND
597
Current concerns
Administration and legislation
Strategic review on education: Bain report
Political concerns
Irish-medium education on the island of Ireland
GENERAL SUPPORT SYSTEM
598
COLLABORATION598
North/South collaboration
598
599
599
Joint Policy on Immersion Education
599
Resources599
Scholarship scheme
600
TERTIARY EDUCATION
THIRD-LEVEL EDUCATION
General Context
Success through Skills: Transforming Futures (2011)
Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland Graduating to Success (2012)
Languages on the curriculum
Education, employment and religion
600
601
602
602
602
602
602
602
603
TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: PRIMARY

604
NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION IN IRISH FOR TEACHERS
TRAINED OUTSIDE THE REPUBLIC (SCG)604
TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF IRISH
604
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): THIRD-LEVEL EDUCATION
604
INSERVICE605
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
605
605
FURTHER EDUCATION
605
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL
EDUCATION605
605
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): ADULT LANGUAGE LEARNING 605
606
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITY 606
33
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: BROADCASTING

LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION: CURRENT CONTEXT
D/CAL JULY 2012: STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT
OF THE IRISH LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION: BROADCASTING
PROPOSALS IN THE ROI 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030:
BROADCASTING
Broadcasting Act 2009 of the Republic of Ireland

THE BROADCASTING FUND
TG4 IN NI
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

COMMERCIAL SECTOR
606
606
607
607
607
607
608
609
609
Legislation and implementation

Communications Act 2003
The Broadcasting Fund
The Royal Charter of the BBC
TG4 in NI
Commercial sector
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: RADIO, TELEVISION,
FILM AND MULTI-MEDIA
609
RADIO609
609
BBC Radio and RnaG609

Community Radio
610
TELEVISION610
AUDIOVISUAL AND INTERACTIVE PRODUCTION NI
611
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): ONLINE AND NEW MEDIA
611
Radio
BBC Radio and RnaG
Community radio
Television
Audiovisual and interactive production NI
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: PUBLISHING
611

LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY
611
NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES AND PUBLISHERS
612
AWARDS613
613
BOOKSHOPS AND LIBRARIES
613
L/L Nua
An tUltach
Awards
Advertising
34
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
614
MUSIC614
EXHIBITIONS/MUSEUMS/HERITAGE CENTRES/FESTIVALS
614
THE ARTS
615
Legislation
The Arts Council NI and Arts in Irish: Composition and staff
Context615
Planning for the Arts
615
POBAL and the Arts Council (ACNI)
616
Consultation616
Funding for the Arts in Irish
616
IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL LIFE
Religion
Sport
Political parties
National/Cultural organisations and centres
Local groups
618
RELIGION618
The Churches
618
Context618
Religion and language in the 2001 and 2011 censuses
619
Religion and employment
619
Services620
620
East Belfast Mission
620
Education
620
Publications620
SPORT620
POLITICAL PARTIES
621
621
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): PHYSICAL RESOURCE CENTRES 621
LOCAL GROUPS
622
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): LOCAL LANGUAGE PLANS/
INITIATIVES622
35
ECONOMIC LIFE
624
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AND FUNDING

624
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS 624
EMPLOYMENT AND ADVERTISING
625
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): SERVICES AND SIGNAGE
625
AWARDS625
THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
626

LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): THE IMPORTANT ROLE
OF THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
626
CONTEXT626
ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVITY
626
Advocacy626
Community626
Education626
Drama and Broadcasting
627
Development and employment
627
All-island organisations
627
THE CONCEPTS OF URBAN AND VIRTUAL GAELTACHT
SUMMARY ON THE STATE AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR IN NI
TABLES
36
627
CONCLID
CONCLID AGUS MOLTA (MFAI 2008)
COMHTHACS AGUS CEISTEANNA
AN GHAEILGETEANGA MIONLAIGH N TEANGA MHIONLAIGH?
AN POBAL TEANGA INNIU
629
629
629
Cumas sa Ghaeilge
629
sid629
POLASAITHE AN STIT I LEITH NA GAEILGE
630
Forbairt630
An phleanil teanga
631
Pleanil agus bainistocht teanga ar bhonn comhthite
631
Id-eolaocht632
PLEANIL DON SEALBH TEANGAAN GHAEILGE SAN OIDEACHAS
632
An Ghaeilgemar bhar curaclaim

632
Oideachasminteoir632
An Ghaelscolaocht
632
Oideachas Gaeltachta
633
An Ghaeilge ag an tr leibhal agus Ollscoil ln-Ghaeilge
633
AN PHLEANIL STDAIS
EARNIL NA HEACNAMAOCHTA
AN EARNIL DHEONACH
634
634
634
Achoimre An Ghaeilge ar dhroim toinne!

CONCLUSIONS (MFAI 2014)
CONTEXT AND ISSUES
636
GENERAL636
IDEOLOGY AND POLICY
636
ASPECTS OF LEGISLATIVE, POLICY AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION 2007 ONWARD

637
SPEAKERS: ABILITY IN AND USE OF IRISH
639
ABILITY639
In the State
639
In the Gaeltacht639
In Northern Ireland
639
USE639
In the State and in the Gaeltacht639

Crux
639
IRISH IN EDUCATION 2007 ONWARD
37
640
IRISH IN DOMAINS OF STATUS PLANNING
642
BROADCASTING642
IRISH IN THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA
643
IRISH IN PUBLISHING
643
IRISH IN THE THEATRE
644
THE ARTS
644
IRISH IN CULTURAL LIFE
645
IRISH IN COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL LIFE
645
LOCAL GROUPS AND CENTRES

645
CHURCHES645
SPORT646
IRISH IN ECONOMIC LIFE
646
THE STATE AND THE IRISH VOLUNTARY SECTOR
646
Achoimre An Ghaeilge fs ar snmh!
38
FOREWORD
Helen Murch
39
More Facts About Irish Contents
The first edition of More Facts about Irish together with the accompanying CD attempted to cover the period up to 2007.
As it transpired, this proved a useful end point as many changes and developments have since occurred, in both general and
language matters. The additional material in this update, given below under the same general headings as in the previous text,
brings much of the information to early 2014. As in the original text, some slight repetition may occur in order to facilitate
readers with interest in specific areas. A more detailed Contents list has also been included. This list refers to the original book
plus disc published in 2008 as well as to this later updated version. This later updated text provides new facts for the later
period under new headings in addition to further new material under existing headings. All additions in the updated version
are therefore marked in black in the more detailed and comprehensive Contents list.

Since these are additions, it may prove useful at times for the reader to refer back to the original first text for more
complete context in relation to some items. As in the first edition, personal names are seldom used since office holders may
change. All material is in the public domain. Acknowledgement is due to the organisations and individuals, to the various
forms of media both in Irish and in English, to speakers at conferences and seminars, to parliamentary proceedings and to
departmental websites, all of which provided ongoing sources of information from North and South. Expressions of opinion
from the compiler (based on available facts) have also crept into the text at times. This will come as no surprise to those who
are personally acquainted with said compiler.

In language affairs, probably the most significant event of the years from 2007 to 2012 lay in a proposed more coherent,
even strategic, approach to language promotion, North and South. Two major reports were published in the Republic within
a short interval of each other in 2009, the Draft 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 (29 November 2009) issued
by the then Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (D/CR&GA) and the report of experts (dated February
2009; in the public domain December 2009), prepared for that department on the issue of the proposed Strategy by Fiontar,
Dublin City University (DCU). Both documents are available in Irish and in English on the Departments website. These were
followed by a report on the Strategy from the then Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Sport, Community, Equality and
Gaeltacht Affairs in July 2010. The (then) official version of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish was launched on 21 December 2010
in Government Buildings by the then Taoiseach and three senior cabinet ministers, on the heels of one of the most turbulent
political and fiscal upheaval the Irish state had ever endured as a sovereign entity. Before the General Election of February
2011, all parties gave support to the general thrust of the Strategy. The incoming changed Coalition Government of March
2011 initially made some changes to the Strategy during 2011. Implementation of the official structural support aspects of
the Strategy, as well as some elements of the educational aspects, began in 2010-2012. Publicising the Strategy to the public
was undertaken by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge in late 2011. Overall, however, by end 2012 it was generally felt in Irish
language circles that, in integrated operational terms, the 20- Year Strategy appeared to be in limbo. Extracts from the Strategy
are given in green in the relevant sections throughout the text including Chapter 8 on Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure introduced for public consultation in July 2012 the
long-awaited Draft Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language. Relevant extracts are given in
brown in Chapter 8, The Irish Language in Northern Ireland.

In 2012, a radical new interpretation of the term Gaeltacht which was based on linguistic rather than on solely
territorial grounds as formerly was established by Act.

During the period under review, the North/South body, Foras na Gaeilge, introduced plans for fairly unexpected new
funding arrangements for the 19 voluntary Irish language organisations it had been core-funding. The implications of these
planned changes to the status quo were viewed as ominous by the beneficiaries. More significantly, they signalled changes in the
State-Irish language voluntary sector relationship of a kind not previously seen in the history of the State.

Under the rubric of cost cutting and increased efficiency for citizens, several policy decisions were taken by both
Coalition Governments during the period 2007-2011 which appeared to have the effect of undermining the existing support
structures for Irish. Threatened closure or other form of change were mooted, if not immediately put into effect, for several
elements of that edifice: the department with responsibility for the language, the official body to support Irish-medium
education, COGG; the enterprise side of Udars na Gaeltachta. The Irish-language training body for the public service,
Gaeleagras na Seirbhse Poibl, was eventually put in orderly wind down although no comprehensive alternative system was put
in place. Some legislative changes were also introduced that would affect the Official Languages Act. More significantly, it was
proposed to amalgamate the independent office of An Coimisinir Teanga with the office of the Ombudsman.
40

Under the same rubric of achieving savings in public expenditure, several special groups were established by
Government. Their recommendations, if implemented in certain areas, could have possible negative repercussions for language
planning. They included the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes 2009 (popularly known
in bilingual fashion as An Bord Snip Nua); the Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities, July 2010; the Local Government
Efficiency Review Group (popularly known as An Bord Snip Eile). Non-commercial State agencies or quangos had already been
targeted since 2008 as sources of savings. They included some language-related bodies.

The content of all these reports and developments appears below, together with other updated information, under the
appropriate headings.

The changes in the overall economic and political environment, in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland,
are briefly summarised, given their potential to significantly affect language issues. In this context, some mention is also made
of Ulster-Scots in Northern Ireland, for which a draft Strategy for the Ulster-Scots language, heritage and culture was also issued
for public consultation in July 2012.

Throughout the years 2012 and 2013, little occurred to increase the confidence of the Irish-speaking community in
the States intentions towards the language. The resignation of An Coimisinir Teanga in December 2013 provided no small
degree of proof that their doubts had basis. These doubts culminated in a public march in Dublin by some 10,000 people in
January 2014. A similar event followed in Belfast.

In conclusion, it is difficult to disagree with the assessment of the managing director of Ipsos MRBI on the overall
results of the comprehensive survey conducted by the company during 2012 to commemorate its 50th anniversary (The Irish
Times, 26 November 2012):
Unfortunately, there is a long list of important issues being overshadowed by the economy add [to the global
environmental crisis] religion, government reform, Northern Ireland, the Irish language, trust in institutions, crime
and Europe.
A prolonged lack of focus on social and cultural issues will cost us dearly. [Bold added]
41
INTRODUCTION
IRELAND: LAND,
LANGUAGE,
PEOPLE
This Introduction attempts to give a brief account of the many contextual and complex economic and political
changes that occurred in the relatively short period under review (2007 onward), all of which have the potential to
influence matters linguistic. In counterbalance to these rapid changes, at the beginning and again at the end of this
introductory section, some items of general interest are added which, hopefully, may serve to illustrate those more
lasting traits which continue to make Ireland the country it is and the Irish the people they are.
HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENT

NO LAND IS WITHOUT ITS HISTORY
The Diaspora
Tourism
The Diaspora is always a source of fascinating material. Some additional examples are given in this update of More Facts About
Irish. In fact, during the period under review (2008 onwards), the Diaspora acquired new significance as will be recounted
below in the section on the economy and also in relation to a new emphasis on cultural tourism. Tourism was one of the few
sectors that received increased funding when cutbacks were more prevalent, receiving specific mention in the address of the
Minister for Finance when he presented the Budget for 2010 in December 2009, and again with further investment by the
succeeding Coalition during 2011. While the number of tourists fell by 16% in 2010, advance bookings showed some slight
improvement for 2011, encouraged no doubt by the visits by the Queen of England and the President of the United States
in May 2011. An increase of 15% on 2010 occurred for April-June 2011, this may be distorted by the lower figures for 2010
caused by the volcanic ash problems. Even before then, in December 2010, a survey among readers of one publishers travel
guides had put Ireland in 1st place (over Paris) as a tourist destination for 2011. In early 2012, another popular guide, the
Lonely Planet, was still of the view that Ireland largely because of people and places was still a place to visit.
The Bluestack Mountains of Donegal were recently added to the International Appalachian Trail (based on ancient land
masses). In September 2011, the Burren area of County Clare together with the Cliffs of Moher were made part of the global
network of 78 national geoparks in 26 countries, a Unesco-supported initiative. A mountain in Greenland has been named
after the Kerryman, Tom Crean, polar explorer, companion of Scott and Shackleton. Areas of historic and archaeological
interest continue to be unearthed in the hinterland of the passage tomb of Newgrange and the royal Hill of Tara. They include
Bremore where County Meath meets the east coast. Support groups for these ancient sites continue to lobby against eroding
development.
Nevertheless, in all this emphasis on the possible material benefits of tourism, the Gathering or Tstal, an official initiative
planned for 2013 with the aim of attracting some of the Diaspora to spend some time vacationing in Ireland, has not met with
universal enthusiasm. While there is no lack of hearty welcome, the cultural ambassador, film star Gabriel Byrne, pointed out
the lack of understanding inherent in such a possibly mercenary approach of the spiritual attachment many of the Diaspora
feel in relation to Ireland.
The Irish in the world

In advance of the March 2011 census in Britain a campaign was launched by the Federation of Irish Societies (FIS) to include
the category Irish in the census question on ethnicity and subsequent to their success with regard to this addition to the
census form to encourage those of Irish birth or descent to register their ethnic background as Irish. The Federation began
in 1973. Since 1983, annual meetings are held with the Irish Government and on a quarterly basis with the Irish Ambassador
in London. Contact is also maintained with British Government officials and the Federation provides secretarial support to
the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Irish in Britain. The organisation attends meetings of the British Irish Parliamentary
Assembly.
In the 2001 census in Britain, 628,800 reported as Irish-born. This, however, was no more than 1.2% of the population.
The number fell to 407,357 persons or 0.7% of the population who gave Ireland as country of birth in the 2011 census in
England and Wales. These figures may have increased since due to the economic difficulties in the Republic. The number
holding passports of the Republic of Ireland was reported at 409,065. The numbers reporting Irish only identity (in the new
census question) was 348,638 or 0.6% of the population. Irish was, however, also given with other combinations in response to
the question on identity. These included Irish and British (11,313 persons); Irish and Northern Irish (1,355); Irish, Northern
Irish, British (623); Irish with other combinations (English, Welsh, Scottish, with or without British) excluding Northern Irish
(25,692); Irish with other combinations including Northern Irish (462). This would bring the total, including those stating
Irish only, to 388,083 or 7% of the population in England and Wales, in March 2011, although some overlap may have
occurred in the box-ticking exercise of the multiple choice question on identity in the census.
43
Respondents reporting identity in the Census of England and Wales as Northern Irish only numbered 113,577 persons.
The category appeared in other combinations also. From the distribution of this same category in the NI Census results across
the local government districts, it appears to be distributed across districts associated traditionally with both the Catholic and
Protestant communities. The combined Irish only and Northern Irish only categories reach 462, 215 in numbers domiciled
in England and Wales from the island of Ireland
Research reported in January 2010 showed that Irish people, from both North and South, constitute a high percentage
of company directors in Britain, many being young people and 40% being female. In all, there are over 44,000 of them, as
researched by a London-based agency of the year founded by a Sligo man. A programme from an expense management
software company, systems@work, set up by an Offaly man, is now in use by MPs in Westminster.
The president (2011) of the Royal Institute of British Architects is a Dublin graduate, the second woman and first
Irish person to be elected. The Ontario Association of Architects was chaired by an Irishwoman until recently (late 2011).
The female vice-chairwoman of one of the largest engineering firms in New York is from Galway city. The president of
the Architects Council of Europe (2011) is also an Irishwoman. In May 2011, the UKRC (promoting the recognition of
women) gave recognition to an Irish female engineer working in the UK as a Woman of Outstanding Achievement. She had
been centrally involved with many projects, including the modern Terminal 5 at Heathrow and historic Portcullis House in
London. Unsurprisingly, the new president (2011) of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) is an Irishwoman.
Irish architects having to go abroad to seek work in the wake of the economic problems of the period 2007 onwards are now
making a name for themselves in different quarters of the globe. In recent years, Irish design teams have been responsible for a
list of prestigious buildings internationally: universities in Milan, in Lima, in Toulouse, in Buda-Pest, at the London School of
Economics (the new Students Centre) and at Birzeit University (new Palestinian Museum), West Bank; the pedestrian bridge
to the London Olympic Stadium; a new pier for Boston harbour; buildings in many Chinese cities as they expand. Of course,
an Irish team had already won the contract for the huge Grand Egyptian Museum in 2003. They follow in the footsteps of the
renowned Kevin Roche, designer of buildings such as the Oakland Museum in California, the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York and the National Conference Centre in Dublin. Buildings by Irish architects figure each year in the RIBA (Royal
Institute of British Architects) Awards.
The Diaspora then, both past and present still appear to influence the globe. For St. Patricks Day 2012 (17 March),
Niagara Falls will be lit up green on both sides, Canadian and US, as one of many worldwide landmarks to be so hued,
including the Tower of Pisa (for which permission was given by the church authorities). The town of Akranes, in West Iceland,
still celebrates every year the fact that it was settled in 880 by brothers who hailed from Ireland while Butte, Montana, in
the US, has an Irish community since the mining times of the late 1880s. Barcelona celebrated St. Patrick in 2012 with
the fourth international regatta of currachs (curach), the Irish traditional boat, several of which were made for the occasion.
This regatta is organised by two Irishmen in Barcelona, an artist and a businessman who established the Iomramh (Rowing)
Cultural Association for creative projects and networks between the maritime heritage of both countries. A very successful
Irish cultural week was held in 2011 in Old Havana Cuba has not forgotten the Irish background of Che Guevara and the
OReilly who helped defend the city in 1763. Similarly, the San Patricios, St. Patricks Battalion, are celebrated in Mexico for
their assistance during the Mexican-American War, 1846-1848, directly after the Great Famine in Ireland. The Community
Singers, a Caribbean folk group from Montserrat, are in fact the Emerald Community Singers with many Irish names going
back to the post-Cromwellian period in Ireland.
Not surprisingly, a survey conducted in nine countries in mid-2011 by the website www.lastminute.com is reported to
have found the Irish to be not alone the best travelled but the most daring; 93% had a list of places to go and things to do
compared to 19% of Swedes and 25% of Britons. But then the wonderful blue colour in the illustrated Book of Kells (circa
800 A.D.) came from powdered lapis lazuli imported from Afghanistan.
Among many other presidents of the United States, the current incumbent, President Barack Obama, has Irish ancestry
on his mothers side. His great great great grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, emigrated from Moneygall (Muine Gall), County
Offaly, from post-Famine Ireland circa 1850 to join other family members already settled in the States. This connection led to a
very successful, if brief, visit to Ireland by President Obama in May 2011. An historic connection recalled by President Obama
was that between the black slave, Frederick Douglass, who visited famine-stricken Ireland in 1845-1846 in his campaign for
the abolition of slavery and came to know the Irish leader, Daniel OConnell, the Liberator. Another such connection is
found in the recent book by Ian Kenneally, published by The Collins Press, which shows the significant role played by John
44
Boyle OReilly (born County Meath, 1844) in civil rights and equality for coloured Americans, particularly during his time
as editor of the Boston newspaper, The Pilot. President Theodore Roosevelt, while president, published a very knowledgeable
article on the ancient sagas of Ireland. In France, Charles de Gaulles great grandmother was Mac Cartan, one of the Wild
Geese families, originally from County Down. He spent some quiet time in County Kerry at the end of his period of office.
It has been noted that almost all the participants in the photograph of those gathered in the White House situation room
to watch the raid on the compound of Osama bin Laden have Irish connections.
Quite recently, in Staten Island, New York, the remains of many Irish immigrants from post-Famine (1840s) Ireland,
both adults and children, who had been buried in a mass grave, were placed in coffins in a receiving tomb awaiting graveyard
burial. They had died in the nearby quarantine hospital and a car park had been built over the mass grave in the 1950s. A letter
on display during mid 2010 as part of a exhibition on Old Istanbul in the Dublin office of the European Commission offers
thanks to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for his donation 1,000 for Famine relief in 1847.
From the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th over 25,000 women were sent to the penal colony Tasmania
in Australia. Many were sentenced for very minor or even trumped-up offences. A large proportion of these convicts, both
men and women, were from Ireland. The underlying intention was to help develop the country for Great Britain. The womens
stories are recounted in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. They have also been commemorated in Ireland. An exhibition
on the Irish in Australia was opened in Canberra for St. Patricks Day, 2011, perhaps the first such exhibition on an ethnic
group in that continent. The list of top 100 Irish-Australians published in the Irish Echo (Sydney), August 2009, was a picture
of the multi-faceted ways in which those of Irish extraction have enriched the Australian community over its history. They
represented every branch of life, writers, artists, politicians, sports people, lawyers and the occasional notorious outlaw.
Historians estimate the number of Irish soldiers who fought and died for France between 1691 (after the Treaty of
Limerick) and 1745 (Battle of Fontenoy) to be in the region of 450,000. If those serving in regiments other than the Irish
Brigades are included it reaches some 480,000. They are remembered at Fontenoy in Flanders every May. The Irish Brigade
was less successful at the Battle of Culloden on behalf of Bonnie Prince Charles Stuart but as members of the French army were
given prisoner of war status (The Irish Times 2 January 2013), not accorded the Highlanders.
In Paris, at the Muse de lArme, an exhibition spanning three centuries of Irish fighting for France ran from midFebruary to end April 2012. It included the many Irishwomen in the French Resistance during World War 2. The National
Museum at Collins Barracks in Dublin mounted a fascinating exhibition in July 2011 entitled Soldiers and Chiefs Irish
Soldiers at Home and Abroad since 1550. It includes the monumental painting, The Return of the 69th Irish Regiment, by Louis
Lang. This is an incredibly detailed account on canvas of the arrival in July 1861 of the defeated Northerners back up the
Hudson River to Manhattan, New York, in the wake of the Battle of Bull Run won by the Confederates in the American Civil
War. It was painted only 15 months after the event. The regiment included many who had left Ireland after the 1848 Rebellion
and many more who had to emigrate in the aftermath of the Famines of the 1840s. Thomas Francis Meagher is centre of the
painting, the man regarded as bringing the idea of the tricolour, flag of independent Ireland, back from France after the 1848
revolution in that country.
Closer to today, an American soldier of Irish extraction, of the same 69th Fighting Irish regiment, who learned his Irish
from the internet, became the subject of a documentary on the Irish language television channel TG4 in January 2012. It
shows his life as he journeys from his home in New York to use his Irish in Ireland in the Donegal Gaeltacht and then on to his
posting in Afghanistan.
Irish migrs also appear to have played their part in the French Revolution. Some were revolutionaries; another was among
those liberated from the Bastille where yet another was that prisons chaplain. It is known that another, an Irish priest, an
Edgeworth of the literary family of Edgeworthstown (Meathas Troim), County Longford, was with King Louis XVI in his last
moments as he mounted the scaffold. He lived to tell the tale. Much later, the Anglo-Irish journalist James Bourchier, who died
in 1920, played a considerable role on behalf of Bulgaria and was honoured for it by being accorded a state funeral. Of the same
stock, the Irish inventor of Boolean logic, George Boole, whose work is regarded as the basis for modern computer science,
features in two recent events. Elements of his algebraic formulae were woven into a handmade lace scarf, commemorating the
connection of Queen Victoria with the university, which was presented to Queen Elizabeth of England on her visit to Cork in
May 2011. Many of Booles papers are now being digitised for public accessibility in a University College Cork project. Booles
very radical daughter, Ethel (later Voynich), whose 1897 novel of revolutionary fervour, The Gadfly, was put to political use by
all the communist governments. Meanwhile Ethels contemporary from a different social background, who was educated by
45
the Christian Brothers in Dublin and later joined the British merchant navy, gave his name to the famous (James) Mulholland
Drive in Los Angeles, as the man who brought water to the city through an enormous project involving an aqueduct 235 miles
long which began in 1904.
Later, in the 1920s and 1930s, and in another sphere, the screen industry, Irish-American actors, both male and female,
began to play a dominant role. It has been surmised that present day Irish film actors may be the reason why an international
survey of women considered the Irish accent to be globally the most sexy, regional variations not being distinguished. Irish
short films, made on shoestring budgets, continue to be nominated and short listed for the prestigious Oscar awards. The
Russian film director, Alexander Rowe, responsible for a series of popular films on Russian folk tales during the 1960s, was
the son of a Wexfordman. Nowadays, with an increasing emphasis on technology in film-making and in the entertainment
industry, Irish high-tech firms are making their mark in Hollywood with the aid of the Irish Technology Leadership Group.
In the Republic, a report from the Audiovisual Federation in Ibec (Irish Business and Employers Confederation) reveals that
film and television production increased to 388 million in 2010, due largely to section 481, the film and television tax relief
scheme. In other areas of the media, an Irishwoman was recently made president of the American non-profit organisation,
EWIP (Exceptional Women in Publishing), after just 10 years in California.
In the early years of the 20th century, Pearse OMahony, who as a Member of Parliament had been involved in Irish
politics with Parnell, founded, with his wife, St. Patricks Orphanage in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria, and remained engaged with
the life of that country. As in the case of James Bourchier, OMahony also has a street named after him in Sofia. The life of
the Irishwoman, Eliza Lynch, born in 1833, who partnered Lopez of Paraguay, is being featured in a major television series in
Paraguay as part of events celebrating that countrys independence from Spain, won some 200 years ago. Interestingly, the series
is based on a 2009 biography by two Irishmen and one of the backers is a Paraguayan bank owned by an Irishman. In another
war of independence, the Arab Revolt (1916-1918) against the Ottomans, two soldiers of Irish extraction played a major rle:
TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and Pierce Charles Joyce. An article in The Irish Times (22 May 2012) gives an account
of the Irish journalist in Baku, Azerbaijan (venue for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest) during the period 1879-1881 who
gave his1,000 fee from the London Daily News to the Fenians whom he had joined as student in Trinity College Dublin,
an act which did not prevent a plaque in his honour in St. Pauls Cathedral in London. Another graduate of Trinity College,
Turner Macan (McCann), is reported to have become not only translator to the courts of the Persian Mughals in India but
to have used his royal contacts to ensure the definitive anthology of the work of the famous Persian poet Ferdowsi during the
early 1800s. Ferdowsi is celebrated in Persian literature for his work, the Shahnameh or Book of Kings. In the 19th century
art world, La Belle Irlandaise (The Beautiful Irishwoman) Joanna Hiffernan (sic) provided inspiration to both the French artist
Courbet and the American artist Whistler.
Given the national interest in music, it is probably not unusual that an Irish bow-maker from County Mayo received three
gold medals for his prowess at the 2010 competition of the Violin Society of America. What is unusual, perhaps, is that there
are currently only two expert bow-makers in a country known for its traditional and classical violinists. Perhaps not so unusual
is the research finding, reported in the Review of English Studies, that the name Hamlet in Shakespeares famous tragedy, may
derive originally from a character in an Old Irish story going back to the 8th century, Admlithi, the precursor for the 13th
century Danish prince Amlethus, himself based on Amlothi of a 10th century Icelandic poem. Given the contact between
Scandinavia and Ireland, and the fact that the name is not regarded as of Norse origin, the Irish connection may be plausible.
The Celtic scholar, Whitley Stokes (1830-1910), contemporary and fellow academic of continental Celticists Kuno Meyer
and Ernst Windisch as well as of Irish scholars Eugene OCurry and John ODonovan, in fact produced no small amount of his
writings while working as civil servant of the British Empire in India, where he was responsible for the codification of much of
the body of Anglo-India law. During the same general period, a recent book (in Irish) reveals that the socialist Friedrich Engels
was learning Irish in preparation for writing a history of Ireland. Much later, another Celtic scholar, Richard J Hayes, director
of the National Library (1940 1967), was simultaneously involved in two apparently disparate activities. One involved
sourcing and listing manuscripts and other materials of Irish interest all over the world. The extraordinary result of 23 volumes
is now digitised and accessible online thanks to the Sources project of the National Library. However, as a linguist, Hayes had
another interesting occupation working as a secret code-breaker for the intelligence services in Ireland during World War 2.
Simultaneously, at the famous Bletchley Park headquarters in Britain, two men of Irish background were at work. Alan Turing
of computer science and decoding fame was one. The other, John James Doherty of Donegal County, is reported to have had
eight languages (two classical) in addition to Irish and English as background to his work as translator and cryptanalyst. Irish
46
women were at Bletchley also.

While clerical Irish missionaries have left their mark in many parts of the world, lay volunteers are probably more numerous
today. A recent publication on Irish missionaries views them as an informal diplomatic corps which has created good will for
Ireland across the globe and added to its reputation through the education missionaries provided in many countries. The book
is simply entitled, Gods Entrepreneurs: How Irish missionaries tried to change the world. An acting group from Carlow University,
Philadelphia, USA, recently participated in the annual festival, igse 2010, held in Carlow town, Ireland. This American
university (2004) for women was founded 80 years ago by Mercy nuns from Carlow as a college (1929). Among those receiving
honours abroad for services to the people of other lands is Elaine Bannon who was recently (July 2010) awarded the honour
of the Order of Warriors by the President of Kenya for her humanitarian work among the Maasai of his country. In December
2010, the government of Vietnam awarded its Order of Friendship to Christina Noble, for her charity work since 1990 on
behalf of Vietnamese children. Sr Cyril Mooney, a Loreto nun from County Wicklow, was the recipient of the Padma Shree,
the highest honour in India, for her work among Calcuttas poor, street children especially. In 2009, Sr Ethel Normoyle, from
County Clare, of the Little Company of Mary Order, received the Order of the Baobaob in Silver for her work in South Africa.
On the same occasion the former minister in the SA government, Kader Asmal, who spent much of his professional life in
Ireland, was awarded the Order of Luthuli in Silver. Franciscan Fr Stan (Seamus) Brennan received many honours for his lifes
work in South Africa, one of which was the Sixth Class Grand Cordon Order Award of the Rising Sun Silver and Gold Rays
from the Emperor of Japan. Few people in the world have been so honoured since the award was established in 1875. Sr Joseph
Helen Cunningham, from County Laois, of the Religious Sisters of Charity received the Order of Distinguished Service from
the President of Zambia for her pioneering work in ensuring education for girls back in 1978. She died recently (January 2012)
at the age of 104. In March 2012, the President of Pakistan honoured Sr Berchmans Conway of County Clare with the Order
of the Great Leader Award for outstanding services in education and in the promotion of inter-faith relations. In earlier times,
and in another sphere of activity, Mary Harris, an emigre from Cork to the US, at the end of the nineteenth century became
the famous labour activist now known as Mother Jones and co-founder of the movement, the Industrial Workers of the World.
With this kind of global presence as context, it is hardly surprising that famous landmarks such as the leaning Tower of
Pisa, the Empire State Building of New York and now the mountain top statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro all
become green on St. Patricks Day.
An exhibition which it is hoped will travel on New Irish Architecture: Rebuilding the Republic was mounted in
Leuven (Louvain), Belgium, in May 2011 on examples of contemporary (2001-2010) Irish buildings. The recently completed
headquarters of Wexford County Council has been (2011) shortlisted for the World Building of the Year award. In July
2010, the city of Dublin was designated a Unesco City of Literature in perpetuity, one of only four globally (the others being
Edinburgh, Melbourne, Iowa City), a venture planned by the library service of Dublin City Council. Information on the vast
array of Irish writers may be found on the Dublin Unesco website, www.dublincityofliterature.com. Dublin was shortlisted in
June 2011, among a group of just three capitals, from bids submitted by 56 cities all over the world to be World Design Capital
in 2014. The two others on the shortlist were Bilbao and Capetown. Interestingly, Dublin was ranked 9th of 80 cities globally
as a cycling city; this arises out of political decisions to provide bicycle ranks for free use by citizens, a popular arrangement.
Stamps are regularly issued by the philately section of An Post to commemorate famous Irish places and persons. In
2010, the Irish language poet from Inis Mr, the largest of the Aran islands, Mirtn Direin (born 1910) and the PostImpressionist painter, Roderic OConor (descendant of the last High King, born 1860), were remembered. In the 2010 crossEuropa issue on the theme of books for children, two writers in English represented Irelands contribution: Oscar Wilde (The
Happy Prince) and Jonathan Swift (Gullivers Travels). None as yet has appeared, however, for the popular early 20th century
American crime writer Raymond Chandler who spent much of his childhood in the home of his Irish mother in Waterford. A
stamp depicting four of the famous High Crosses of the early Middle Ages was also issued, clearly showing their unique stone
carved panels of biblical events. An Post also has a very attractive set of stamps depicting the flora and fauna of Ireland.
In sport, the Irish footballer, Paddy OConnell, was manager of more than one team in Spain, including a Barcelona team
back in 1935. But that Ireland actually conquered Pakistan in cricket (May 2011) is currently more newsworthy. In the golfing
and horse racing worlds, as well as in the card game of poker, in running, swimming, sailing and in boxing (including female
boxing), Ireland, (North and South), continues to impress.
In the animal world, research by an international team, led by Ireland, has led to the unusual finding that all living polar
bears are descended from Irish ancestors, now extinct (Current Biology, July 2011).
47
Perhaps some further evidence that the Irish language has arrived may be seen in its use in some internet scams where
Irish speakers are targeted by e-mail (through what appears to be machine translation Irish text). One message informs the
recipients that the United Nations are seeking bank details into which a large sum won will be deposited. Another purports to
come from an individual known to the recipient urgently requesting $2,000 USD as the known individual has been robbed
while abroad.
Of greater consequence is the fact that Ireland, for the first time, will chair the 56 member Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 2012, a very significant organisation in the field of human rights and conflict prevention
and management which is now at a difficult time in its history.
Scientific achievement
In the realm of science, two recent discoveries during mid-2010 appear to show that Ireland is not falling behind in that branch
of knowledge. A team from University College Dublin (UCD), in collaboration with Yale University, has helped not only to
illuminate the evolution of life on earth through an analysis of fossils of soft-bodied creatures discovered in rock in Morocco
but to complete an existing time-gap. The research shows that these creatures did not die out as was thought over 500 million
years ago but lasted at least another 30 million years. Also, as part of the Large Hadron Collider international nuclear research
at CERN (European Centre for Nuclear Research, near Geneva), doctoral students with the UCD team re-discovered two subatomic particles known as the Z and W boson particles with the aid of software, designed by the Irishman currently heading
the Cavendish laboratory in Cambridge. Interestingly, the Irish female physicist, Anne Kernan, was part of the previous
CERN research team (led by Rubbia and van der Meer) who won the Nobel Prize in 1984 for their original discovery of the
Z and W bosons. John Bell (died in 1990) also worked for many years at CERN; he is author of the equations known as Bells
Inequalities. In recent times, Jocelyn Bell Burnell of Belfast was responsible for the discovery of pulsars. Before her, Kathleen
Lonsdale was the first woman elected in 1945 to the Fellowship of the Royal Society; she was involved in x-ray technology.
Irish scientists have been involved over the years in space experiments as part of international teams. The astrophysicist, Susan
McKenna-Lawlor, who was professor of experimental physics at National University of Ireland Maynooth, has delivered much
innovative instrumentation used in many space missions by leading countries through her company, Space Technology Ireland.
She was elected to membership of the International Academy of Astronautics. The continuing work of the Academy in the
production of a multilingual space dictionary led to the publication in September 2010 of An English-Irish Lexicon of Scientific
and Technical Space-Related Terminology initiated by Professor McKenna-Lawlor. It contains some three and a half thousand
terms.
The Irish Centre for High-End Computing, established in 2005, is now one of only seven prestigious international centres
involved in the research project known as Cuda (a new computer language, Compute Unified Development Architecture).
Dublin City of Science 2012 was linked to the EuroScience Open Forum. Both arts and science groups are collaborating in
these events although the attractive Little Book of Irish Science published by Science Foundation Ireland to mark them met
with some criticism for omitting the Early Middle Ages and the computing of the date of Easter as one example of science
among medieval Irish monks. The innovative public Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin is proving extremely popular;
it too engages with both the sciences and the arts. The Wild Geese Network of Irish Scientists in North America was set up
in February 2011 to promote links and collaboration between Irish scientists at home and abroad in advance of the events
planned for Dublin in 2012. (Wild Geese was the rather evocative name given to those forced to flee Ireland in earlier
centuries particularly members of the Jacobite army under Patrick Sarsfield or other soldiers who served in so many European
armies from the 16th to the 18th centuries). The National Centre for Geocomputation at the National University of Ireland
Maynooth was recently (mid-2011) awarded the status of Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) Development
Centre, the first academic institution in Ireland to be so recognised and one of only 26 around the world. In June 2011, with
the 300th anniversary of the Medical School, Trinity College Dublin opened its new Biomedical Sciences Institute, with some
financial backing from the European Investment Bank. It is reported to be one of the most sophisticated biomedical research
facilities in the world, having 3,000 square metres of laboratory space and bringing together five related schools on campus in
an interdisciplinary programme which will serve undergraduates as well as 800 researchers. The National University of Ireland
Galway, (where engineering has been taught since 1849), reports that it has the largest set of engineering undergraduate
programmes in the country. Its innovative new engineering building is a learning/teaching/research tool built to demonstrate
many facets of engineering in a living laboratory. The third new university building in 2011 is the first phase of the Science
48
Centre at University College Dublin, the UCD Centre for Molecular Innovation and Drug Discovery. It includes three
research units: the Institute for Food and Health, the Centre for Pharmaceutical Science and the Centre for Nanomedicine
where it is hoped to attract world class principal investigators and fourth level postgraduate researchers. The venture is viewed
by the President of UCD as a relationship between research, the creation of intellectual property and the commercialisation of
new discoveries.
In the past five years, a team of students from Ireland has participated in the worlds largest technology competition,
Microsofts Imagine Cup, directed at technological solutions to worldwide problems, arising out of the United Nations
Millenium Goals. They have achieved well against global competition. In July 2011, the Irish team, Hermes, from IT Sligo
(Institute of Technology) reached first place. They had competed against 350,000 registered students from almost 200
countries to reach the prize. The USA team were in second place and Jordans in third. The Irish project was geared towards
safer driving. In the prestigious European Science, Engineering and Technology awards for 2011, two Irish undergraduates are
among the finalists, from UCD (a female student in civil engineering) and from Cork Institute of Technology (a male student
in mechanical engineering). The sixteen-year-old winner of the national Young Scientist of the Year Ireland award (January
2011) went on to win first place in the computing/engineering category at the EU Young Scientists Contest in September
2011; the first place in the other two categories went to Switzerland (maths) and to Lithuania (chemistry). Similarly the twoteam winners of the 2012 Ireland Award won first prize in physics in the EU Contest in which 37 countries participated. In
fact, Ireland has won this EU Contest 14 times in 24 years, demonstrating a better record than any other country. These Irish
secondary school students were in competition with students aged from 14-20 (some of whom were in university) as was the
eighteen-year-old from another Dublin school who was one of 33 selected from 15,000 candidates globally for a Summer
internship (2011) at the Digital Life Academy in Singapore. Two other male Junior Certificate students (fifteen-year-olds)
took first place in the national SciFest@Intel2011 for their inexpensive innovative project on converting used plastic into fuel
using a simple home made device. They represented Ireland at the International Science and Engineering Fair in the US in
May 2012. Two of the three Irish projects were successful in winning awards at this Fair in which 1,500 young students from
68 countries competed.
Entries for the January 2012 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition have surpassed all previous records for
numbers of girls, of projects, of schools and from every one of the 32 counties. The Exhibition, based on the Science Fairs
common in the US, began in 1965 as an idea from two researchers in physics at UCD, with 230 entrants. In recent years it
has grown to eight times that number of entries with well over 500 being selected across the differing categories for inclusion.
Winners over the years have gone on to become well known in many fields. The number of projects being presented through
Irish is also on the rise, largely from schools in Dublin and Donegal. Foras na Gaeilge is one of the sponsors.
Ratings
While the method of using the number of citations as a benchmark for research in the sciences is not without its critics, the
system remains influential. During 2010 and 2011, the rating agency Thomson Reuters Science Watch ranked University
College Cork in second place in the world for research papers in the field of probiotics from its Alimentary Pharmabiotic
Centre. Irish researchers reached a world rating of 1st in molecular genetics and genomics, 3rd in immunology, and 8th in
materials science. In the field of biomaterial research, several innovative projects from the Network for Functional Biomaterials,
based at the National University of Ireland Galway, were presented at the European Conference in Biomaterials held in Ireland
in September 2011. In October 2011, the Director of the Nanoscience Institute at Trinity College Dublin became Laureate
of the international 2011 ACSIN Nanoscience Prize for his work in the field. The 19th century equivalent may have been the
Dublin doctor Francis Rynd (Meath Hospital), remembered at an event on 17 February 2012, who discovered the process
which eventually led to the hypodermic syringe.
For the duration of the Dublin Innovation Festival (October-November 2011), an internet TV channel ran from 6 pm to
7 pm daily, An Lr TV (The Centre, used on public transport).
In the QS World University Rankings, Irish universities were reported in the top 200 for 24 of the 26 subjects surveyed.
In electrical engineering, seven institutions in Ireland were in this list of 200 while both Trinity College and University
College Dublin were in the top 50 for politics and sociology. These two institutions also figured in the top 100 for three areas:
economics, law, finance. Employer as well as academic ratings were used for purposes of the survey. Even more interesting,
given the constant concern with second level examination take-up and results in mathematics and in the sciences (Chapter 4
49
below), is the reported (July 2011) QS ranking of mathematics as Irelands best-performing discipline at third level; Trinity
College Dublin being ranked 15th globally in the subject.
Nevertheless, reduced exchequer funding and consequent decline in third level employment appears to have resulted
in slippage for all but one Irish institution in the most recent (2011) results from the QS rankings of global university
performance, based on four main criteria: research, teaching, employability and internationalisation. Outside the first 300,
rankings are usually given by range. The Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings for 2011 also noted a
fall, explained by increased staff-student ratios arising out of funding cuts and rising demand for third-level places. By March
2012, in the same Times Higher Education Rankings no university in Ireland was among the top 100 institutions. However,
QS ranked DCU in the group of 50 top new (less than 50 years old) universities in 2012.
Institution/Year QS Global University Ranking Overall

2012
2011
2010
2009
TCD
67
65
52
43
UCD
131
134
114
89
NUIG
287
298
232
243
UCC
190
181
184
207
DCU
324-
326
330
279
DIT
451-500
401-450
395
326
UL
451-500
451-500
451-500
401-450
NUIM
501-500
501-550
401
437
Forfs is the policy advisory board for enterprise and science. In a recent report (August 2011), it gave the following
figures for Government investment in research, across all departments and agencies: 2008: 946 million; 2009: 941 million;
2010: 872 (estimated). In general, the Higher Education Authority was responsible for disbursing one third and the Irish
Science Foundation (SFI) for half that amount, 17.2%. This foundation (Fondireacht Eolaochta ireann) arose out of a study
commissioned by the Government in 1998, the Technology Foresight Ireland Report, being established in 2000 under Forfs
to administer Irelands Technology Foresight Fund. The proposal to make it a separate statutory entity in the Programme for
Government 2002 was realised in the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Act of 2003. It uses Government
funding to invest in researchers and teams generating and developing new knowledge. The 2010 annual report (September
2011) of the Foundation reveals a good return on that investment. The number of collaborative studies across research teams,
or in matched funding from international sources or private sector firms, has risen sharply: 2008: 311 joint projects; 2009:
601; 2010: 867. Ireland is now (2010) ranked 20th in the world for research, above the EU and OECD countries average. For
2011, that ranking was maintained.

In line with Government policy on reducing the number of arms length bodies or quangos, Forfs itself was to be transferred
intact, but with a board reduced to three, into the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation where its research function
would become part of a new strategic policy unit within that department.
All these newer developments are hardly surprising in view of the many contributions made by earlier Irish scientists.
They include Boyle in the 17th century (Boyles Law in chemistry); Boole of University College Cork (Invariant Theory in
mathematics) and Beaufort (Beaufort Scale on wind force at sea), as well as Callan (the induction coil) and Stoney (the
electron), both of whom worked on electricity and the mathematician Hamilton (quaternions; algebra) in the 19th century.
In August 2010, an exhibition was mounted in honour of the engineer geologist, Robert Mallet, born in Dublin in 1810, a
scientist who put the study of seismology and volcanology on a new course. Together with his son, he produced the first list of
global earthquakes from biblical times. Similarly, John Tyndall, born in Leighlinbridge, County Carlow in 1820, is the founder
50
father of the science of climate change. Several institutes are named after him. As early as 1845, the (then) largest telescope in
the world was built by William Parsons at Birr Castle.
The achievements of John Philip Holland (born in Clare in 1841), native Irish speaker, teacher and one time Christian
Brother, and best known as inventor of the submarine, were remembered at the National Maritime College of Ireland in Cork
in June 2011, during the bicentenary celebrations of the North Monastery school in Cork. It was there that Br. Holland, as
he then was, began the experiments that eventually led to a working submarine (the Holland No 6), finally produced for St.
Patricks Day 1898, in the US to where he had emigrated and where he found financial backers. He was awarded a Rising Sun
from Japan when his vessels helped in the Japanese-Russian war (1904-1905). His vessels were also purchased by the British
navy. Having conquered the sea, he went on to write of his ideas on aviation. He died just before the outbreak of World War I.
In the medical technology sector, Ireland is reported to be one of the top four medical device clusters in the world and the
second biggest exporter of medical devices in Europe (after Germany). Interestingly, it is also reported that not alone is all the botox
in the world made in Ireland but all the Viagra made outside of the US comes from Ireland (MacGill Summer School 2011).
Given that a successful Kerry businessman, who spent much of his working life in France, Richard Cantillon (1680s
1734), is considered the father of modern economics and originator of the term entrepreneur as risk taker, the current state of
the Irish economy, given in the next section, is somewhat ironic. An annual event is held in his honour in Tralee, County Kerry.
Changing times, changing focus

However, despite these worldwide achievements across a range of human activity, another view of the Irish at home also exists,
based on the contemporary respect for, and concentration on, commodities rather than knowledge in a more commercialised
world. The theme of a new publication, Reflections on Crisis: The Role of the Public Intellectual (June, 2012), is the denigration
of the public intellectual. One commentator decries the prevalence of derivative thinking, the lack of a magazine of ideas
or an Irish intellectual life, and the over-emphasis by public bodies on fictive writers as opposed to writers of philosophy or
ideas (The Irish Times, 2 July, 2012), while another sees the absence or reduction of sustaining myths as a psychological and
aspirational loss (The Irish Times, 22 June, 2012).
THE ECONOMY
The term Celtic Tiger was apparently first used by analyst Kevin Gardiner in 1994 in a section of a report by the Morgan
Stanley Investment Bank on the Irish stock market. A little more than ten years later, changes in the Irish economy from 2007
onwards were swift and brutal and had many influences on linguistic matters at all levels. A brief background to the fiscal and
economic situation in Ireland during the period is given below. It gives some indication of the turbulent context in which
forward planning for the Irish language was conducted.
Firstly a whole new vocabulary became quickly current if not always fully understood: senior/sovereign/corporate bondholders
or lenders who receive a level of preset interest for a preset period of lending; these may be secured bondholders (against the
assets of those to whom they lend, including states) or unsecured; junior or subordinated bondholders who may invest more
riskily at higher rates of interest but who, in the event of a crash, have less possibility of some return, their rights being less
than those of senior bondholders; haircuts or reductions or discounts in the interest originally arranged; restructuring (both
hard or soft) or reprofiling of debt default (not paying back debts) being a term (and a condition described as credit event)
apparently to be avoided as is the possibility of contagion or the spread of the problem, particularly among the countries of the
almost teenage euro zone currency; bubble something which inevitably bursts. The concept of burden sharing in a financial
crisis is constantly being redefined; initially it seemed to be the task of taxpayers solely but gradually the concept emerged of
even secured bondholders, but in a voluntary capacity only, accepting either some losses or diminution of the return expected
or at least a prolongation of the timescale for payback, the latter in order to prevent the former which is considered as burning
the bondholders. Finally the term troika, (in the original Russian meaning a carriage or similar being drawn by three horses
abreast), the EU, the European Central Bank/ECB and the International Monetary Fund/IMF, came to be used as shorthand
for the trio of institutions of interest involved in the possible bailout of a member of the euro zone in difficulty, the term bail
in (in relation to bondholders, particularly if unsecured) having connotations of burden sharing. Images of knights on white
horses to the rescue seemed to be rather quickly dispelled. The seemingly innocuous concept of adjustment, however, generally
meant efforts to reconcile revenue and expenditure and inevitable unwelcome changes.
Secondly, the crisis should probably not have arrived, as it did, almost unannounced. Three articles by Professor Morgan
51
Kelly of University College Dublin (UCD), the first two reported in the March 2011 edition of Vanity Fair, were seminal to
the continuing debate on the crisis. The first appeared in 2006 warning of an impending fall in house prices. This was followed
in 2007 with a warning on the possible collapse of the banks. Both proved unfortunately true but were not perhaps given the
kind of critical scrutiny they deserved at the time of publication. Within the Department of Finance, officials had been giving
warnings from at least 2005 onwards according to public report, borne out by the later Nyberg Report. Other analysts had also
been giving warnings. The collapse of Northern Rock in the UK in 2007 was probably the first warning to be taken seriously
on a wide scale. In Ireland, it had apparently led in early 2008 to an internal Department of Finance scoping paper on financial
stability issues. This was followed by a clear warning from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in late June 2008
on a looming domestic crisis with probable attendant unemployment. The second more international alarm may have been the
necessity for the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to set up a 75 billion bail out
fund (the European Financial Stability Facility, May 2010) in the aftermath of the first problems in Greece and the difficulties
this provoked for the future stability of the euro currency. As later reports proved, however, the Irish national mood was not
really in tune with doom and gloom. The third Kelly article, published on 7 May 2011, on the issue of debt default, engendered
still continuing disparate and opposing views. The governor of the Central Bank responded (9 May, 2011), inter alia, that
the Irish Government bank guarantee of 2008 could not be reversed without Ireland being considered bankrupt and that the
decision on the guarantee had been accepted by the Oireachtas (Legislature). As far back as 2001 apparently, the European
Commission attempted to warn the Irish and other member state authorities about the overheating economy, according to the
(June 2011) Competition Commissioner. At that time, however, such matters were felt to be an issue for each sovereign state.
Nevertheless, in the intervening years up to the first intimations of crisis in 2007, Ireland was being internationally lauded for
its economic performance, even by the IMF.
The Irish problems then did not just begin with the fall in late 2008 of the Lehman Brothers Bank in the US; they were
already in train, due to the size of the banking problems (which arose out of the construction bubble) as a percentage of
national GDP. The Irish case did, however, fall victim to the new attitude of the market lenders in the aftermath of Lehman
and the ensuing necessity for the European Central Bank, and later the Irish Central Bank, to provide loans themselves to
European banks. The Irish situation, then, was indeed exacerbated by the global financial and economic crises but much more
by the unwise property-related lending policies and governance/management deficiencies of the domestic banking sector in
Ireland as documented in commissioned reports. The efforts to alleviate the inevitable results of the latter further contributed
to a faltering economy, with a substantial mismatch between income and expenditure, leaving the Government with twin
problems to solve.
The banking sector

There were six institutions in the Irish banking sector including building societies. By the last day of September 2008, the
Government having reached agreement (on the night of the 29th) in the interests of depositors and of not allowing the
sector to implode, introduced a guarantee (until end September 2010) to cover the liabilities of the banks, deposits and some
loans, a sum of 440 billion. Later commissioned reports showed that the situation in the banks at that time was even worse
than reported. Arguments have since been made by some economists that a blanket guarantee of such magnitude might not
have been the best choice. The EU Competition Commissioner (former Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs)
intimated in June 2011 that the Commission were not informed of this momentous decision by the Irish Government until
after the event. The same directorate was earlier reported to have created problems for Ireland because of the dilatory fashion
in which it sanctioned the restructuring of the most crucial aspect of the crisis, the banks; this sanction did not occur until
September 2010 towards the end of the guarantee date set. However, the EU does have a clear oversight and directive rle in
the matter of state aid to commercial enterprises.
The next steps after the guarantee by the Irish Government were inevitable: one bank, Anglo Irish, was nationalised in
mid-January 2009, since bank failure was not considered an option. In September 2010, the Government announced its
intention to separate the bank into two entities, to create an asset recovery bank to manage existing loans, and a separate
funding bank holding deposits. In November of that year, Anglo is reported to have lodged a patent to rename the savings
unit in Irish, Banc Nua. However, in mid-September 2011, the Companies Office was formally notified of the change of name
and incorporation as a limited company of the merged entities, Irish Nationwide Building Society and Anglo Irish Bank, as
IBRC Bank (Irish Bank Resolution Corporation). Public advertisements informed that the name change was effective from 14
52
October 2011. In February 2013, IBRC was dissolved by legislation of the Oireachtas following new arrangements between the
Irish Government and the ECB on Irelands debts and related promissory note. In mid-February 2009 the State took shares in
two other banks, Allied Irish Bank (AIB) and Bank of Ireland; 25% preference shares at a cost of 3.5 billion aid per bank. The
savings and investment business of Irish Nationwide Building Society were transferred to Permanent tsb, the banking business
of Irish Life & Permanent plc (with legal effect from 24 February 2011). In effect, two major banks eventually remained, AIB
and Bank of Ireland.
A new entity, the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA) was established by legislation in April 2009 to take over
some of the billions of loans (toxic assets) from the banks; however, it applied haircuts of between 30% and 47% and later
up to 58%, leaving the banks with the subsequent losses. In March 2010, the banks had to be bailed out once more to the tune
of some 32 billion. By September, the third bank bailout was required. The European Central Bank had been lending to Irish
banks at a discounted rate. By October 2010, the Irish Central Bank had also to provide them with emergency funding. The
situation was not only unsustainable but so unstable that company depositors were transferring their money out by the billion,
especially in the latter part of 2010. The fourth bailout was inevitable in November. The true picture of the state of the banking
sector finally emerged with the stress tests carried out by 31 March 2011. These tests were a condition in the Memorandum
of Understanding (of the bailout) between Ireland and the troika. The total extent of potential losses were in the region of 70
billion. The cost of conducting these independent stress tests amounted to 30 million. Since Anglo Irish and Irish Nationwide
were then in the process of winding down, the tests were conducted on four institutions, Bank of Ireland, AIB, Educational
Building Society (EBS) and Irish Life & Permanent.
In tandem with these events, harsh budgets was introduced for 2009 (brought forward to October 2008 in place of the
usual December) and 2010 with a further Emergency Budget in April 2009 (which included the establishment of NAMA)
but Ireland still continued to lose its top credit rating with the agencies Standard & Poors (March 2009 and August 2010),
Moodys (July 2010) and Fitch (October 2010). Confidence in Irelands ability to pay its debts had waned.
The National Recovery Plan 2011 - 2014

During the last recession the then Government issued a Programme for National Recovery (October 1987) that included
agreement from the recognised social partners. It derived largely from a NESC (National Economic and Social Council)
report, A Strategy for Development 1986-1990, and was a relatively short document. A new plan was now required, for a new
crisis. However, the European Commission was more involved with this new plan and social partnership had broken down
because of public service pay cuts. The final iteration of this plan was a longer and more detailed document, The National
Recovery Plan 2011-2014, and was integral to the bailout by the troika.
The EU has a Stability and Growth Pact agreed and later amended (if not always implemented) at a summit meeting in
Dublin in 1996: public debt to be maintained at not more than 60% of GDP and budget deficits at not more than 3%. The
EU Commission has an oversight role in relation to this Pact. Ireland had clearly exceeded the guiding figures, given the overall
fiscal situation. A four-year corrective plan was announced in December 2009 with the 2010 Budget. As 2010 wore on, the
figures kept changing. In mid-year, the IMF expressed doubts about the optimistic assumptions for growth in the plan. The
government revised the 3 million adjustment for 2010 up to 7 million in the Autumn. By late 2010, the EU Commission
and the Government were then working on a revised four-year plan to stabilise the economy and encourage growth.
On the projections available, it had been agreed that savings of 15 billion over four years to 2013 would be required
to reach the deficit of under 3%. In order to achieve this level of savings, all government departments and every government
programme would be affected, including social welfare. In addition, ensuring increased revenue would entail new forms of
taxation and the sale of state assets. These measures would have a knock-on effect on all language-related programmes and activities
as will be detailed below under the appropriate headings. Calls were being made by mid-November 2010 by both Government
and EU spokespersons on the importance of the two main Opposition parties agreeing with this target deficit of 3% of GDP
by 2014 and the planned adjustment of 15 billion. The Plan was published on 24 November 2010. By then it had more or
less been overtaken by other events.
EU/ECB/IMF assistance: programme of support

In April 2010, Greece (a member of the euro zone), had found itself increasingly unable to borrow from the markets and
applied for aid. By May mechanisms had been set in place to assist such cases in the form of a 75 billion EU-IMF Fund.
53
Fairly stringent conditions were set for Greece, the first recipient of some of this fund, by the new paymasters. The move did
not help to calm the markets, unfortunately. By late 2010, even as the four-year austerity plan was being developed in Dublin
and the relevant EU Commissioner was in Ireland (November 8 to 11), the idea of a bailout for Ireland, as had been necessary
for Greece, was being both widely discussed as inevitable and just as roundly being denied in domestic political circles. It has
been argued that private debt is the problem in Ireland (and in Spain), public debt being the problem in Greece.
The weekends of November 2010 provided much newsprint, radio talk and televisual explanation. On 11 November, the
17 members of the council of the ECB, of whom the Governor of the Irish Central Bank is one, apparently decided, after
discussions since the previous September, that Ireland required a bailout; this was reportedly conveyed by letter to the Irish
authorities on 12 November. On 15 November, Irish ministers were maintaining, with some credence, that the fundamentals
in Ireland were healthy; that the State was financed up to mid 2011 and on to 2012 if the 25 billion in the National Reserve
Pension Fund were used.
On the other hand, euro zone finance ministers were worried about the euro and possible contagion, particularly since at
least two other peripheral (in the geographic sense) states were also having economic problems. Sources of instability could
not be countenanced.
As an interim measure, on 16 November, Ireland agreed to allow technical experts from the EU, the ECB and the IMF
to visit Irish institutions in order to examine the crisis in the banking sector. On Sunday 20 November, the Irish Government
finally agreed to seek a bailout; the formal application was made the following day. Interviews with the (then) Minister for
Finance, now deceased, and correspondence recently (2012) published give an indication of the political problems involved.
By 28 November, the details of the deal were available: a total of 85 million of which 17.5 billion would be provided by
Ireland itself (5 billion from existing cash reserves and 12.5 billion from the National Pension Reserve Fund); 22.5 billion
from the IMF; 22.5 billion from the European Financial Stability Mechanism of the EU; 17.7 billion from the European
Financial Stability Fund. In addition, three states made bilateral loans to Ireland totalling almost 5 billion: the UK 3.8
billion, Sweden 598 million, Denmark 393 million. No small amount of the bailout would provide the fourth attempt to
shore up the banking sector: 10 billion on bank recapitalisation; 25 billion bank contingency fund.
But the detail that most struck a chord with the Irish public was the loss of economic sovereignty borne out not only in the
reality of the bailout, but also by the various announcements and general involvement of representatives of the troika. That
Ireland was now subject to Europe running its economic and fiscal affairs is evident in the timeframe and conditions for
drawdown of the assistance loans being given. The first payment was contingent on the budget for 2011 being passed by the
Oireachtas. Thereafter, payments were to be made on receipt of acceptable reports on implementation of the agreed targets;
any future policies of the Irish Government not consistent with the memorandum of agreement were to be discussed with
the troika. The question was raised whether the Irish Government was acting constitutionally in accepting the bailout; article
29.5.2 of the Constitution requires any international agreement to be laid before the Dil (Lower House). It was, however,
agreed that the financial arrangements did not constitute the type of agreement envisaged in the Constitution.

Memoranda of Understanding contained the general conditions attaching to the Programme of Support, as the bailout was
officially known. These covered firstly bank restructuring and reorganisation, basically continuing from where the Government
had begun but now with a stronger emphasis, as well as new bank stress tests to be completed by 31 March 2011. The second
set of conditions related to fiscal policy and structural reform and were wide-ranging. They included, inter alia, taxation at
all levels; measures to provide reductions in all areas of state expenditure; the establishment of an independent budgetary
council; removal of restrictions to competition in some professions. Clearly, austerity measures were to continue. Many of these
proposals were already in draft form in the National Recovery Plan 2011 2013. More than one commentator pointed out that
many of the measures would impact most on the more disadvantaged sectors of society, leaving the taxpayer vulnerable to the
capriciousness of both banks and markets and the community at large responsible for the deeds of others.
It was later argued, with regard to the bailout, that perhaps Ireland was used as an example or as a threat to others. In fact,
the seemingly over-independent rle of the ECB in the affair found its critics also as did media comments from its officials on
the Irish situation. An interesting argument was made to the President of the Commission (in the press January, 2011) and
in a press article (April 2011) by a former Fine Gael Taoiseach (Prime Minister). He contended that those banks in EU states
(including Germany), and the ECB itself, which had lent huge sums to Irish banks, and benefited from that, were also part
of the problem and should therefore be part of the solution by accepting proportionate responsibility. It was also argued
that the ECB, and even the Central Banks in individual EU states, should have exercised a more stringent regulatory role in
54
general over preceding years. This was also the tenor of parts of an interview with the BBC by the former Minister for Finance
(April/May 2011) and of the third article by Professor Morgan Kelly (May 2011). The latter argued that Ireland should default
and leave the problem of the banks with their owner, the ECB. The counter-arguments centred on Irelands dependence on
foreign investment as an open economy and the necessity not to further lose the confidence of the markets but to maintain
reputation. Given the state of the economy, it was not clear where funding for public services could be found without the
external aid provided by the bailout. Neither was the proposal to leave the euro zone seen as a viable option at this point. Other
commentators saw differences of corporate culture within the IMF and the ECB. The former is a worldwide organisation
but not a bank; the latter is European only but as a bank has to maintain the stability of its currency, the euro. Inevitably,
governance structures and responses to crises will reflect these differences.
On the positive side, attention was drawn to some useful facts: despite unemployment rates, 6 of 7 jobs still existed at
the time; 9 of 10 mortgage owners were still repaying their mortgages. An interesting finding was reported (May 2011) on
per capita net financial wealth: end 2006 (30,000); end 2008 (14,258); end 2010 (on average 22,125 due to recovery
in pension and insurance values). Since people were wary of taking on new debt, and banks were slow to lend, savers were
increasing in an effort to both to be prudent and to pay off existing debt. However, this also meant that people were not
increasing their spending except very cautiously of little help to the economy.
It has been remarked that views among Irish economists appear to divide on age lines; those with experience of the 1980s
crisis are considered more likely to see the politico-economic difficulties as a whole.
Among those in Ireland who apparently accepted the inevitability of the bailout, public discussion continued on the terms
agreed which appeared harsh. The issue of possible renegotiation of these terms of the bailout provided policy material for the
Opposition parties in the ensuing General Election (25 February 2011). In the case of the ensuing new Coalition (Fine Gael/
Labour Party, March 2011) renegotiation centred consecutively on two issues: initially the lowering of the original interest rate
of 5.83% (if all the external bailout loans were drawn down) to the troika and later the possible burning of bondholders to Irish
banks. By mid-2011, little had occurred in relation to the interest rate although discussions were continuing and the outlook
appeared more promising. In the event, as recounted below, reductions did take place.
The second issue of burden sharing, if not bondholder burning, went through several phases. Initially, the bailout terms
did not permit any such approach by Ireland, even in respect of unsecured bondholders. This continued to be the position of
the new Coalition of March 2011, particularly at the outset of the worsening of the Greek case when the prevention of credit
default or credit event was of paramount economic importance for the EU institutions. However, the domestic political
situation in some EU euro zone states had, earlier in the process, resulted in a differing stance. The October 2010 joint
Deauville Declaration from Germany and France would have made government bonds issued from 2013 subject to default. At
the Seoul G20 Summit on 12 November 2010, Germany maintained its view that private investors should share the burden of
the euro debt crisis. France agreed. At the time, these statements caused some degree of panic in the markets resulting in higher
interest rates for Ireland. In the event, a compromise was reached among EU ministers in advance of the second Greek aid
plan in terms of a voluntary rather than an imposed contribution from elements in the private sector. It must be remembered
that French, German and other banks, as well as the ECB itself would suffer if Greece or Ireland defaulted. Shortly before this
compromise was finalised, the Irish position changed to the possibility of bailing in senior unsecured bondholders, particularly
in the Irish banks that were being wound down. Whether this would be accepted by the ECB in the case of Ireland was not clear
(mid-June 2011); in fact, it was considered most unlikely, given the unrelenting opposition of the ECB to any such moves lest
the entire edifice supporting the euro zone and European economy break down. Again, as in the case of the banks guarantee,
this statement on unsecured bondholders (although by a different Coalition) was apparently not signalled in advance to the
ECB, since it was considered Government policy. Even in late 2012, encouraging statements by Irish politicians with regard
to separation to some extent of sovereign and bank debt received an initial cool response from Germany, later rescinded, but
support from France. The sympathetic public profile of the Irish Taoiseach at this period may have helped; only the second
Taoiseach to appear on the cover of the magazine Time and the first to receive public awards (one from a German group).
A third issue arose also and remains live, that of Irelands perceived low rate of corporation tax in comparison with other
EU member states and Irelands unwillingness to accept a certain level of tax harmonisation, even though seeking aid. Both
the previous and the current Coalition Governments remained adamant that inward investment and consequent growth were
contingent on this policy, as were economic recovery, pay back of bailout assistance, and return to the markets as soon as
possible.
55
However, by mid 2011, four years after the international financial crisis began, the anticipated economic upturn was
still slow in being realised. Nevertheless, the President of the Irish Exporters Association reported (22 June, 2011) positively:
exports for the first quarter of 2011 were up 9.4% (pharmaceutical, agri-food and particularly IT in the services sector). This
continued in the second quarter resulting in growth of 1.6% in the economy for the period. Comparative figures for exports
during 2010 in three peripheral states had shown Ireland well ahead: Ireland 162 billion; Portugal 49.2 billion; Greece
42.3 billion. On the international scene by mid-2011, the debate began to centre less on individual peripheral states of
the EU and more on the future of the euro zone itself as it became increasingly clear that, perhaps, the political will was not
strong enough among the states of the centre to maintain the euro, given the propensity to give precedence to domestic issues
and agendas. This was further aggravated in late 2012 by the continuing euroscepticism in the UK which could lead to that
member states withdrawal from the euro zone.
In the meantime, Ireland was keeping well to the terms of the bailout. However galling the fact of external oversight
was to Irish citizens, the requisite progress reports on meeting the set targets were being regularly forwarded to the troika
paymasters and being met with approval. The first formal quarterly report of the troika was made to the new Taoiseach in
April 2011. In early June 2011, the EU Commission reported that implementation of the bailout programme to Ireland was
on track. By end July 2011, the Minister for Finance was informing the EU and the IMF that, at that point, Ireland had met
or had overachieved with regard to the terms of the assistance plan. The decline in deposits in Irish banks was stabilising as
withdrawals slowed and confidence grew. Lending by banks was also, if slowly, on the increase. In fact, the new Coalition had
little choice but to follow in general the policies agreed by the Oireachtas in the last months of 2010 and in the Finance Act
voted by the Oireachtas at the end of January 2011 in advance of the General Election of February 2011, whether in relation to
the National Recovery Plan or to the 2011 Budget which formed the first year of that plan, or to the conditions of the troika
Programme of Support, many of which were already in the Recovery Plan. By June 2011, in addition to cuts across the board,
all public salaries had been reduced, from the top down. A referendum was planned on the salaries of judges to take place in
October 2011 on the same date as the election for the presidency. A Fiscal Advisory Council was announced (although some
commentators questioned the usefulness of such instruments) and its title later changed. The Implementation Body established
in July 2010 in the aftermath of the Croke Park Public Service Agreement issued its first report in June 2011 on the year to endMarch 2011. It announced that estimated sustainable pay bill savings in the order of 289 million had been achieved during
the period as well as significant non-pay cost savings of 308 million and costs of 87.5 million being avoided through
initiatives taken. On the other hand, in mid-June 2011, marking the first 100 days of the new Coalition, the Taoiseach and
the Tnaiste (Prime Minister and Deputy) announced that the budget for 2012 would not contain any tax increases. This was
slightly watered down later by some individual ministers although the initial 4 billion adjustment for Budget 2012 became
3.5 billion, for a period, after the reduction in the cost of the bailout through lower interest rates for Ireland.
This reduction was proposed by the EU at the late July 2011 summit, subject to acceptance by all 27 member states. With
continuing problems in Greece and impending problems in Spain and Italy, a euro zone solution was required. This worked
to Irelands advantage since it receives loan funding from two sources: the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) of
the European Commission and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) of the euro zone countries. Reforms proposed
a 2% reduction (to 3.5%) in the interest rate on loans from the Facility; the initial reduction sought before the crisis widened
in the euro zone had only been 1%. In the aftermath of the July proposals, the Government embarked on a diplomatic mission
to persuade the other 26 EU member states to ensure a similar reduction in rates on loans from the EU Stability Mechanism
which is operated by the EU Commission and in rates on the bilateral loans from Britain, Denmark and Sweden.
By September 2011, the Commission decided to give the Mechanism loan at cost price, or at the amount it pays when
it borrows, without any addition to that. Other changes which Ireland could use if required arose from more flexibility
being granted to the European Financial Stability Facility: the possibility of the term of loans being extended together with
bond buyback facilities. The corporation tax reduction was not sought but Ireland engaged to discussion with EU partners
on a common consolidated corporation tax for Europe. By the end of September, the markets were demonstrating renewed
confidence in Ireland and foreign investment in Irish banks began to increase. Such developments may herald a quicker return
than anticipated to independence and sovereignty in fiscal matters.
By February 2012, with Greece still in dire straits and fears for the euro increasing, the 27 EU States had agreed to set up
the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) as a permanent euro zone bailout fund. Stiffer fiscal responsibility and solidarity
(in EU budget rules for Member States) will be reflected in the Treaty on Stability, Co-ordination and Governance in the
56
Economic and Monetary Union. Politically, it was hoped that this undertaking would not require a referendum in Ireland.
However, the recommendation of the Attorney-General dictated otherwise. The referendum was passed.
One indication, however, of some slight improvement in the perception of the Irish situation came in late February 2012
when Irish Government bonds were bought by private investors for the first time since Autumn 2010. By June 2012, the
World Competitiveness Yearbook placed Ireland in 20th place overall of 59 countries on a range of factors. These included 1st
on the following criteria: attitudes to globalisation; understanding of the need for economic and social reform; availability of
skilled labour, flexibility of workforce and investment incentives. Unfortunately, Ireland was ranked 53rd with regard to access
for credit to business.
Analyses of the crisis: repercussions and reports

On the economic front, in recent years, then, the Irish economy could best be described as being on a rollercoaster course.
The results were predictable: collapse of the construction industry; recapitalisation of banks; regulatory reforms; legislation
to establish a National Assets Management Agency (NAMA to take over the bad assets of banks) and banks inquiries to
ascertain the background which had apparently led to corporate governance and regulatory weaknesses. This was accompanied
by house owners left in a situation of negative equity accompanied by a growing number of repossessions. The measures taken
to shore up the banking sector will have repercussions for public finances and taxpayers well into the future. All areas of State
policy, including policy and expenditure on language, will undoubtedly be affected also well into the future to some extent not
only by these events but by the situation they led to in late 2010.
The chair of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (An Bord Snip Nua, report 2009; see
below Funding) commented publicly at the MacGill Summer School in July 2010 that the crisis could have been avoided but
for the massive failure of economic governance. Rather than the international context being totally responsible for the crisis,
the two reports on banking (mid 2010), by international bankers Regling & Watson (on monetary and fiscal policies in the
period just before the crisis) and by Irish Central Bank governor Honohan (on the role of the Central Bank and the Financial
Regulator) faulted Government budgetary and fiscal policy, the Central Bank, the regulatory system, and the failure of bank
management to maintain safe banking practices. One commentator viewed the bank management situation at the time in
terms of the pressure to compete outweighing the required evaluation of risk. An independent review panel was established by
the Minister for Finance in late 2010 on Strengthening the Capacity of the Department of Finance. Its findings were published
in early 2011 (having reported in December 2010). The panel reviewed and assessed the Departments performance over the
previous ten years. In general, the report found that the Department did provide clear warnings to Cabinet and that this advice
was more direct and comprehensive than concerns expressed by others in Ireland, or by international agencies. However,
the report also made a suite of recommendations to enhance the functioning of the department, a matter for the incoming
administration after the General Election of February 2011.
The Central Bank Reform Act 2010, which commenced on 1 October, effectively merged into the Central Bank of Ireland
the existing entities: the Central Bank, Financial Services Authority of Ireland, and the Financial Regulator. In light of later
events, it is worth quoting from its Strategic Plan 2010-2012, in which the new entity states that it will:
contribute to financial stability, Eurosystem effectiveness and price stability
ensure effective regulation at market and institutional level
build on consumer protection
provide authoritative economic advice to Government
provide an efficient financial services infrastructure
maximise operational efficiencies and cost effectiveness.
A third report was commissioned by the Minister for Finance in part to answer the point made by the previous reports on the
necessity to find answers to the bank management practices outlined. In his report (April 2011), the Finnish expert, Peter Nyberg,
effectively blamed all parties involved for what is described as a national speculative mania; the rule of group consensus and
reluctance to challenge as well as eficient information which led to the costly bank guarantee of 29 September 2008. One of
the more immediate responses of the new (March 2011) Coalition government to this report was the promise of a referendum
to allow members of the Oireachtas (Legislature) to establish inquiries into matters of fact and hold persons accountable. In
2000, the Supreme Court had ruled against such inquiries (the Abbeylara case). The wording of this referendum, scheduled to
57
take place at the same time as the October 2011 presidential election, caused some controversy on the grounds that it would
give too much power to Oireachtas committees in the case of individuals under scrutiny by such committees.
The National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA), a research body based at the National University of
Ireland (NUI) Maynooth, issued a report in July 2010 which located the unsustainable construction boom in the policies of
central and local government which resulted in poor planning, excessive rezoning of land, and tax incentives. The authors
called for an independent inquiry into these practices and the role of the State in promulgating them. While excessive lending
by banks is acknowledged, it is the authors contention that this came about as a result of poor State fiscal and planning
policies. These policies bypassed the States own spatial strategy and led to unfinished ghost housing estates, problems for
existing homeowners and tenants on these estates, and the eventual necessity for the establishment of NAMA. It was hoped
that the review of the National Spatial Strategy in Autumn 2010 would address some of the planning lacunae.
Another view blamed the narrow interpretation of planning that existed, one which was not sufficiently people or futureled. The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 now requires alignment of local development plans with national
strategic intent as well as more evidence-based planning. Another section of this Act, however, section 50 (b) of the Act, led to
a request by environmentalists to the President to convene the Council of State to discuss the constitutionality of the section.
The view of the lobby group centred on each party having to bear its own costs in any case taken; a provision which could
prevent any cases being taken. In the Departments view this was an improvement since until now litigants could be liable for
all costs. The context for the amendment apparently lay in the finding of the European Court of Justice in 2009 that Ireland
was in breach of its obligations in relation to impact assessment and public participation since applicants for judicial review
could be exposed to possible prohibitive costs.
By year end (December 2010), a call was made for unambiguous legislation to deal with possible conflicts of interest in
relation to planning decisions at different levels of government. In March 2011, the newly appointed Coalition (Fine Gael/
Labour) Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government announced a review of the 2010 legislation in
line with the new Coalitions promise to reform local governance structures and ensure a more co-ordinated approach to
national, regional and planning laws. On the other hand, protests are constantly being made at the destruction of many sites
of cultural and heritage significance, current legislation being either weak or lacking or ignored or not being actively applied.
In the same vein, archaeologists expressed concern at the proposals of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to
initiate a review on the delisting of all archaeological and historical sites and structures after 1700 from the National Record
of Monuments and Places with the intention of having a standard approach nationally. Apparently, the official Archaeological
Survey of Ireland (ASI) is having difficulty in maintaining records due to lack of resources. Such a policy, if implemented,
would detract from the entire social and historical context and be at variance with the method in use in Northern Ireland.
A deeper analysis of the malaise by one commentator places its roots in lack of memory of the past and of the cultural and
political value system underlying the early State and its economic hopes, in the cult of personality replacing the traditional
emphasis on character. To some extent, this has become an examination of what republican values really represent. Others
deplore the materialistic outlook which almost destroyed the sense of community solidarity now more than ever required.
Similar views led to new forms of citizen assemblies.
On the personal level, as a result of the recession and State policies to counteract it, salaries and pensions were affected in
both the public and private sectors. Income levies were imposed. Unemployment rose; more than 423,000 were reported out
of work in late 2009, of whom 80,000 were under 25 years. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) gave an estimate of 11.6%
of the labour force unemployed for April June 2009, based on the Quarterly National Household Survey and adjusted for
seasonality. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) expected unemployment to peak at around 13.5/14% in 2010,
having revised their estimate downwards in the face of slight economic improvement. The corresponding international figures
in January 2010 were reported at 10% in the Euro zone and 8.8% in the 30-nation OECD. By July 2010 the numbers out of
work were the highest ever recorded in the State and the unemployment rate stood at 13.4% as predicted. By end May 2011,
the figure had reached 14.8% with an increasing number of long term claimants of unemployment assisstance. However, in the
last recession in Ireland, unemployment rates reached 18.3% in early December 1986. (The Government of the time pointed
to the implementation of a European directive which allowed married women to claim unemployment assistance on the same
basis as unemployed men). The value of exports fell. One commentator estimated that the economy contracted overall by 20%
since 2007 but that the rate of contraction was now (2010) falling.
58

The standard, but also the cost, of living fell. Up to 12,000 jobs were lost in the tourism sector which underwent significant
reductions in visitors, since Britain, the US, Germany and France the main sources for overseas visitors were also in forms of
recession. Social welfare payments were threatened. Many incomers from other EU states returned home leading to distortion
of emigration patterns. In the year to end April 2010, some 42% of 65,300 emigrants reported by the Central Statistics Office
(CSO) were Irish leaving Ireland and the remainder returning immigrants. The preferred countries of Irish citizens emigrating
during 2010 were: Canada, New Zealand, United States, Australia and the UK, in that order, although for many it appeared
to be a case of sitting the recession out abroad. A report from the National Youth Council of Ireland in January 2011 found
that up to 70% of the young unemployed would probably emigrate during the year. CSO figures in September 2011 showed
the following comparative trends:
Emigration, Immigration, and Destination of Emigrants of Irish Nationality 20062011

YEAR
TOTAL
EMIGRATION
TOTAL
IMMIGRATION
TOTAL
UK DESTINATION
EMIGRANTS
OF IRISH
NATIONALITY
2006
36,000
107,800
8,800
15,300
2007
42,200
109,500
10,100
13,100
2008
45,300
83,800
7,000
13,400
2009
65,100
57,300
11,900
18,400
2010
65,300
30,800
14,400
27,700
2011
76,400
42,300
18,900
40,200
Social partnership broke down. Union membership appeared to be falling although still around 840,000. Trade unions
at the crossroads was the heading of the editorial in the Irish Times of 26 January 2010. However, one of the larger unions
(Technical Engineering and Electrical Union) reported some recovery with an increase of 1,500 new (not lapsed) members
in the first half of 2011. A study on incomes from 1987 to 2005 in the period before recession, which was conducted for Tasc
(an equality think tank) and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, showed not only significant differences between households,
but a widening gap. Most advice to the Government, however, still centred on continuing, not relenting on, the cuts and
retrenchment.
In the aftermath of the announcement of measures in the Budget for 2009, large marches of those affected took place,
the most astonishing being the march of the Grey Army of thousands of pensioners from every part of the country in October
2008 protesting at the withdrawal of universal access to the medical card for over-70s. The policy was later changed slightly
and higher eligibility levels introduced. Students marched on the same day on the issue of third level fees being re-introduced,
bringing the combined total to 25,000 participants from both ends of the age spectrum. While this latter policy is still a fairly
live issue for the institutions involved, the former (2010) Minister for Education at first ruled out the re-introduction of fees
but instead increased registration fees leading to further protests in 2010. The Education Minister in the next administration,
although having said before the election that he would reverse this increase, had to change his mind when in office, given the
scale of the economic problems. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) were then asked to review the third level funding
crisis, in light of the Hunt Report (January 2011), and report back by the Autumn when new charges might be discussed
ahead of the Budget for 2012. Farmers protested on losses and teachers on the increased class sizes and changes to the rules
on substitution. The Church of Ireland took issue with changes to the longstanding agreement on funding arrangements for
their schools. A national Day of Protest was union-organised on November 6 (2009) and public sector workers took to the
streets in December on cuts and income levies. Private sector workers who had actually lost their jobs were not impressed.
Public sector workers were still planning protests in April 2010 although the agreement reached in May 2010 (the Croke Park
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public service reform deal) with the support of the majority of unions provided a degree of stabilisation in relationships. Some
unions were, however, still discussing the new arrangements by Autumn 2010. The Croke Park deal did not constitute a return
to the former arrangements on social partnership but rather an employer/employee agreement. Indeed, by June 2011 there
were overtures from union leadership to the new Coalition Government on the possibility of a new relationship. However,
some commentators had considered the existing social partnership as a form of corporatism. The new Taoiseach inclines more,
apparently, to social dialogue and civic engagement.
The then Taoiseach (Prime Minister) described 2009 as the most difficult year in Irish economic history. However, by
August 2010 he was ranked among the top ten political leaders in the world by the influential American news journal Newsweek
for his handling of the crisis (as a Taskmaster), in partnership with his Minister for Finance. The Financial Times newspaper,
however, had another less congratulatory view of the Minister for both 2009 and 2010. Media accounts are interesting in their
diversity.
The predictions were for a return to slow growth in the second half of 2010. While international credit rating agencies
did downgrade Irelands rating, nevertheless by mid-2010 there was an admission that the outlook appeared to be stabilising
rather than deteriorating, as a result of government action. While this cautious optimism was encouraged somewhat by the
banks passing the EU stress tests in mid 2010 (later considered not stringent enough), the spectre of a second recession had
not entirely receded given the fragility of the euro zone and possible sovereign default on government bonds held on the
banking books of states. Once again, the chair of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes
(An Bord Snip Nua, report 2009), referring to the current and 1980s recessions, warned (September 2010) of a third crisis in
a generation if systemic failures were not addressed; in his view, these included pro-cyclical economic policies (boom and
bust), institutional failure, media unwilling to air alternative views, a political and administrative system not open to received
notions being challenged, a public service where open recruitment was not the norm.
In September 2010, the decision of one of the three major credit rating agencies, Standard and Poors (S&P), to further
downgrade Irish debt, action which could increase even more the interest rate on Government borrowing, was greeted with
more than dismay and reaction was quick. In an unusual intervention, the body responsible for managing the national debt, the
National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), viewed the move as unwarranted and the methodology of calculation out of
line with that of the International Monetary Fund or of the EU statistics body. Other commentators pointed to the need for
regulation and standardisation of methodologies among rating agencies in general. Nevertheless, S&P still believed that Irelands
credit rating was good and its capacity to repay strong. In the event, financial markets did not appear overly affected in the case
of Ireland in the aftermath of the S&P downgrading. That quickly changed as the level of public debt became clearer due to the
bailout for the banking sector; interest rates on State borrowing went to an unprecedented high of 9% by November 2010 but
fell slightly later in the month to between 8% and 9%. It was hardly surprising then that the chief executive of NTMA (National
Treasury Management Agency) viewed 2010 as a very challenging year, particularly since the agency could no longer source the
bond market when it became clear that confidence was ebbing and a bailout looming. In addition, when the terms of the bailout
were clarified, the National Pension Reserve Fund, which is under the aegis of the NTMA, was reduced by 10 billion.
As the euro zone became threatened, the EU Commission sought a four-year plan (beyond the term of the incumbent
Government); the relevant Commissioner visited to ensure that Ireland adhered to EU fiscal rules. Hints of the 2011 Budget,
to be unveiled in early December 2010, were greeted with trepidation. Although it seemed that the Budget might receive allparty support eventually, given the scale of the problems, calls for an early election were unsettling. Even as this budget was
being voted on in December 2010, there were protests outside the Houses of the Oireachtas. At home, the notion of possibly
losing the economic sovereignty so hard won to the comfort zone of the troika, represented by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the EU Commission, were even more disturbing. The fact that the November
2010 meeting of the mighty G20 in Seoul found itself, to some extent, involved in the international ramifications of Irelands
fate tells its own story. The official political line, however, still continued to be that Ireland had always paid its debts and, given
the hard political choices now inevitable, there was no reason to suppose that it would not continue to do so. The problem was
financial, because of the banking crisis, rather than economic; the fundamentals were still considered sound. However, within
one week all that had changed. On radio, on Sunday 21 November 2010, the Minister for Finance announced that he would be
proposing to his governmental colleagues at that afternoons meeting of the Government that a formal application be made for
a programme of aid. By Sunday 28 November, the outlines of that programme and its conditions were clarified. By May 2011,
public discussion was centring on the possibility of defaulting on debt in an attempt to avoid national bankruptcy, a position
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that had receded somewhat by June 2011. By July, much greater concerns than Irelands debt were exercising the minds of the
euro zone institutions and the IMF was looking to the EU and the ECB for a European solution to a European problem, not
an overly encouraging phrase given the meaning usually assigned to the saying an Irish solution to an Irish problem.
Outcomes
Social outcomes
In some quarters, the media were criticised for their overly negative approach to the crisis. One more positive commentator
pointed out that, in terms of GNP (Gross National Product), Ireland is still the 16th richest country in the world and that
Ireland has one of the highest purchasing power standards of any country, even in recession. The CSO reports (October 2010)
showed, however, that GNP fell by 3.5% in 2007 and 10.7% in 2008. On GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita, the
Central Statistics Office reported Ireland at second highest in the EU for 2009. For quality of broadband, without which
the modern world appears unable to function, Ireland comes at number 13 of 72 countries, ahead of the UK and the USA,
according to research at Oxford (October, 2010). A ministerial statement of the same month points out that exports are
performing well (90% of what is produced is exported) and Ireland is ranked as the second most entrepreneurial state of the
EU. Irish workers also work longer hours. The World Bank (November 2010) ranked Ireland among the top ten (at ninth
place) places in which to do business, of 183 countries. The most recent human development index published by the UN
Development Programme (late 2011) ranks Ireland as the 7th most developed country in the world.
However, Ireland also had one of the highest rates of income inequality in the developed world. Economists and
commentators argue from two different perspectives on tax revenues: leave income tax alone until the rising tide offers general
improvement; tax the rich now to pay government debt and leave public services alone. There appears to be general agreement
that those lines of state expenditure which offer the highest economic and social benefits should be least cut. This implies no
mean level of pre-analysis to ensure political and public acceptance. However, income inequality may have decreased somewhat
at one level insofar as the effects of the recession left segments of the middle class in the category of the new poor. This resulted
in the gap between rich and poor growing even larger.
The biennial report on the State of the Nations Children, produced by the Department of Health, reported in December
2010 (8.7%) that there had been the first increase since 2006 (11%) in consistent child poverty, having declined to 6.3% in
2008. A study of 31 countries by the German Bertelsmann Foundation, reported in January 2011, placed Ireland low at 27th
on criteria of social justice. In April 2011, a study by the OECD (Doing Better for Families) found that 16.3% of Irish children
live in poverty according to OECD criteria, the OECD average being 12.7%. These figures must be seen against the EU
Commissions Demography Report for 2010: Ireland had the youngest population and the lowest proportion of people over 65;
the fertility rate for Irish women was highest in the EU at 2.07, the EU average being 1.6. Irish women also tended to be older
when beginning their family, at age 30/31. In fact, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported an increase in births in the
first quarter of 2011 to the highest number since 1960, thus giving an annual rate of 17.8 per 1,000 population. The natural
increase in population stood at a rate of 11.0 per 1,000 for the quarter.
The State of the Nations Children (2010) report showed that traveller children, immigrant children and disabled children
were bullied at school. An Unicef report on adolescents, Changing the Future: Experiencing Youth in Contemporary Ireland
(April, 2011), found that over 50% had experienced bullying. They were very conscious of the recession and pessimistic
about the immediate future. No more than 12% went to church regularly. Nevertheless, 80% were happy in themselves. A
study of 120 nine-year-olds in their families, from around the country including urban and rural contexts, was published
in September 2011, Growing up in Ireland The National Longitudinal Study of Children. While bullying was an issue and
separated parents, over 80% ranked their life high on the satisfaction indicator, friendships playing an important role. More
than half of respondents ranked life satisfaction at 9 out of 10.
Similarly, a study by Amrach Research in March 2011 reported 80% of people over 50 in Ireland being in general happy
and healthy. This finding was borne out in research from Trinity College Dublin of May 2011, The Irish Longitudinal Study on
Ageing. The Gallup 2010 global survey on well being, conducted in 155 countries and published in April 2011, placed Ireland
in the top ten countries. Interestingly, on these criteria of fulfilment and thriving, Irish people were ahead of the US and the
UK, France and Germany. Scandinavian citizens topped the poll. Resilience, resignation even, and slowness to anger, coupled
with enjoyment and happiness, were reported by Amrach Research as more prevalent than other moods such as stress and
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worry. This led some commentators to speculate that riches of relationships may surpass material riches. On the other hand,
The National Adult Nutrition Survey of April 2011 found that 60% of under-65s were either obese or overweight.
Citizens reaction
The possible loss of sovereignty to Europe and to foreign bondholders, as well as dismay and disappointment in respect of
institutional Ireland, led to new interest in the concept of citizenship. Instead of continuing protests, meetings were organised
of civil society, organisations and individuals, seeking to articulate a set of values and ways of realising them.
The initiative, We the Citizens, one of the bottom-up outcomes of the economic downturn, is reported (mid-June 2011) to
have surprised its chairman, Director of the Abbey Theatre, with regard to the lack of negativity displayed at public meetings
where the emphasis has been on how to improve things. But then the Irish voting public do use the ballot box very efficiently to
express their views; this is variously referred to as rioting at the ballot box and the pencil revolution, pencils being supplied at
voting booths to mark the voting paper. A similar initiative is being discussed (June 2011) under the aegis of a strategic group
for research and initiative supported by several Irish language organisations, An Mheitheal Straitise Taighde agus Tionscnamh.
However, the actual aims, structure, articulation with other democratic structures and possible uses of such citizen initiatives
have yet to be satisfactorily clarified if a longer life for them is envisaged. It has been argued that, as yet, no genuine grassroots
movement of active citizenship exists in Ireland; that none of those loose groupings which came to the fore recently can
legitimately claim to represent the collective citizenry; that their committees or boards may be more representative of other
interests in society possibly unhelpful or even inimical to citizen empowerment. Nevertheless, impetus has to come from some
quarter to ensure an organised movement capable of positive change.
Rekindling of civic pride was also the impetus for another initiative (early 2011), Dublin City of a Thousand Welcomes;
2,000 volunteers were willing to be ambassadors for Dublin and introduce tourists to their city. In somewhat similar vein,
while it is not currently intended to conduct citizenship tests, those granted citizenship will, from June 2011, be part of a
formal citizenship ceremony and swear fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the state..
Despite the economic downturn, the UN Human Development Index still reported Ireland (November 2010) among the
top five countries of 169 surveyed, albeit in fifth place, on quality of life indices as opposed to the more economy based GNP
per capita. An EU-wide survey in mid 2009 found Irish respondents very pessimistic indeed about economic and employment
prospects for Ireland and having low levels of satisfaction with public administration. However, despite public anger and
disillusionment with politicians and bankers, they were still more satisfied than other Europeans about living in their own
country. On the same note, given the deteriorating economic situation, the results of the 2009 survey conducted on behalf of
the Irish Times and published in November 2009 were somewhat surprising. Despite the personal problems of respondents,
73% were still content with life and 80% wished Ireland to start believing in itself again. Interestingly, many had re-embarked
on a new assessment of their values system and maintained what was described as a stubbornly positive outlook on life. These
2009 results were borne out a year later in several studies. A Eurostat survey on mental health found that the Irish had the
lowest levels of physical or emotional problems in the EU. The majority feel happy although one third felt that their job could
be insecure. A CSO quarterly household study in the third quarter of 2010 (before the bailout) found that, overall, 8 of 10
adults (both men and women) reported being happy all or most of the time. Subsequent studies found this 80% to be a fairly
constant result, among children and adults as reported above (Social outcomes). Nevertheless, a WIN-Gallup poll reported
in early 2011 using a different method of direct questioning of respondents on whether they were currently happy, unhappy,
or neither. With 45% happy and 25% unhappy, the 30% of others being omitted, the result is given at 20% happiness
rating. This, apparently, is half the international average at 40% and much less than the Western European figure of 56%. The
undecideds seem to have made quite of difference, or maybe that is another national trait. It was pointed out that happiness
and well being are differently measured.
Research by the Charities Aid Foundation (UK) ranked Irish people on a score of 7 out of 10 on happiness and well being
(the average score was 5.4). In addition, Ireland came joint third in world rankings for giving money and time to charitable
purposes. Not surprisingly then, another Eurostat survey (September 2010) found that the Irish were the highest givers in
Europe (61% of those surveyed) to development aid charities. In May 2011, a survey conducted for Philanthropy Ireland, in
light of the difficult future facing charities, showed optimistic results. It reported that 460m is donated yearly; women giving
more than men and with no small variation between regions. In August 2011, it was reported by Dchas (Hope) the umbrella
organisation for some 40 Irish aid or development organisations that 12 million had been collected over six weeks for the
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crisis in the Horn of Africa. In September 2011, the Second Annual Report on Fundraising in Ireland (on 171 out of the 9000
not-for-profit organisations revealed) a 24% increase for 2010 over 2009, although largely in international development and
health; domestic organisations saw no more than a 5% increase. The State is still the largest donor for the work carried out by
the organisations. Most organisations focussed on services in Ireland suffered a loss in donations. This may be related to the
once off donation for crises abroad as opposed to more continuous appeals for ongoing aid at home.

Interestingly, Irish people remain positive about Europe. Despite 50% believing that Ireland had surrendered its sovereignty
by accepting financial support from the EU and the IMF, 68% felt it was better in the current crisis to be part of the EU. In
this Irish Times Ipsos MRBI poll reported on 22 July 2011, 38% did not believe sovereignty had been surrendered (12% did
not know) and 22% felt it was better not to be in the EU in the current crisis (10% did not know).
All these positive findings may account for another survey result among tourists. A survey (November 2010) by a travel
book series which sought travellers favourite destination unexpectedly placed Ireland top of the international list, despite the
fact that it had not been included on the list provided to voters. In fact, these intrinsic attitudes were noted back in 1986,
during another recession, by the compiler of an information booklet on cultural behaviour for the US Defense Intelligence
Agency, at the time of President Reagans visit to his forebears home in County Tipperary. The Irish were seen as optimistic,
with a real joy in life.
Other outcomes of the recession, its causes and results, seemed to tap into more historical and psychological undertones.
One columnist saw the problem as residing in the corrupt ideology espoused by Irish society. A former Taoiseach (Prime
Minister) and newspaper columnist listed reasons for what he described as the lack of civic morality: the Irish being for
long a colonised people alienated from the language and religion of their rulers; late modernisation; the importance of
land ownership; the emphasis of the Roman Catholic Church on its relationship with the independent state to the possible
detriment of training in civic responsibility. A writer and poet, addressing new university graduates, discriminated between
state and nation, or people as creators of civic society. He called for solidarity in what he described as imagining a new Ireland.
Many commentators bemoaned the lack of innovative leadership in a situation of political flux. The social justice lobby group,
Afri, rewrote the ideals expressed in the 1916 Proclamation to show the lack of economic sovereignty and vision for the future
beyond paying back international loans.
Not unexpectedly, bookshops had a plentiful crop of books on the Irish economy for sale at Christmas 2009. They
apparently sold well. A more unusual publication was Capitalising on Culture, Competing on Difference by Finbarr Bradley agus
James Kennelly (2008), where the authors contrast two views in economic thinking:
(i) Confidence and independence arise out of an erosion of a sense of place; rootedness is antithetical to competitiveness,
and its polar opposite:
(ii) No nation can be truly innovative if people do not know and appreciate who they are, where they came from,
where they are trying to go.
The authors argue cogently for the second view, the sense of all members of the nation having and creating a shared destiny.

In keeping with this view, perhaps one of the most significant outcomes of the recession was the renewed interest in the
successful members of the Diaspora on the one hand and on culture and matters cultural as national assets, on the other hand.
This interest had two sources: the association of creativity and imagination with the desired smart economy at home (Ireland
is currently, 2010, placed at 17 of the top 20 digital economies in the world); the maintenance abroad of brand Ireland, now
through the more enduring lens of Irelands constant creativity and reputation in the arts sphere. Cultural diplomacy became
the way to restore international standing. Such a view was bolstered by some varied current events at the time. Princess Mako
of Japan, granddaughter of Empress Michiko, attended university in Dublin in 2010. The Empress speaks Irish and has always
had an interest in Irish culture. In mid-2010, the book for children voted the British Puffin of Puffins book, was Artemis Fowl
by the Irish author from Wexford, Eoin Colfer. Around the same time, the Irish band, U2, were reported by Forbes.com as the
highest earning band in the world, while the Irish involvement in the Shanghai World Expo 2010 has received much praise for
its innovative approach within a fairly modest budget, as did Irelands participation in the international architecture biennale,
held in the oratory of San Gallo, the Irish monk, in Venice.
A topical publication from Cork University Press, Ireland, Design and Visual Culture: Negotiating Modernity 1922-1992,
provided a reminder that the struggling newly independent State set about imagining and redefining itself as a changed entity
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through visual culture: designing the Free State seal, the currency, stamps, and the distinctive harp logo. The 75th anniversary
(2011) of the founding of the airline Aer Lingus (on 15th April, 1936) as national carrier, with its distinctive green colour
and shamrock, is considered as another example of such redefinition as modern and independent, but always Irish. In later
decades it trained pilots and shared expertise with states small and large. However, the State now retains no more than a certain
shareholding since 2006 when the airline floated on the stock exchange and is now open to takeover.
In July 2010, the city of Dublin was designated an Unesco City of Literature in perpetuity, one of only four globally (the
others being Edinburgh, Melbourne, Iowa City), a venture planned by the library service of Dublin City Council. Information
on the vast array of Irish writers may be found on the Dublin Unesco website, www.dublincityofliterature.com. One of the 50
works nominated for invention of the year 2010 by Time magazine is by a young Irish designer, a type of versatile gum that
hardens to whichever purpose the user requires. She has named it Sugru, or play in Irish and markets solely through e-tail,
or social media.
The Global Irish Economic Forum or Think Tank, convened by the Government in Farmleigh, Dublin, in September
2009, led to the establishment of the Global Irish Network of significant businesspeople, over 300 in almost 40 countries
around the world, whose task is to maintain contacts and exchange ideas and views with Government sources. The two main
outcomes of this Forum centred on the Diaspora and on culture. The first meeting of the Network in North America took
place in November 2010, chaired by the Minister for Tourism, and attended by up to 70 Irish-Americans, prominent across
a range of operations. The Minister reminded the audience that Ireland receives more US investment than Russia and China
combined. The new Coalition Government (Fine Gael, Labour) planned the second Farmleigh gathering for October 2011.
The continuing impact of this emphasis on the successful members of the Diaspora may be gauged in several ways: the
Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG), based in Silicon Valley, which has grown to 4,000 members worldwide assisting
Irish technology companies; the Irish Day planned by the New York Stock Exchange around St. Patricks Day 2012, described
as a global summit, as one of many investments in Ireland-based initiatives.
In March 2010, the actor Gabriel Byrne was appointed cultural ambassador for Ireland. Issues of identity began to be
explored at public conferences and seminars, both through Irish and through English. The Gateway Ireland Project, which
arose from the Farmleigh meeting, is interested in the international perception of Ireland as well as the perception of identity
among the Diaspora. A privately owned and run website was to be launched on St. Patricks Day 2011. As a broad based portal,
it would provide information on all aspects of Ireland which would be translated into the languages of different countries
through electronic embassies.
For the benefit of all those of Irish descent worldwide, estimated at more than 70 million people, a certificate of Irish
heritage was planned by the Department of Foreign Affairs to be produced under licence by a third party company and made
available at a reasonable fee. The first example was presented to mark the 10th anniversary of the Twin Towers, to Bridget,
mother of firefighter Joseph Hunter, who lost his life attempting to save others. The take-up of the certificate has proved
disappointing (2012). A small project, Ireland Reaching Out, involved inviting the descendants of emigrants back to a small
area in south-east Galway. Its success in 2010 has led to community volunteers in other parishes getting involved also. A much
larger initiative, from the tourist industry, entitled Tstal ireann 2013 (The Gathering, or Irish Homecoming) was announced
at the Global Irish Economic Forum of 2011 as was an awards scheme for outstanding figures among the Irish. Two postcards
were sent in late 2012 to households to encourage invitations home to family or friends abroad. However, the concept has
found critics for tending towards the venal. Nevertheless, the continuing popularity of free access to the records of the 1901
and 1911 censuses are proof of interest. Within weeks of the 1901 census being made available in June 2010 (census.ie), the
site had attracted more than 60 million hits. Several dioceses also now provide church records on the www.irishgenealogy.ie
website. In early September 2011, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht held a joint meeting for all involved in
the Irish genealogy project, from researchers to tourism operators to digitisation experts. Experts in the field look for some
standardisation of access (free and with fee) and of search methods.
The 2010 Farmleigh (pronounced Farmlee echoing the original Irish, non-anglicised name, Fearann Liath, literally
grey/green land or townland) gathering highlighted the arts in recovery policies from the recession, although in phraseology
foreign to many practitioners, monetising the arts. However, the newly appointed Minister of the newly named Department
of Tourism, Culture, Sport, speaking at an event after her appointment (March 2010) emphasised valuing the arts for
their own sake and considering any tourism and economic spin-off as an added bonus. This view was also put forward
during an academic conference held in Trinity College Dublin on 15 April 2010 on the contribution made by the arts and
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cultural spheres to economic and social health and in an editorial in the Irish Times (19 April, 2010), Valuing our heritage,
commenting on the list of sites submitted by the Minister for the Environment to UNESCO for possible recognition on
that bodys World Heritage List. It was further echoed during 2010 in the reply of the new Ireland Professor of Poetry, Harry
Clifton, to the assertion of the Taoiseach that the arts could give brand Ireland a competitive edge in a globalised world. The
Professor decried the notion of the arts or the human mind as mere market commodities. Another commentator considered
cultural vigour and the arts as part of the cultural intelligence of a people. In general, it would appear that the juxtaposition
of culture and creativity with industry is unsettling for some although others call for artists to openly play their part in the
life of the nation.
On the other hand nevertheless, a coalition of groups representing Irelands creative and cultural industries made a joint
submission in August 2010 to the European Commissions green paper on Unlocking the Potential of the Cultural and Creative
Industries. The possible uses of the outcomes of the creative process in keeping Ireland in the global consciousness, with possible
market fallouts for all sectors of society and the economy, is not a process which is anathema to all. Arguments are also made on
the role of the arts in what is described as the creative economy and how the arts are missing from the innovation fund and the
impact of the digital agenda and encouragement of the smart economy. Reports have been produced to show the economic
return from investment in the various art forms. A report for Business to Arts published in June 2010 on bank sponsorship for
two festivals in Dublin and Belfast revealed the spin-off: without sponsorship the festivals could not function at the same level;
with the sponsorship almost 70 jobs (or equivalents) were supported and 8.4 million added to economy activity north and
south. In July 2010, the Minister for Tourism launched a new grant scheme in the area of cultural technology. It is intended
to further the departments aim of recognising the social and economic role of the arts, culture and film sectors. The scheme
consists of aid towards any form of communications technology which promotes Irish arts and culture with a tourism angle.
Comments on Irish participation at the three Edinburgh festivals (Fringe, International, and International Book Fair) in
August 2010 reveal some of the tensions in the thinking and in the use of market terminology in discussion of the arts and the
economy. The State body, Culture Ireland, has at the core of its mission the task of growing the reputation and market-share
for Irish artists. The Irish Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport considered the Edinburgh Festivals significant platforms
where Irish artists can showcase their creative work to a massive audience and make important economic connections to
develop valuable new touring opportunities. The Minister also noted in August 2010 that the marketing budget for tourism
had increased at a time when cuts were more the norm (additional funding was also found in 2011 for tourism initiatives). She
was responding to the findings of a survey (Anholt-GfK Roper Nations Brands Index) of global travellers which considered
Ireland the 12th most beautiful country in the world. Of global interest also, apparently, is the fact that an Irish comedian
established the first world record for the longest solo stand-up comedy show in 2009: 36 hours and 15 minutes. (It has since
been surpassed by an Australian and a Norwegian). In fact, the recession in Ireland led to an increase in visitors to most
museums, galleries, libraries, archives and concerts during 2009 and into 2010.
The Arts Council values the cultural tourism industry at 2.4 billion directly a year and their annual funding for 2010
(down to 69.15m) at less than 1 a week for every household. Funding between 2008 and 2011 (65m) has decreased by
almost a third. The Council argues that the arts are the most productive and innovative sector of the domestic economy,
providing 30,000 jobs and giving back 350m per annum to the exchequer in taxes. The Council also emphasises the prizes
and nominations for all major awards enjoyed by the various art forms: writing, theatre, music, film, animation. The arts
practitioners are themselves very politically pro-active, pointing to the truths that all this success is accomplished on extremely
low salaries and overheads.
Nevertheless, whatever the emphasis on the Diaspora and on tourism, the interest at home on self-definition through
culture led to new interest on perceptions of identity. One commentator sees a new need to reconnect with the past, with new
forms of tradition, now that the type of identity engendered by the economic Tiger era has lost its meaning; this identity being
never more at any rate than a replacement for the waning belief in church and institutions. The fiscal and political crisis of the
moment he sees as becoming in the future both social and cultural. The possible loss of sovereignty to Europe and to foreign
bondholders, as well as dismay and disappointment in respect of institutional Ireland, led to new interest in the concept of
citizenship. Instead of protests, meetings were organised of civil society, organisations and individuals, seeking to articulate a
set of values and ways of realising them. A movement also began for reform of the whole political system, particularly among
the younger generation of politicians across all parties. A study carried out during the election campaign in February 2011
and launched in Leinster House (seat of Parliament) on Democracy Day (15 September) had some interesting results. While
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people wanted fewer TDs to represent them, they wished the emphasis to be on local rather than national issues (more support
for this in other areas than in Dublin city and Leinster). There was also support for abolishing the Seanad (Upper House). The
current electoral system of proportional representation by single transferable vote received high support for its retention and
opposition to its removal. As in other random sample polls, confidence in public institutions was lowest in banks and political
parties, topping the list at the time was the Garda (police) and RT (public broadcaster), then in descending order the
courts, Civil Service, EU, church, trade unions. These attitudes have had some results as detailed in the section below under
Politics and Government.
Another outcome of the recession was the competition conceived by the husband of the President, An Smaoineamh
Mr (The Great Idea, February 2010), publicised under the slogan Your Country Your Call. Companies, individuals and
a government department funded the online competition, run by a not-for-profit company, to find two successful projects
which could be developed. There were two winners from almost 9,000 entries. One envisages making Ireland a global media
hub for the content industries; the second the creation of a data island, where Ireland develops green mega data centres. The
competition was initially criticised on the grounds of a rule asking for submissions in English. However, submissions as Gaeilge
(in Irish) were accepted and displayed on the projects website.
Iceland was another example of a country that turned once more to self-definition through the arts after its financial crisis.
In France, policy on the arts has unexpectedly taken on new significance in the contest for the presidency there (July 2011).
LANGUAGE MATTERS AND RECESSION
The very practical implications of less public monies to spend on language affairs are evident and explained under various
headings below. While they may be seen as having very negative effects, on the other hand, nevertheless, concomitant changes
of emphases in both political and public discourse as well as a renewed public discussion on identity and core values could, if
properly mobilised, prove very positive to perceptions of, and engagement with, Irish language and culture.
Several publications appeared on the theme of economy and language. A new study of the decline of Irish as vernacular
was published in February 2011, Contests and Contexts: the Irish Language and Irelands Socio-Economic Development, by Dr
John Walsh of the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG). Its thesis is that the language shift in the 19th century was
detrimental to both society and economy resulting in not only language loss but additionally in loss of self-confidence and
of economic creativity. In September 2011, a work in Irish, Meon Gaelach, Aigne Nulaoch (Gaelic Disposition, Creative/
Inventive Mind), by Professor Fionnbarra Brolchin (Professor Finbarr Bradley), came out; it discusses the advantages of a
native language in developing an innovative smart economy. This might be considered a sequel to the work mentioned already
above, Capitalising on Culture, Competing on Difference by Finbarr Bradley agus James Kennelly (2008), where the authors
contrast two views in economic thinking:
(i) Confidence and independence arise out of an erosion of a sense of place; rootedness is antithetical to competitiveness,
and its polar opposite:
On the issue of language and the direct implications of economic problems, an account of the impact of the economic
crisis on both philosophy and funding for the language and the Gaeltacht may be found below, towards the end of Chapter 3,
Funding for Irish Language and Culture.
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Two visits
The period mid 2007 to mid 2011 could well be counted among the more turbulent periods in Irish political and economic
history as detailed below and in the section above on the economy. Nevertheless, in May 2011, two events occurred which were
seen as of major positive significance, nationally and internationally, in political terms. Queen Elizabeth the Second accepted
the invitation of the President of Ireland to visit. Given the history of the two countries, the words of both dignatories at a
reception in Dublin Castle began a new chapter in relationships. The Queen spoke of being able to bow to the past, but
not be bound by it. The Presidents response was similar in tone: We cannot change the past, but we have chosen to change
66
the future. Unusually, the Queen was accompanied for some of her visit by Prime Minister Cameron and William Hague,
the Foreign Secretary. As always, Prince Philip was by the Queens side. Irish speakers were pleased that the Queen began
her keynote speech in Irish, addressing the President and the assembled guests: A Uachtarin agus a chairde (President and
friends).
A few days later, Barack Obama, President of the United States, accompanied by his wife Michelle, paid a brief visit to his
forebears house in Moneygall (Muine Gall) in County Offaly. Speaking in public in Dublin to a crowd estimated at 100,000,
his rousing words, particularly to young people, on Irelands future, were very well received, as was his use of one possible
Irish language version of his slogan, We can do it, Is fidir linn. This had been popular for some time printed on tee shirts.
Naturally, the possible trade implications of both visits were of economic importance. The symbolic use of the Irish language
by both visitors was appreciated, although not to be regarded as a model for Irish politicians who could go further. While not
detracting from either event, it was also noted that national self-confidence best comes from within, and not from dependence
on external sources of affirmation.

During her visit, the Queen was presented with a copy of an Irish Primer (Speake Iryshe) prepared for her ancestor, Elizabeth
the First, by Baron Christopher Nugent and given to that queen in 1564. The facsimile was enabled through the digitisation
project, Irish Script on Screen (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies). It may be seen on the website, www.isos.dias.ie, under
the Farmleigh component.
On the international scene, the Charlemagne Prize for furthering European unity was awarded in 2004 to the Irishman,
Pat Cox, who served as President of the European Parliament from 2002 to 2004, having been a Member since 1989.
Two elections
On the political domestic scene, the 30th Dil convened in June 2007, following general elections in May. The subsequent
Coalition Government (Fianna Fil, Greens, Progressive Democrat) endured despite all the crises and the decision in
November 2008 to wind up the Progressive Democrat Party. The Lisbon Treaty of the EU was rejected by the Irish people in
June 2008 but accepted in October 2009. The Referendum Commission issued its Guide to the Treaty in bilingual format as
now required under the Official Languages Act. Following the resignation of two ministers, for differing reasons, the Taoiseach
announced a Cabinet reshuffle in the Dil on March 23rd 2010 which had repercussions for five government departments in
particular and for some existing ministers as well as for other new appointments.
In the pre-shuffle media commentary and post-Bord Snip (McCarthy Report) suggestion that the ministry with
responsibility for language affairs be abolished, various fates were proposed for that department. During this period, the main
opposition party (Fine Gael) promised a senior minister for language affairs if they were in power. In the event, very little
change occurred to the language ministry at the time. The former department of community, rural and Gaeltacht affairs, which
had responsibility for the language, became the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. A new minister
and minister for state were appointed. This newly named department was intended to have responsibility also for two further
policy areas: social inclusion and family policy which moved from the former department of social and family affairs; equality,
disability, integration and human rights which moved from the Department of Justice, [Equality] and Law Reform. These
additional policy areas were put under the aegis of a minister for state (a member of the Green Party).
The longstanding minister with responsibility for the language was moved to the newly named Department of Social
Protection (largely the former department of social and family affairs with some additional areas of responsibility). The
previous minister for social and family affairs became minister of the newly named Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport
(previously arts, sport and tourism). The department of education and science became the Department of Education and Skills
with the addition of a range of training programmes formerly under the aegis of a quango. Finally the former department of
enterprise, trade and employment became the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation to include responsibility for
the research funding programme for third-level institutions. The two previous ministers of these two departments exchanged
places in the reshuffle.
The implications of these changes for language policy implementation meant that at least one other member of Cabinet
(the previous minister with responsibility for the language) would understand better than most the arguments of the new
incumbent of the department which includes language affairs whenever language issues would come to the table, particularly
those relating to the 20-Year Strategy for Irish.
The Fianna Fil party continued consolidating its base in Northern Ireland (NI) during 2010, a policy probably interrupted
67
by events in 2011. To the existing university cumainn (branches) it added in mid-2010 an office based in Crossmaglen (Crois
Mhic Lionnin) in south Armagh which was opened by the Taoiseach (Dublin Prime Minister). For two years or more the
party had been organising what was described as a forum in NI counties. Three had (mid-2010) been established in the south
of NI, in Armagh, Down and Fermanagh. Three more were planned in the north-east and north-west, in Antrim, Tyrone and
Derry. The party did not yet contemplate putting candidates forward in NI elections. In addition, the SDLP party of NI did
not envisage any pact with Fianna Fil.
However, the domestic political landscape changed utterly between the General Election of May 2007 and the General
Election of 25 February 2011. The implications of the economic situation and the perceived loss of economic sovereignty
outlined above in the section on the economy took their toll on the Coalition Government (Fianna Fil, Green Party, one
former Progressive Democrat) as did other issues. In May 2008, the incumbent Taoiseach resigned and a new Taoiseach, the
former Minister for Finance, was elected by the Dil (Parliament). The new Minister for Finance found himself inheriting
a multi-faceted crisis, the results of which eventually led to mounting public disquiet and loss of confidence, particularly in
the majority Coalition partner, Fianna Fil. The sequence of events is interesting. As occurred in November 2010 on matters
economic, November 2010 and January 2011 saw a series of weekends in matters party political of a kind rarely seen before.
The situation had, however, been brewing for some time. Surveys of public satisfaction with political parties and party leaders
had not been favouring the government coalition parties as the austerity measures took hold and public dissatisfaction grew.
All political parties had their problems during the life of the 30th Dil. The Greens saw the resignation of a junior minister;
the Progressive Democrats dissolved the party (20 November 2009) and the two deputies of that party, including one minister,
became Independents. A deputy from Fine Gael resigned leading to unsuccessful moves to replace the leader of the party at
that time. However, these moves were repeated, again unsuccessfully, when opinion polls showed growing support for the
Labour Party. Several parliamentary party members of Fianna Fil lost the whip from time to time; two deputies became
Independents; the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) resigned from that office. Two ministers resigned for differing causes. The sitting
Taoiseach (Prime Minister) resigned within a year after the inception of the 30th Dil (Parliament). The deputy for Donegal
North East resigned his seat early in November 2010. This by-election was never held, since a General Election was clearly
pending.
A by-election for Dublin Central, which tends to return an Independent, was held in June 2009, for a seat vacant since
the previous January. By November 2010, the writs for by-elections in three other areas, Donegal South West, Waterford,
and South Dublin, had not been called for what were considered unduly long periods after being vacated. These areas had
previously returned three Fianna Fil candidates in the General Election of May 2007, reduced to two in the first by-election
in South Dublin in 2009. The Dublin seat became vacant for the second time in February 2010 when the Fine Gael deputy
resigned less than a year after winning the first by-election. The Waterford seat had been vacant since March 2010 following
the resignation of the Fianna Fil deputy on health grounds; the Donegal South West seat since the Fianna Fil deputy was
elected a Member of the European Parliament in June 2009. Following a successful High Court action by Sinn Fin, the byelection for Donegal South West was finally signalled on 3 November 2010, and took place on 25 November. The Sinn Fin
candidate won the by-election, leaving the Government majority at two. In the interim, the Government had appealed the
Donegal High Court decision to the Supreme Court. However, it had indicated that if this appeal was lost, the writs for the
other two constituencies would be moved without delay. On 22 November, two Fine Gael deputies initiated legal proceedings
in the High Court in relation to these other two constituencies. However, other events and a General Election in the New Year
resulted in these two remaining by-elections not being held at that time.
Increasingly during the month of November 2010, economic and political issues became intertwined. The Budget for
2010 (published in December 2009) contained 4 billion in cuts and tax increases. The Budget for 2011 was expected to have
cuts around 3 billion. By September 2010, however, an even higher figure was signalled. By the beginning of November 2010
the official figure had doubled to 6 billion. As outlined above under the section on the economy, this news was eventually
followed on Sunday 21 November by the announcement of previously denied talks on a bailout from the EU, the ECB and
the IMF. Within a day the Green Party was seeking a General Election in January and threatening to leave the Coalition
in the New Year, although willing to vote with the Government from the Opposition benches on the upcoming Finance
Bill (which was largely concerned with the details of the bailout and was crucial to it). In line with statements from the EU
Commission, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) was continuing to seek all-party consensus on passing the then upcoming Budget
on 7 December with its 6 billion adjustment a vital part of the overall austerity plan. He committed to dissolving the Dil
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(Parliament) when that legislation was in place. A four-year austerity plan, with a 15 billion adjustment, was also published
on 24 November and the details of the bailout on Sunday 28 November. On the previous Saturday, 27 November, unions
marched in protest against the details of the four-year plan.
In the meantime, backbenchers were also uneasy and the leadership of the Fianna Fil party began to be openly discussed.
Calls for an election were already in the air; confidence motions were being proposed both in the Government and in relation
to leadership within the parliamentary party of Fianna Fil; protest skirmishes were taking place outside the Houses of the
Oireachtas. On Tuesday 23 November, a meeting took place of the Fianna Fil parliamentary party at which it was expected
that the Taoiseach, in his capacity as leader of the party, would face a challenge, given the public comments from some
members. While the issue was raised, no challenge was mounted. In the Donegal South by-election result on 25 November,
the dramatic fall in first preferences for the Fianna Fil Party from 50% to 21% unsettled the party further, although the two
Opposition parties had not increased their vote either.
Budget 2011, unveiled on 7 December 2010, was accompanied by more protests and no small amount of persuasion of
both Independents and some unwilling Fianna Fil deputies to ensure acceptance. The very cold weather was considered an
appropriate backdrop but a temporary glitch of technology at one of the banks caused a frisson of public concern which soon
passed. On cue, the EU gave formal recognition to the bailout package on the same day. This Budget and its various austerity
provisions were eventually passed. The Finance Bill incorporating these and the provisions of the bailout was published on 21
January 2011. Unusually, the Minister for Finance agreed a timetable to allow passage through amendments and all stages in
both Houses within a week, this to allow for an early General Election. To general relief, the Finance Bill was finally passed to
go for signature to the President on Saturday 29 January 2011. The General Election had been signalled for March 2011 but,
as promised, the Taoiseach announced the dissolution of the Dil early the following week after passage of the Finance Bill with
the election date set for 25 February, two weeks earlier than planned and in response to Opposition demands for that date,
including from the Green Party.
The Christmas recess had apparently given much food for thought to politicians. It was generally conceded that the
Opposition would win the upcoming election By mid-January 2011 quite a few TDs (Teachta Dla, Member of Parliament),
three ministers and a minister for state were not intending to stand in this election. On Sunday 16 January, the Taoiseach, after
consultation with party members in the light of a confidence motion, decided to stay on as party leader. The parliamentary
party accepted this decision on Tuesday 18th on the grounds that a change of leader so close to elections would not be wise. The
Minister for Foreign Affairs then resigned. The Taoiseach assumed the duties of that department.
Event then followed event. Firstly, the Taoiseach requested those Ministers not standing in the election to step down from
ministry, thus allowing the appointment of new faces going into elections. He later informed the Green Party of his decision
to reshuffle cabinet. On the same day, the Progressive Democrat minister resigned (she had been an Independent since the
dissolution of her party). Apparently, the Green Party was initially unaware of her decision. By that night and into next day
four other ministers had resigned bringing the total now to six. It is understood that two Fianna Fil deputies were later
informed that they would be appointed to ministries on the morning of January 20th.
When the Dil met that morning of 20 January 2011, aware of the resignations, neither the Green Party nor the Taoiseach
were present. Given the uproar that ensued, the House was suspended until the Taoiseach arrived. Instead of a reshuffle, he
announced the reassignment of the five ministries now vacant to existing ministers: Enterprise, Trade and Innovation to Tourism,
Sport and Culture; Defence to Social Protection; Health to Education; Justice to Agriculture; Transport to Community,
Equality and Gaeltacht. He also announced a General Election for 11 March (a date later changed to 25 February).
Following these events of 20 January, although there were calls for the Taoiseach to go, even from party ranks, he was still
of a mind to lead the party into the election. However, on the following Sunday 23 January, after discussion with his family, he
gave his decision. He would not stand in the election; although not continuing as party leader, he intended to stay as Taoiseach
for the interim. The way was now clear for a Fianna Fil internal party election for the position of leader within sight of a
looming election. This took place on Wednesday 26 January, one week after the confidence motion being effectively won by
the Taoiseach at the previous meeting of the parliamentary party. There were four candidates. The previous Minister for Foreign
Affairs became the eighth leader of Fianna Fil.
The day after the Taoiseachs announcement, on Monday 24 January, the Green Party left the Coalition (as had been
intimated in December 2010) citing lack of communication on important political matters. This left two other ministries
vacant. These too were reassigned: Environment, Heritage and Local Government to Social Protection; Communications,
69
Energy and Natural Resources to Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. The cabinet was now at the Constitutional
minimum of seven, eight ministries in all having been reassigned to the other seven departments.
Language and politics

Against this extraordinary background dominated by economic woes, fairly unusual political events and an atypically long
spell of cold weather, some meetings did still take place of the high level inter-departmental committee on Irish chaired by the
Taoiseach in tandem with some slight revisions of the original Draft Strategy document. The Fianna Fil/Green Party Coalition
Cabinet approved the final version of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish on 30 November 2010. It was subsequently launched on
the 21 December 2010 in Government Buildings by the Taoiseach and two senior cabinet ministers. Speaking at the launch,
the Minister with responsibility for the language said:
This Strategy was formulated in consultation with the public to whom the language belongs. Although it is a
Government strategy in name, the Government does not claim ownership over it. It belongs to the people. It is your
strategy and it is up to us and to you to make sure that it is successfully implemented.
The Minister also noted that a Strategy Unit had already been established in his department as part of the planning stage.
Implementation would now be for the next administration. However, Irish speakers hoped that the overall thrust of the
Strategy would remain, particularly as there had been all-party consensus at the relevant Oireachtas Committee.
While Irish language organisations were relieved that the Strategy was now official Government policy, nevertheless some
of the final changes made, or indeed not made, received comment. In the first instance, there was a level of disappointment
at how little of the official and public response from the consultation phase actually found its way into the revised Strategy.
Among these points was the continued lack of clarification with regard to:
the relative distribution of functions between the various elements of policy and policy implementation, in particular
between the departmental Strategy Unit, the body named as implementing body (dars na Gaeltachta extended
beyond the Gaeltacht), and the cross-border body, Foras na Gaeilge;
the relative weighting of policies aimed at the Gaeltacht language community and speakers, largely school-generated,
outside the Gaeltacht.
Guth na Gaeltachta (Voice of the Gaeltacht; founded in August 2009, in Gaoth Dobhair in the Donegal Gaeltacht) noted
the absence of a national educational policy for the Gaeltacht and of a comprehensive support structure for Gaeltacht families.
Nevertheless, there was guarded acknowledgement of wording that still permitted an entrepreneurial rle for the new style
dars na Gaeltachta although the changed order in the name of the entity was not encouraging, from dars na Gaeltachta
agus na Gaeilge to dars na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta , particularly to those who had reservations about sharing the dars
outside the Gaeltacht. The resources implications were probably the locus of most concern since the Strategy was to be initially
implemented within existing resources although 1.5 million had been set aside from existing resources within the relevant
department for the first year (planning, legislation, structural reform). In the event, the proposed dars na Gaeilge did not see
the light of day in the changes made by the next administration.
Irish pre-General Election 2011

The announcement by the Taoiseach of the dissolution of the Dil on 1 February 2011 contained no small number of references
in Irish, ending with lines from a well-known poem: Anois teacht an Earraigh
Mar fhocal scoir pheann Raifteara, an file,
Anois teacht an earraigh, beidh an l ag dul chun sneadh,Is tar is na file Brde, ardidh m mo sheol.
[In conclusion from the pen of the poet, Raifteara.
Now, with spring on its way, the day will grow longer,
And after St Brigids feast day, I will hoist my sail.]
The reference is to the Taoiseachs statement of the previous day, reiterated in this valedictory speech, that he would not be
contesting the upcoming election. St. Brigids Day is celebrated on 1 February, the Celtic feast of Imbolc, midway between the
Winter solstice and the Spring equinox, marking the move into light and new growth from the dark days of Winter. The poem
70
is found in most school anthologies. The Mayo poet, Antaine Raifteara, blind from early childhood, lived between 1779 or so
and 1835.
Interestingly, Irish language affairs were, in fact, central to subsequent pre-election activity. The Irish lobby organised
around two main issues: the Strategy, including the Gaeltacht, and the retention of Irish at Leaving Certificate level. The five
main parties published their respective pre-election policies on Irish as on other areas. Twenty-three Independents from across
the country published a joint letter of support for the Irish lobbys position in the national press; thirty-one expressed verbal
support.
Fianna Fil, the Labour Party, the Green Party and Sinn Fin would all maintain and retain Irish as a core subject for Leaving
Certificate. Fine Gael softened its initial position to the possibility of undertaking a review before making Irish optional at this
level (a survey for the Irish Independent newspaper indicated that 53% wished Irish to remain compulsory while 3% did not
know). All parties favoured policies to maintain the Gaeltacht as a language community and to secure job creation there. There
was also general consensus on Irish-medium education, on improving teachers competence, and on reviewing Irish language
curricula. The Strategy, the Official Languages Act, and Irish language broadcasting received support. Fine Gael introduced the
concept of a 10-point fluency scale for citizens plus access to resources for improvement in competence. Sinn Fin urged the
Dublin and Westminster Governments to fulfil the commitments made in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
On 16 February 2011, on TG4 (the Irish language channel), the first ever debate conducted entirely in Irish took place
between the leaders of the three main parties: Fianna Fil, Fine Gael, the Labour Party. It was broadcast to a large audience of
over half a million viewers at peak time, immediately after the main 7.00 p.m. news and repeated at 10.30 p.m., with a female
interviewer asking the hard questions. The results were considered a draw between leaders, each excelling in a particular area
of the questioning undergone.
General Election 2011

The Fianna Fil/Green Party Coalition formed in mid-2007 (including the Progressive Democrat Party at that time) did not
run the full term of five years. The results of the next General Election on 25 February 2011 changed many aspects of the
political landscape. Firstly, many familiar faces disappeared and many new young candidates were elected to the 31st Dil
(parliament) of 166 deputies with the result that 84 TDs (MPs) had not been in the previous Dil; 76 TDs were elected for
the first time; 25 TDs were female, a figure higher than ever before. There was no deputy from the Green Party for the first
time since 1989.
The relative state of the parties changed entirely. Figures for the previous election are shown in brackets: Fine Gael 76
(51); Labour Party 37 (20); Fianna Fil 20 (78); Sinn Fin 14 (4); Green Party 0 (6); Socialist Party 2 (0); People Before Profit
Alliance 2 (0); Others/Independents 15 (5+ 2 PDs as Independents after dissolution of that party). Independents now had
sufficient numbers to be considered a technical group, with the administrative benefits attaching, if they chose to so group.
Both Fine Gael and Labour reached their highest number of seats ever while Fianna Fil reached its absolute lowest, in third
place. It had been the largest party since 1932. Commentators speculated on whether recovery for the party was possible from
such a low base. However, by early February 2013, support for the Fianna Fil party and its leader were heading an Ipsos MRBI
opinion poll for the Irish Times. The number of those undecided was also high in this poll, a factor with which all political
parties are grappling., old certainties being eroded.
By-elections may affect the strength of any particular party during the lifetime of the Dil. The figures below show the
relative strength of parties by seats won directly after three recent elections.
71
Election
2002
2007
2011
Fianna Fil
82
78
20
Fine Gael
31
51
76
Labour Party
20
20
37
The Green Party
Sinn Fin
14
Progressive Democrats
Socialist Party
People Before Profit
13
15
166
166
166
Independents
New Coalition: Fine Gael/Labour Party

With the largest combined majority ever at 113 seats, negotiations began on 28 February between Fine Gael and the Labour
Party towards forming a government and formulating an agreed programme for that government. The Programme for a National
Government 2011 2016 was completed by 6 March in time for a special conference of the Labour Party. The contents,
drawing on past plans and titles, were variously described in the press as Programme for Government and National Recovery
2011-2016, or Government for National Recovery, or Programme for Government 2011.
During the last recession the then Government issued a Programme for National Recovery (October 1987) which included
agreement from the recognised social partners. It derived largely from a NESC (National Economic and Social Council)
report, A Strategy for Development 1986-1990, and was a relatively short document. A new plan for a new crisis was devised by
the previous administration towards late 2010. However, the European Commission was more involved with this new plan,
social partnership having broken down because of public service pay cuts. The final iteration of this plan was a longer and more
detailed document, The National Recovery Plan 2011-2014, and was integral to the bailout by the troika.
The new Dil convened on 9 March and the leader of Fine Gael was elected Taoiseach by a large majority of 90 votes.
The leader of the Labour Party became Tnaiste (Deputy). The new cabinet consisted of 10 Fine Gael ministers and 5 Labour
ministers with 2 ministers of state attending cabinet also, one from either party. The existing Government departments were
reconfigured to some extent, with some functions differently redistributed, and having new titles.
The new administration was not without advice; a group of some 17 public figures presented a joint document entitled A
Blueprint for Irelands Recovery.

The administrations initial emphasis was on restoring credibility and rebuilding Irelands reputation particularly during the
traditional visits abroad for St. Patricks Day 2011. This was also the message of the Labour Tnaiste and Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Trade to the 76 ambassadors recalled to a joint meeting. In the allocation of functions, Trade was added to Foreign
Affairs (D/FA) in an effort to better integrate diplomatic, economic and trade representation abroad. The management of EU
affairs was transferred from the D/FA to the Department of the Taoiseach. Departments which retained more or less the same
functions as previously were: Taoiseach (with EU Affairs now included); Finance; Agriculture, Marine (formerly Fisheries) and
Food; Communications, Energy and Natural Resources; Social Protection; Education and Skills. In other changes Community
became part of the Department of Environment and Local Government; Justice, Equality and Defence were put together
as were Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation. Health and Children were separated into two standalone departments (although
Children were attached to Gaeltacht etc for a period until the new department was formally established). A new ministry of
Public Reform and Expenditure was created. A new Minister of State with responsibility for housing and planning would
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attend Cabinet meetings as would the Government Chief Whip (Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach). Of
these 17 at cabinet, two were female as was the Attorney General. The Labour Party held the Departments of: Foreign Affairs
and Trade; Education and Skills; Communications, Energy and Natural Resources; Public Expenditure and Reform; Social
Protection.
With regard to language matters, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport was renamed as the Department of
Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The new department was formally allocated responsibility, inter alia, for the Irish Language,
the Gaeltacht and the Islands, the National Famine Commemoration, Waterways Ireland (cross border body).
Among the advisers appointed by ministers were the education editor of a daily newspaper in Education and Skills and in
Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht a former journalist and director of public affairs with the Arts Council (for a period).
Reform
Given the turbulent context to the General Election, the question of reform had dominated party programmes, particularly
with regard to the bailout, the banking sector, public expenditure, job creation. In addition, younger candidates in particular
had voiced concerns in relation to parliamentary structures. The leader of Fine Gael had mooted the idea of abolishing the
Seanad (Upper House). This may have provided the context for a publication launched by the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) in
Autumn 2011 on the workings of The Houses of the Oireachtas: Parliament in Ireland, the first work since 1979 on the subject.
The co-editor is of the view that political reform is long overdue and that there exists a dislocation between the citizenry and
their political structures. These citizens, however, revealed their views in a study carried out during the election campaign
in February 2011 and launched in Leinster House (seat of Parliament) on Democracy Day (15 September). The results
were interesting. While people wanted fewer TDs to represent them, they wished the emphasis to be on local rather than
national issues (more support for this in other areas than shown in Dublin city and in Leinster). There was also support for
abolishing the Seanad (Upper House). On the other hand, the current electoral system of proportional representation by single
transferable vote received high support for its retention and opposition to its removal. (See also Chapter 3, Constitution).
In addition to continuing reductions in political remuneration at all levels, the new Coalition did introduce several other
changes, both structural and costsaving, as signalled in the agreed Programme for a National Government. These included
the new Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and reduction of Oireachtas committees by 10 (from 25 to 14 plus
one new committee), although, unusually, up to 70% of seats on these committees came from the governing coalition since
assignment is in proportion to party representation. Membership of the Finance and Public Expenditure Committee was
increased to 21 and one new committee established, the Committee on Investigations, Oversights and Petitions. Language
was once again part of a large composite committee, the Committee on Environment, Community & Local Government and
Transport, Tourism & Sport and Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht Affairs. Departments now advertise for expressions of interest for
appointment to non-executive positions, including chairperson, on state boards, although ministers are not restricted to those
who so apply.
Pre-election promises to reduce the number of Dil public representatives from 166 found expression in the Constituency
Commission announced in late June 2011 on receipt of the preliminary Census 2011 results which showed an increase in
population. The Constitution stipulates one representative for every 30,000 of population. The eventual results were not
welcomed by those public representatives who will lose their seats under the new arrangements. The Electoral Amendment Bill
on this and other issues will include a six-month time limit on holding by-elections when Dil vacancies occur. Lowering the
voting age to 17 may also be considered by the Convention on the Constitution.
Measures planned by the previous administration were continued and some were published in late June 2011. Limerick
City and County Councils will be merged and become a single authority after the 2014 local elections. This had been the main
recommendation of the Brosnan report for the Limerick Local Government Committee. The Minister with responsibility
for local government affairs later published further proposals for fairly radical reform. The Minister for Education and Skills
announced a revised reconfiguration and restructuring of the Vocational Education Committee (VEC) system already begun
by the previous Government. Mergers will now reduce the existing VECs to 16 from 38.
On 31 May 2011, the coalition cabinet agreed the Electoral Amendment Political Funding Bill 2011. This introduced two
provisions of previous debate: a 30% gender quota for the next national election and 40% after that; a limit on individual donations
to political parties, not a ban on corporate donations as this would raise constitutional questions but a substantial reduction in the
threshold of declaration in company annual accounts (from 5,000 to 200); a reduction of 50% in State funding for parties not
73
adhering to the 30% gender quota (meaning a minimum of 30% male and 30% female representation rising to 40%).
Three referenda were initially announced in tandem with the October 2011 presidential election: on reductions in judicial
remuneration (although the judiciary would prefer an independent report to a referendum), on the outcome of the Abbeylara
judgement which limited the investigative powers of Oireachtas Commitees, and on protection of whistle-blowers. The first
two were eventually put to the people in October 2011. The people agreed with reductions in judicial salaries but not with
increased powers of investigation for Oireachtas committees. As usual, all official material on the constitutional changes being
proposed was issued bilingually as was material from the Referendum Commission.
A Commission (An Coimisin Reifrinn) is appointed under the Referendum Act 1998 each time a constitutional issue
is put to the people, and for each issue. Commissions are chaired by a member of the judiciary who is appointed by the
Chief Justice at the request of the Minister. The ex officio members are the two Clerks of the two Houses of the Oireachtas,
the Ombudsman (whose office provides the secretariat) and the Comptroller and Auditor General. Funding is provided by
the department(s) sponsoring the referendum proposal(s). The tenure of each particular commission lasts for approximately
8/9 months, being appointed before the date of the referendum, submitting a report to the Minister (for the Environment,
Community and Local Government in this case, in 2011) within six months of the holding of the referendum, and dissolving
within a month of the submission of that report. It is an entirely independent and impartial body. Since 2001 (in the wake
of the Lisbon Treaty referendum), however, the Referendum Commission no longer sets out the arguments for and against
whichever referendum proposal is at issue. Its role is to explain the subject matter, to raise public awareness, and to encourage
people to use their vote.
In relation to the third issue initially signalled for referendum, on Tuesday 5 July 2011, in response to a parliamentary
question, the Minister for Finance said that the commitment in the Programme for Government to legislation to protect
whistle-blowers would be expedited as overarching legislation providing for good faith reporting and protected disclosure
on a uniform basis for all sectors of the economy. The proposed childrens rights referendum was initially deferred (until
November 2012 as it transpired) as apparently was any immediate movement on the Seanad, although five parties were for
abolition of the Upper House before the election and abolition featured in the agreed Programme. In fact, the Seanad is one of
two issues which received much coverage in the pre-election period but little debate since. Twelve reports had been issued over
the years on reform of the Seanad, the last in 2004. The results of a referendum in 1979 on the Universities Panel were never
implemented. The immediate focus at that time appeared to be shifting back more to the Dil, to the power of the Executive
vis--vis Parliament, to the Dil as an inclusive legislative body in a position to hold the government of the day to account.
The Taoiseach was still referring to a referendum on the abolition of the Seanad in late 2012. The general mood, however, was
leaning more towards retention with reform and no decision on the basis of savings alone.
The second issue concerned changing the voting system although some were of the view that such change would not
necessarily change the political system for the better. The existing system, proportional representation by single transferable
vote (PR/STV), allows Independents gain seats in ways that a list system would not. There is also the issue of the undoubted
clientelism of the present system being offset by the connection between voters and local representatives, unknown in many
other democratic systems. In 1959 and in 1968, the people rejected change to the current PR/STV system. The number of
public representatives per constituency population appears to be an issue for future debate unlike single seat as opposed to
multi-seat constituencies.
The Fine Gael leader had said he would welcome the views of a Civic Assembly on the Seanad question. A constitutional
convention on political reform had been the position of the Labour Party. A June 2011 meeting of the citizens group, We
the Citizens, advocated reform rather than abolition of the Seanad, reducing the number of Dil representatives, and making
voting mandatory. The chair of the group had become one of the newly appointed Seanadir (Senators), who are nominees of
the Taoiseach. The participating citizens were chosen by representative sample.
Coalitions and citizens

In a study conducted for the Medical Council by Millward Brown Lansdowne, between 9 February and 3 March, in the period
just before and after the General Election of 25 February, politicians did not fare too well. Of fifteen professions, respondents
trusted doctors most as persons most likely to tell the truth (88%) and TDs or public representatives least (12%). Teachers,
judges, garda (police) were also high on the list; clergymen/priests midway (50%) and journalists (37%), trade union officials
(32%) and business leaders (27%) towards the bottom.
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Given that coalitions are beginning to be the norm in Ireland, citizens views are interesting as revealed in the Edelman
Trust Barometer Index 2011. The results are a clear indication of economic and political recent history. Despite this, however,
trust by other countries in international companies in Ireland had not been affected. The survey was conducted in 23 countries
across four areas which impinge on citizens lives: government institutions; media; business; non-governmental organisations
(NGOs). The sample population surveyed was based on those with a college education and a good income. Irish peoples trust
in government, at 20%, was the lowest of the 23 countries surveyed where the average was over 50% (52%). Trust in the media
at 38% was also lower than the international average. Banks came lowest of all at a mere 6%. Business fared much better at an
average 46%, the technology sector receiving a score of 75%. NGOs, however, were globally and in Ireland the most trusted
of the four areas surveyed: 61% globally and 53% in Ireland.
Irish respondents ranked very highly the action of government or business taking full responsibility in time of crisis (85%);
this was followed by taking actions to protect customers and employees (81%) and open communication about the extent of
the crisis (81%). Not unexpectedly, correspondingly lower emphasis was given to minimising the crisis to protect reputation
(19%) or keeping information private (8%).
Language affairs and the new Fine Gael/Labour Coalition

Department with responsibility for the language
No change occurred in the title of the independent department established in 1956, Roinn na Gaeltachta, and little in the main
functions of that department, until the 1990s. It had from time to time been under the aegis of the Department of Finance
or the Department of the Taoiseach. In 1993, new functions were added and the entity was renamed the Department of Arts,
Culture and the Gaeltacht; given the range of functions this department had both a Minister and a Minister of State appointed,
a state which is still current (2012). In 1997, the new title was Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, again
with two ministers. By 2002, it was the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. During the latter part of the
life of the 30th Dil, the departmental title changed once more in March 2010, following a Cabinet reshuffle of ministerial
responsibilities arising out of the resignation of two ministers, for differing reasons. In the pre-shuffle media commentary and
post-Bord Snip (McCarthy Report on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes) suggestion that the ministry with
responsibility for language affairs be abolished, various fates were proposed for the department. During this period, the main
change occurred to the language ministry at the time but the former department of community, rural and Gaeltacht affairs,
which had responsibility for the language, became the renamed Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. A
new minister and minister for state were appointed. This department was intended to have responsibility also for two further
policy areas: social inclusion and family policy which moved from the former department of social and family affairs; equality,
disability, integration and human rights which moved from the Department of Justice, [Equality] and Law Reform. The
additional policy areas were under the aegis of a minister for State (a member of the Green Party).
When the 30th Dil met on the morning 20 January 2011, aware of the resignations of five ministers, neither the Green
Party nor the Taoiseach were present. Given the uproar that ensued, the House was suspended until the Taoiseach arrived.
Instead of another reshuffle, he announced the reassignment of the five ministries now vacant to existing ministers: Transport
was then added to Community, Equality and Gaeltacht. On Monday 24 January 2011, the Green Party left the Coalition
(as had been intimated in December 2010) citing lack of communication on important political matters. This left two other
ministries vacant. These too were reassigned: Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to Community, Equality and
Gaeltacht Affairs plus Transport.
This lasted until the new 31st Dil convened on 9 March 2011. With regard to language matters, the former Department
of Tourism, Culture and Sport was renamed as the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The new department
was formally allocated responsibility, inter alia, for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, the National Famine
Commemoration, Waterways Ireland (cross border body). This newest configuration of functions, entitled Arts, Heritage and
the Gaeltacht, had a senior minister (Fine Gael), as formerly promised by Fine Gael when in opposition. A Fine Gael Minister
of State, from the Gaeltacht, was also appointed to Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs. Heritage functions were transferred
with effect from 1 May 2011. In all, this department now includes: built and natural heritage; arts, film, music, cultural
institutions; Irish language, Gaeltacht schemes and offshore islands. The department works then with the various agencies
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under its aegis: e.g. dars na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeilge, the Arts Council, the Irish Film Board, the Council of National
Cultural Institutions.
Language and the implications of fiscal problems

The ramifications and possible implications for language arising out of continuing fiscal problems, as well as some decisions,
are fully discussed below under the section on Funding.
Language and Coalition 2011 (Fine Gael/Labour)

With regard to structures, language affairs are now sited in a full Government department entitled Arts, Heritage and the
Gaeltacht with a senior minister (Fine Gael), as formerly promised by Fine Gael when in opposition. A Fine Gael minister for
State, from the Gaeltacht, with specific responsibility for language matters, was also appointed to the department. However, he
does not sit at Cabinet. The Irish lobby had sought a full seat at Cabinet for language matters. Among Oireachtas Committees,
language is, as before, part of a large composite committee, the Committee on Environment, Community & Local Government
and Transport, Tourism & Sport and Arts, Heritage & Gaeltacht Affairs.
On language policy, for Irish speakers, the hopes, expectations, and possibly fears, with regard to the language policies
of the new Coalition centred on the following major issues: retention of Irish as a core subject at Leaving Certificate level;
implementation of the Strategy for Irish in undiluted form; assurance on the future of dars na Gaeltachta.
A government with a large majority in recessionary times could well concentrate on issues other than language and
not fully take into account that sound language policy permeates all official policy areas. Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge
(representing 24 organisations) held a Tionl (Meeting or Congress) on the Draft Strategy in February 2010 and collated a
series of election points. Two pressure groups, Guth na Gaeltachta (Voice of the Gaeltacht) and Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic
League), held a continuous series of information meetings for public representatives both before and after the General Election,
locally and in Dublin. All organisations, and some individuals, lobbied their local representatives or issued statements.
Towards Recovery: Programme for a National Government 2011-2016

Responses of a kind on all three policy issues came gradually. The final agreed joint document of the two Coalition parties,
Towards Recovery: Programme for A National Government 2011-2016, contained a section entitled An Ghaeilge agus an Ghaeltacht
(Irish Language and the Gaeltacht); two separate policy areas were intended. While no mention was made of removing Irish as
a core subject at Leaving Certificate level, some read ominous undertones into the statement:
We will take steps to improve the quality and effectiveness of the teaching of Irish at second level. When these steps
have been implemented, we will consider the question of whether Irish should be optional at Leaving Certificate.
Others pointed to the possibilities in another commitment:
We will aim to double the proportion of Irish students sitting the Higher Level Leaving Certificate (LC) exam by
2018.
It was presumed that this refers to increasing the numbers sitting the Higher Level in the Irish examination, rather than to the
examination as a whole. Numbers are currently much lower than for the Ordinary (or Pass) Level.
The section on language also made reference to the following:
Education
a thorough reform of the Irish curriculum and the way it is taught at primary and second levels with more emphasis
on oral and aural skills; 50% of marks for the oral component of the LC examination
20-Year Strategy
support for the Strategy and delivery on the achievable goals and targets proposed Gaeltacht
delivery of new job creation prospects; investment in energy, broadband and water infrastructure; support for jobs
in tourism and marine activities
Irish language broadcasting and arts sector
continued support
Legislation
review of the Official Languages Act to ensure expenditure on the language is best targeted towards the development
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of the language and that obligations are imposed appropriately in response to demand from citizens
Vuluntary sector
review of the current investment and funding programmes in order to achieve visible value for money for citizens
and tangible outcomes on a transparent basis.
While employment is undoubtedly important for the Gaeltacht, no overt mention was made of the most precious resource
of the community, its language, nor of more language-oriented initiatives in job creation, nor of dars na Gaeltachta.
Interestingly, broadcasting and the arts were included under Gaeltacht although benefiting all Irish speakers. On the Strategy,
no further elucidation was made as to which goals and targets were being considered achievable; it was presumed that cost
would be one of the determining factors. It was also presumed that Irish-medium education was not specifically mentioned
since it forms part of the Strategy. Elements of the public sector apparently found the demands of the Official Languages Act
out of kilter with the actual response of citizens; translation of documents had been often cited by certain commentators.
Nevertheless, the duty of the State, the demands of citizens, and the responses of citizens, are generally considered to be
separate issues that must be scrutinised individually. An Coimisinir Teanga (Commissioner for Languages) published (5 July
2011) his assessment of review of the Languages Act, based on experience to date. It is assumed that the review of the current
funding of the voluntary sector is a reference to that later conducted by Foras na Gaeilge. This is treated in Chapter 3, Funding.
Overall, this section appeared to give little hint of an understanding, within a coherent approach, of the differing needs and
latent potential of a regionally based language community and more network based contact groups. However, this was a
programme devised under time pressure which permitted no more than commitment to broad outlines of future policy.
Among the responses to these intentions of the new Coalition, including from Foras na Gaeilge which was not specifically
mentioned in the Coalition document, there was general acceptance in Irish language circles of the references to the Strategy,
to Irish in education and of visible results for monies expended in support of the language. It was suggested that COGG (An
Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaochta) should play a central role in curriculum review. dars na Gaeltachta
issued a statement to the effect that a meeting would be sought with the Minister.

Some more definitive indications as to Coalition policy on the language were seen in education: review of curricula and
ministerial statement on State examinations; publication of ongoing work by the Teaching Council. The latter included two
documents on teacher education both dated June 2011: Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education; Initial Teacher Education:
Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers. The Department also published a policy statement on literacy and numeracy
in schools. Certain of the references to Irish in these official statements and documents found favour in Irish language circles.
They are examined in more detail below in Chapter 4, Acquisition Planning: Education
Before then, however, general disquiet had been mounting: In mid-April 2011, questions were asked in the Dil by the
former minister for the language now in opposition, with regard to the delay in publishing the Gaeltacht legislation promised
in the Strategy as it was not included in the legislative programme for 2011. In Gaeltacht circles there was concern on the future
of dars na Gaeltachta, particularly since there had been official delay in sanctioning the appointment of a new chief executive
and rumours still abounded that it might lose its enterprise function. In an interview in Irish, published in mid-May 2011,
the recently retired chief executive of dars na Gaeltachta opined that it would be preferable not to make any changes to the
body as had been envisaged in the Strategy as launched on 20 December 2011, but to allow it to concentrate its energies on the
Gaeltacht regions solely. Speaking on 3 June 2011, the Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht
announced the plans of the Coalition Government with regard to aspects of the Strategy. They were somewhat different from
the section from the Strategy he had quoted in his replies in the Dil in April which came verbatim from the Strategy but
instead now echoed the remarks of the retired chief executive.
At a Cabinet meeting of 31 May, the content was agreed of the legislation required to implement sections of the Strategy.
These final Government decisions were announced on 3 June by the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs. Basically, two
changes from the original version of the Strategy were made with regard to the implementation bodies for the Strategy and to
the rle that had been originally envisaged for an extended dars na Gaeltachta. Preparation of the heads of the Bill could now
proceed although the time frame for enactment had not yet been clarified. Extracts from the official announcement are given
below.
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_ Provision will be made in the Gaeltacht Bill for a new statutory definition of the Gaeltacht, which will be based on
linguistic criteria rather than on geographical areas, as is currently the case.
_ Provision will be made under the legislation for a language planning process in order to prepare language plans at
community level for each Gaeltacht area and for the Minister to approve and review those plans periodically.
_ Statutory status will be given to a new type of network Gaeltacht area outside the existing statutory Gaeltacht areas.
These will be areas, predominantly in urban communities, that will have a basic critical mass of community and
State support for the Irish language.
_ Gaeltacht Service Towns, i.e. towns which service Gaeltacht areas, will also be given statutory status.
This section above contained no changes from the original version of the Strategy. The future of dars na Gaeltachta is set
down in another section given below of the official statement of 3 June 2011.
dars na Gaeltachta
_ The status quo will be maintained regarding the current functions of dars na Gaeltachta, including its enterprise
functions, subject to the following:
(a) statutory provision to enable the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to direct dars na Gaeltachta
to focus its limited resources towards specific enterprise sectors; and
(b) the development of a mechanism to facilitate dars na Gaeltachta to cooperate with other enterprise agencies,
particularly with regard to significant Gaeltacht projects with high potential.
_ Provision will be made under the Gaeltacht Bill to significantly reduce the Board of dars na Gaeltachta and to end
the requirement to hold elections.
While this decision was generally welcomed as dispelling uncertainty, the type of mechanism for cooperation with other State
enterprise agencies (as signalled several years previously) is significant and will require discussion.
Implementation structures under the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language
_ The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will retain primary responsibility for matters concerning the
Irish language, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht.
_ Foras na Gaeilge will continue to fulfil its responsibilities on an all-island basis as an agency of the North South
Language Implementation Body.
_ The Department, in partnership with relevant State bodies, will be responsible for the implementation of the
Strategy outside the Gaeltacht. The potential for Foras na Gaeilge to deliver certain elements of the Strategy, on an
agreed basis, will be explored.
_ dars na Gaeltachta will be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy within the Gaeltacht.
The last two points above envisage a different implementation scenario from the original extension of dars na Gaeltachta
to the rest of the country. In the Draft Strategy this is described as dars na Gaeilge. The recommendations of the Report
on the Draft Strategy from the Joint Oireachtas Committee (July 2010) were clearly influenced by the submissions from the
Gaeltacht community and on their behalf as shown in the wording of Recommendation 4:
dars na Gaeltachta or a new dars na Gaeltachta/na Gaeilge to retain the primary responsibility to develop the
economy and infrastructure of the Gaeltacht.
The Joint Committee calls for:
no diminution in the services provided in the Gaeltacht as a result of any restructuring of that organisation.
They go on to list the possible additional functions for a restructured dars na Gaeltachta/na Gaeilge.
However, on page 56 in the English-language version of the final iteration of the Strategy (December 2010), the Oireachtas
Committee version is, to some extent, reversed in the body which is now described as a new Irish Language and Gaeltacht
Authority (dars na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta).
While precise functions are still to be clarified, a more definite role is envisaged for Foras na Gaeilge in the June 2011
78
statement. The Department, however, in all cases, retains primary responsibility, although implementation in partnership
with relevant State bodies appears to apply to outside the Gaeltacht. It was the view of the Minister of State that These
Government decisions will ensure that existing structures will be used to deliver the Strategy and that the functions of the
key stakeholders with responsibility for implementing the Strategy, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht, will be clearly
defined. There was no specific reference to the role of the Voluntary Sector, as had occurred for other sectors, unless the sector
is included under funding bodies, either dars na Gaeltachta or Foras na Gaeilge. Interestingly, neither is precise distinction
of rles made in relation to the possible future operation of dars na Gaeltachta in new urban network-type Gaeltacht settings
(Category D).
Reaction to the changes

Objections both from the former minister and the Irish lobby centred on the following areas:
diminution of the democratic element with the ending of elections to dars na Gaeltachta and the possibility of
unsuitable appointments out of touch with local communities;
continued involvement of a possibly unsympathetic administration in Northern Ireland in policy and in funding
of language activities in the Republic through Foras na Gaeilge as implementing body outside the Gaeltacht; the
proposed dars na Gaeilge might have been a better vehicle;
the possibility of dars na Gaeltachta becoming swamped in the new arrangement with larger State enterprise
agencies.
However, departmental agreement to appoint a chief executive to An tdars was welcomed. But by September 2011, three
months later, this had not yet been realised to the disappointment of the Board (press release, 21 September 2011).
Presidential Election 2011

After 21 years of the first two female presidents, Mary Robinson for almost seven years and Mary McAleese for fourteen years,
no less than seven candidates presented for election on 27 October 2011. Among them were two women and five men, among
whom were three male party political candidates (Fine Gael and Labour Party from the Republic and the Sinn Fin Deputy
First Minister of the NI Assembly) and four Independent candidates.
The issue of Irish language competence is significant for the President whose main duty is to uphold the Constitution. As
occurred in the General Election of February 2011 with the party leaders, TG4 held a debate with the candidates. In this case,
however, only one candidate (Labour Party) was fluent although the remaining candidates had varying degrees of competence
from having sat Leaving Certificate through Irish to having had schooling in NI where no Irish had been taught. Arrangements
were made to have all candidates give a prepared preliminary and concluding statement in Irish but to have the remainder
of the debate bilingual for participants and viewers. This format was subjected to some degree of media criticism. In the NI
Ireland Assembly, a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) member took the (political) opportunity to refer to the lack of Irish of
the Sinn Fin presidential candidate.
In all media interviews on the subject, all candidates reiterated the importance of competence in Irish for the presidency
and those without sufficient competence promised to acquire or develop it as quickly as possible, as the previous two presidents
had done.
The highlighting of the Irish language in this and in the General Election might seem indicative of at least a new
understanding, and perhaps respect, not only among political parties but in the public in general.
79
SOCIETY
Population
General demographic trends for 2009, a high EU birth rate of 16.8 per thousand and a low death rate of 6.6 per thousand,
ensured that Ireland had the highest natural growth in population in the EU at 10.2 per thousand. This despite the highest
outflow of people in the EU, due to the recession, many of whom were returning migrants. In April 2010, the estimated
population stood at 4,470,700. The preliminary and provisional results of Census 2011 (end June 2011) showed a figure of
4.58 million (4,581,269), with more women than men; it was reported as the highest level in 150 years.
A report from the Trinity Immigration Initiative (Trinity College Dublin), entitled Current and Future Reality of Irelands
Multicultural Status, published in July 2010, concluded that Ireland will remain multicultural despite a decrease in inmigration
but that State policies are far from reflecting this reality.
Facts from an article in The Irish Times (5 October 2012) reflect the Ireland of today:
Ireland is the only territory in the world in which the population today is smaller than it was two centuries ago
Migration is the reason
Almost one in eight people resident in 2011 was not Irish.
By the standards of the rest of Europe, Ireland was one of the most homogenous societies in the early 1990s. By
[2011] it had become one of the continents most heterogenous countries.
inward migration from Poland and Lithuaniaif not as transformative as the changes of the 19th century, could
in time come to leave its own indelible mark on this island.
Marriage and birth rate

Socially, changes continued. They included a fall in the numbers seeking separation or divorce, which may be due to difficulties
in the property market, and a rise in the numbers of volunteers and blood donors among those with more time on their hands
for the moment. As sometimes happens during recessionary periods, the birth rate rose. In 2007 Ireland recorded the highest
birth rate in the European Union (EU), an average of 2.05 children for Irish women. It is reported at 2.07 in the Statistical
Yearbook 2010 (CSO). The birth rate had risen to 16.9 per thousand at year end 2010, the majority to women over 30, mostly
in the age group 30-34. The preliminary results (June 2011) of the 2011 Census show the highest rise on record of natural
increase in population (births minus deaths). That over one third of these babies were born to single mothers reflects the social
phenomenon of the changing nature of the family unit in Ireland as reported in the study conducted by the Economic and
Social Research Institute (ESRI, 2010), entitled Family Figures: Family dynamics and family types in Ireland 1986-2006. An
EU survey, Eurostat, reported in October that Ireland and Latvia were ranked joint first in the EU for children in one parent/
guardian homes (23.2% of young people under 18).
Cohabitation appears more popular than marriage although marriage is still a respected institution and the rate of divorce
is stabilising. In late 2010, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported that both men and women are marrying older, womens
average age being 31.3 and mens 33.4. More than half of women are over 30 at marriage. Interestingly, at 25% of all marriages,
civil ceremonies continue to increase. However, 74% were Catholic. On the other hand, a recent finding from Eurostat
(October 2010) shows that one in three Irish men, and one in six Irish women, aged between 25 and 34, live at home. There
are clear social class divisions between the age of marriage, the size of families, education, poverty and teenage pregnancy.
Children and youth

The EU Survey of Income and Living Conditions for 2009 revealed an increase in consistent child poverty from 2008 (6.3%)
to 2009 (8.7%). One commentator places this as a change from 1 in 16 to 1 in 11 children in the State. Around the same time
(November 2010), the CSO reported a growing number as dependent on State payments, over a quarter were in arrears on at
least one bill or loan, bringing the risk of poverty rate to 14.1%. This is still slightly below the average for the 27 EU states,
where Ireland is in 13th place.
Nevertheless, Irish children of 11-15 years are reported to be not only healthier but happier than children in any part of
Britain, according to recently (November 2009) published research. The study was carried out during 2006 by the National
University of Ireland Galway, (Health Promotion Research Unit), and the World Health Organisation. The longitudinal study
funded by the State, Growing Up in Ireland, has, however, found that too many children are overweight: 19% of nine-year-olds
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in 2009 and 25% of three-year-olds in the most recent preliminary report (mid-2011). Research supported by the European
Commission (October 2010) shows that Irish children use social networking sites more responsibly than most. They also tend
to be less bullied online. Irish parents (94%) restrict online use more than the EU average (83%). In fact, a study (mid-2011)
on digital literacy in the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) series of the Organisation for Economic
Development and Co-operation (OECD) ranked Irish 15-year-olds in 7th place of 16 countries. In the past five years, a team
of students from Ireland has participated in the worlds largest technology competition, Microsofts Imagine Cup, directed at
technological solutions to worldwide problems. They have achieved well against global competition. In July 2011, the Irish
team from IT Sligo (Institute of Technology) reached first place. They had competed against 350,000 registered students from
almost 200 countries to reach the prize. The USA team were in second place and Jordans in third. The Irish project was geared
towards safer driving. In part of an international survey on civic and citizenship education (by the International Association
for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), Irish teenagers (14 year olds) also scored highly in their interest in social and
political issues (7th of 36 countries).
A survey of childrens names in the Irish Times birth announcements for 2010 shows Patrick joint third for boys names
and other Irish names for both boys and girls outside the top ten. Not all parents are necessarily Irish-born. The Central
Statistics Office reports (2010) that Sen and Conor (Conchr) have been among the top 5 boys names since 1998. However,
changes occur annually.
President Higgins had initiated four regional seminars (Dublin, Cork, Monaghan, Galway) between May and September
2012 seeking the views of young people on their vision for Ireland. The Galway response ranked language, culture and social
issues above the purely economic. Interestingly, these cultural issues were given importance across all four workshops. The
national seminar was held in November. The President hopes to continue with this initiative in coming years.
Referendum on childrens rights

The promised referendum on strengthening childrens rights had not been held by mid-2010 despite consensus in the report
issued by the members of the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children in February 2010.
However, the new Coalition government (Fine Gael, Labour) of March 2011 established a new standalone ministry for
childrens issues with functions from a range of other departments transferred to it. It is titled the Department of Children
and Youth Affairs. The Minister considers the referendum on the rights of children a priority although it did not appear on
the legislative programme of the new government. It was initially speculated that it might be held in conjunction with the
presidential election in October 2011 once the final wording to be put to the people is agreed. However, by June 2011, it was
postponed to early 2012. It was finally held in November of 2012 and passed. The turnout of voters was one of the lowest
recorded at 33.5% of eligible persons and the size of the No vote was a source of surprise to politicians at 42.6%. As in the
earlier case where allowing more power to Oireachtas Committees was also refused by the people, some voters were of the view
that giving power to the State to intervene in the family was not acceptable. In general, there was some public comment on
lack of trust in the political class as evidenced also in surveys (above).
RELIGION
In the religious sphere, Irish society was rocked by the revelations of physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children mainly
by religious of the Roman Catholic Church as detailed in the Ferns (2005), Murphy (May 2009) and Ryan (November 2009)
Reports as well as the later published Cloyne Report (2011). The Ryan report was the result of the Commission to Inquire into
Childhood Abuse which had its beginnings in the apology to victims by the then Taoiseach (Prime Minister) in May 1999. It
reported on the institutions run by 18 congregations. The Murphy report on clerical abuse was a Commission of Investigations
report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. These followed the Ferns report into that diocese of 2005. As a result, there
were resignations of bishops and over 6,000 persons had officially defected from the Church by early 2010. A specific pastoral
letter from the Pope addressed to the Church in Ireland was issued and Visitors appointed to investigate matters in Ireland.
The Archbishop of Dublin referred to a crisis of faith particularly since no more than 30% of Catholics now attend Sunday
Mass in the archdiocese and these are mostly in the older age groups. An analysis based on the reports and on polling research
(In Plain Sight) reveals that 84% of people blame the silence of society and 83% the State for not doing more in the past to
prevent abuse of children. More worryingly, there still exists a perceived lack of accountability.
The absence of priests and an aging hierarchy have led to discussion on a radical restructuring of the current diocesan
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system established during the 12th century, from 26 to 11 dioceses for the country, including NI. However, there is no fall-off in
the numbers participating in ancient pilgrimages, whether in St Patricks Purgatory on the island of Lough Derg or in climbing
Cruach Phdraig; the spiritual aspect being separated from the overtly religious aspect. These places go back through history
to the first contacts with Christianity in Ireland when their original purpose, with the passage of time, became enmeshed with
the new religion.
A Forum on School Patronage was initiated by the Coalition Labour Minister of Education and Skills in May 2011.
The Minister is of the view that 50% of Catholic primary schools should be divested by the Church authorities. The figure
proposed by those authorities is closer to 10%. Parents and local communities will undoubtedly provide the answer to the type
of diversity of patronage that would be welcomed in the areas where surveys are ongoing (end 2012).
NO PEOPLE IS WITHOUT ITS MYTHS AND PARTICULAR CULTURE
History
While Saint Patrick (Pdraig), Saint Brigid (Brd) and Saint Colm Cille (dove of the church or cell) are considered historically to
be the three main patron saints of Ireland, Saint Patrick is the most significant. This may be due to the primacy won by Armagh
in the early Celtic Church although his feast day (17 March) was not officially recognised as a Bank Holiday until 1903. Brigid
is more popularly remembered through the distinctive rush crosses which commemorate her feast day (1 February). Colm Cille
(521-597) is probably best known for founding the island monastery of Iona off the west coast of Scotland in the mid sixth
century, 563. However, his reasons for fleeing to that remote island were rather less religious. He was the cause of litigation
with his former tutor, St. Finnian, on grounds of copying a manuscript belonging to the latter without permission. The High
King of Tara, Diarmuid Mac Cearbhaill, eventually ruled against Colm Cille with the famous words on copyright, To every cow
its calf, to every book its copy, an assertion used on the stationery of Cl (the Association of Publishers in Ireland). For this and
other reasons Colm Cille being himself of royal stock with a certain following the bloody battle of Cl Dreimhne in Sligo
occurred in the wake of the court ruling, later called the Battle of the Books, leading to Colm Cilles attempt at redemption
through exile, peregrinatio pro Christo (travelling for Christ). This type of missionary work is familiar to Irish religious down
to the present day.
The ancient cairn on the summit of Knocknarea (Cnoc na Riabh, Mountain Range/ Mountain) in County Sligo predates
the warrior Queen Maeve of Connacht who is reputed to have been buried there. Unlike the passage grave of Newgrange in
County Meath, it appears from media accounts that Maeves Cairn is so constructed that even modern excavation imaging
tools have failed to penetrate its stones.
Viking sites continue to be discovered on the east coast. One of the earliest, Linn Duachaill, near the village of Annagassan
in County Louth, where a Viking festival takes place annually, is historically attested to date from 841. It was used to trade and
to repair longships and as a base to pillage further inland. It is considered by experts one of the most important Viking sites
in Europe. Other sites, once considered Viking, are proving to be much older. The remains of a 7th century African trader was
found on the east coast of County Meath.
Interestingly, from a historical perspective, in research conducted by an insurance company for heritage buildings, the
GPO (General Post Office), centre of the 1916 Rising, was considered the most important by the public, coming before the
Hill of Tara of the Kings or Br na Binne, considered the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites
in Europe. The earliest Viking settlement in Ireland, from 841, is now commemorated through a festival in the small village of
th na gCosn (Annagassan, Ford of the Paths) near Droichead de (Drogheda, Bridge of de, female saint) in County Louth,
north of Dublin.
Tradition
On the traditional front, semi-feral goats are not without their protectors in Ireland. The Bilberry Goats of Waterford City are
apparently unique not only for their city existence or their blond fringes or long shaggy coats and gracefully curved horns but
also, it is reported, for creating what is possibly a legal first. Development was planned for the commonage where the goats
graze. The local community objected. In the court case and Bord Pleanla hearings that followed the goats were represented
by a local law firm and won their case. The goats came to Ireland with Huguenots fleeing persecution in France in the late
17th century and were set to graze on the common land known as Bilberry Hill. Now the Bilberry Goat Heritage Trust looks
after the goats interests and has built up the herd, producing cheese and even natural soap as produce. The same Huguenots
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may also be responsible for the distinctive Waterford white bread, known as blaa, possibly from the French blanc. This is
now produced by just three bakeries. It was submitted for, and received, EU protected regional integrity status. Ballinasloe
October horse fair in County Galway has been running for at least 300 years. Archival reporting in The Irish Times points out
that 1871 was not the best year for sales as demand for horses for cavalries declined with the end of the Franco-Prussian war.
Other livestock is also sold at these fairs which include many attractions sufficient to draw up to 80,000 attendance in 2010.
The annual horse fair of Cahirmee, said to date back to the 11th century and to have supplied mounts for wars at home and
abroad, still takes place every July on the main street of the town of Buttevant in County Cork.
Commemoration of St. Mac Dara goes even further back in history to the 6th century. Every year on L Mhic Dara (Day of
Mac Dara), 15 July, Mass is celebrated on his tiny island attended by no small congregation who are brought in by boat free of
charge by local boatmen. The Station Mass tradition in private homes in parishes in still observed in some rural areas. It dates
back to the era of the Penal Laws when Catholics had to find secret ways to hear Mass. Even in 2011, twenty thousand pilgrims
still made the arduous stony climb of Cruach Phdraig in Mayo, on Reek Sunday, the last Sunday in July. An old pilgrimage
(of 21 miles over hills and stepping stones in streams) through west Cork, St. Finbarrs Pilgrim Way, from Drimoleague (Drom
Dh Liag) to Gougane Barra (Ggn Barra) has been revived recently by the local Heritage Group. In September 2011, a
rare example of Bronze Age art in the shape of a spiral was discovered carved in rock along Cosn na Naomh (Path of Saints),
another medieval pilgrimage way on the Dingle peninsula. Bronze Age enclosures were found nearby. In the same manner,
commemoration is now being made of the many sites where unbaptised and stillborn babies were buried in the past, Oilen na
Marbh (Isle of the Dead) in County Donegal being one recent example.
When an ancient cedar tree was split by lightning in late 2010, comment immediately centred on the five sacred trees of
Celtic Ireland. Comparison was made between the fall of the 270-year old cedar and the nearby location of the Bile Tortain
(sacred tree) which fell a thousand years ago, heralding general misfortune. Adding to the omen in the popular mind was
firstly the location of the cedar, in the retreat centre, An Tobar (The Well), run by the Spiritans or Holy Ghost Fathers, and the
proximity of the timing of the fall of the tree to the loss of sovereignty incurred by the EU/IMF/ECB bailout for Ireland.
The Book of Ballymote, a folklore belief, concern for the environment and a belief that many have lost their way, came
together in an unusual open air art installation in Ballymote itself in late 2009, supported by Sligo County Council arts service.
In a field where two roads of former times had been excavated, the artist planted and grew flax in the complicated shape of the
sketch of Noah Arks with which the scribe of the Book of Ballymote, an important late medieval manuscript, began his work.
The crop drawing has connotations of the folklore belief in the fidn meara or fidn mearbhaill (the sod of confusement
or bewilderment); walking on this sod on which a spell has been cast by the siga (fairies) leads to believing one is in a maze
from which there is no escape until the fairy folk relent. For the artist, this particular piseog (superstition) symbolises modern
incapacities.
The term rth appars in many Irish placenames. It may be translated as ring-fort or type of earthern rampart. Such forts
are of great archaeological significance. They are also often associated in popular culture with fairies or leprechauns (siga;
leipreachin), the little people, and with many associated folk stories and beliefs. There are still some areas where local people
hesitate to interfere with such sites. One such is Rathnadrinna Fort, near the historic Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary,
which is unusual in that it has no less than three perimeter rings, and resembles a large sporting arena. The popularity of
logainmneacha or placenames is seen in the 2.6 million hits made on the very useful website maintained by Fiontar (Dublin
City University) since 2008.
An editorial in The Irish Times (19 April, 2010), Valuing our heritage, commented on the list of sites submitted by the
Minister for the Environment to UNESCO for possible recognition on that bodys World Heritage List. Three sites have
already received such recognition, the wonderful formations of layered basalt known as the Giants Causeway on the County
Antrim coast in Northern Ireland; Br na Binne, a complex of megalithic passage tombs in County Meath and Sceilig Mhichl,
a very early monastic site perched on a tall narrow rock in the ocean off the County Kerry coast, both in the Republic. The most
recent archaeological findings of previously undiscovered stairways suggest that these monks of the early 8th century came, in
fact, to an already existing earlier settlement.
The new list submitted provides a fascinating sketch of Irelands history: the great limestone rock slabs sheltering a wide
variety of flora and fauna known as the Burren (Boireann) in County Clare; the stone age settlement of Cide Fields in County
Mayo; some earlier sites associated with kingship, including Tara (Teamhair na R, Tara of the Kings); the great stone forts of
Dn Aonghusa on Inis Mr rann (Aran) and Cahercommaun (Cathair Chomin), the triple stone fort in County Clare; early
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monastic settlements such as Glendalough (Gleann D Loch, the glen of two lakes associated with St. Kevin, Caoimhn) in
County Wicklow and Monasterboice (Mainistir Buithe) in County Louth which also contains a round tower and intricately
decorated high crosses.
New discoveries of ancient Ireland continue. They include an oak road or trackway from the late Bronze Age, found in a
Bord na Mna bog in County Tipperary, the purpose of which has still to be ascertained.
In early 2010 the national leprechaun museum opened in Dublin as a tourist attraction but also to celebrate storytelling, a
native art form. Ancient customs are being revived, such the Festival of Fires on the Hill of Uisneach in County Westmeath or
more locally based initiatives. The Hill of Uisneach is linked to Tara nearby. Millions are to be spent on developing the tall cliffs
of Sliabh aLiag (mountain or moor of the flat stone) on the coast of Donegal. Whether these initiatives arise out of a sense of
losing touch with the past or seeking security there in times of change or merely out of hopes of attracting visitors, they appear
to be on the increase. Storytelling groups are reported to be on the increase all over the country. The Oral History Network of
Ireland was formed in Spring 2011 by a group comprising academics and local historians. The intention is to provide a forum
for both traditional story tellers and community groups wishing to conserve their folklore and oral heritage. The Network plans
include an international conference on oral history.
Storytelling, the art of the seancha (storyteller) is not, of course, particular to the culture of Ireland. But, nevertheless,
an Irish nine year old succeeded in coming within the top five finalists of the All China Story Telling Competition in August
2010, the first non-Asian child to do so. He had been studying Mandarin Chinese for three years at his school in Shanghai,
the city where his Irish parents now reside. On the other hand, others prefer to evoke the earlier myths and sagas, as does the
Irish-speaking world wrestler from Dublin, now based mostly in America, the Celtic Warrior.
An Chomhairle Oidhreachta (the Heritage Council) is working with local small farmers in parts of the west of Ireland on
a campaign to use the traditional farming practices of low-intensity farming towards the conservation of bio-diversity. The
continuation of sustainable models of high nature value, farmers working with nature and the local landscape as used be the
norm traditionally, are now seen as indispensable to the conservation of biodiversity in Europe. On the other hand, turf-cutters
were unimpressed with new conservation measures (May 2010) which would affect 32 raised bogs and ban work on them.
Those who predict the weather in traditional manner from the way animals behave or nature changes still get a very serious
hearing in Ireland as do providers of potions passed down through families.
Culture
In the cultural sphere, Irish artists, actors, writers and musicians continue to garner recognition and awards internationally. The
nine volume Dictionary of Irish Biography published by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) in November 2009 gives a fascinating
account in 8 million words of 9,700 significant Irish people from the beginning up to 2002. Updating the online version from
2002 onwards is envisaged twice yearly from May 2010. There were more Irish nominees than usual for the 2010 Oscar Awards
of Merit from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They represented a range of categories: animated feature
film (The Secret of Kells); animated short film (Granny OGrimms Sleeping Beauty); short live action film (The Door); sound
mixing (Star Trek); visual effects (Avatar). In the event, the latter was the sole Oscar winner among the names from Ireland,
north and south, but nomination itself carries no small kudos, especially for small companies working to small budgets.
Successes contined at ensuing Oscar Awards.

On 16 March 2010, in Washington for St. Patricks Day, Irelands first cultural ambassador was announced by the Taoiseach,
the actor Gabriel Byrne. Together with the state-aided organisation, Culture Ireland, a global programme of Irish artists from
every genre, Imagine Ireland, was mounted, particularly in America. The political intention was not only to display Irish talent
to the world, but to help restore Irelands reputation in the wake of the recent economic crisis. By 2012, Culture Ireland had
been subsumed into the Department to public criticism.
Unfortunately, however, the Irish National Opera Company which was formed in 2009, folded in May 2011 due to lack
of commitment on its future funding, without having had the opportunity to mount any production. Opera Ireland, the
former Dublin Grand Opera Society (DGOS), which had been established on a voluntary footing in 1941 (a rather unlikely
event during the Emergency) and was later funded by the Arts Council, had closed at the end of 2010. The Department
which had responsibility for the Company has now formally returned opera policy to the Arts Council, with a request to assess
for the Minister issues around the funding of opera to 2013. Two other smaller companies are still Council-funded: Opera
Theatre Company and Wexford Festival Opera.
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Culture Ireland had much to draw on from the past as well as the present, across a range of artistic endeavour. It is known
that section four (The Story of Paradise and the Peri) of the epic poem of the Romantic era, Lalla Rookh, written by Thomas
Moore (1779-1852), poet, songwriter and singer, was the inspiration for the oratorio, Paradise and the Peri, by the German
composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856). The original poem, although set in the Orient, seemed to refer to the attempts of
the Irish nation to win political independence. Moores melodies travelled well and influenced other composers also including
Mendelssohn. His lyrics are known, apparently, even today, in schools in Russia.
The emigrant William James from County Cavan who went to America at the end of the 18th century became a millionaire
through construction, largely on the Erie Canal. More importantly, he had two famous grandsons: Henry James, the writer,
and William James, one of the founders of modern psychology. The German winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972,
Heinrich Bll (1917-1985), introduced many of his compatriots to Ireland through his time spent in his cottage on Achill
Island and his philosophical travel book, Irisches Tagebuch (Irish Journal, 1957). An American contemporary, the crime writer
Raymond Chandler (1888 1959), spent part of his youth in Waterford, home of his Quaker forebears.
On another level, the compilation of the valuable contribution to Renaissance thought of works in Latin from Irish
writers, both in print and in manuscript, is ongoing.
In another field, in sport, the Irish cricket team defeated Pakistan in 2007 and England in 2011, in the World Cup series
in Bangalore. In horse racing, Irish horses, jockeys and Irish-trained horses continued to dominate at the annual Cheltenham
races in the UK around St. Patricks Day.
SYMBOLS OF THE STATE
The Irish language organisation, Gaelchultr, which provides specialist language courses, in collaboration with others, developed
an application which allows Nokia mobile phone users to download the Irish national anthem, Amhrn na bhFiann. It was
initially intended primarily for the attendance at the GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association) hurling and football finals in Autumn
2009, where the anthem is always sung. However, it proved highly popular outside Ireland also, even in countries such as
Turkey and Vietnam.
However, copyright for the national anthem, which is held by the Department of Finance, runs out in December 2012,
70 years after the death of the man who wrote the English language lyrics, Peadar Kearney. In fact, the 70 year rule results from
an EU directive which extended copyright to life plus 70 years in place of the previous life plus 50 years in force. Copyright
had then run out once before in 1992.
Planning for the anniversary of the 1916 Rising is already in train in some quarters. The historic Proclamation of 1916 will
undoubtedly be a very public part of that. Unfortunately, an expert in typography at the University of Reading, UK, informed
a conference in Trinity College in 2010 that the majority of reproductions were inaccurate on two counts: use of the wrong
font; not reproducing minor flaws due to the conditions of strife in which the original Proclamation was printed.
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF IRISH
In light of the 2010 General Election in the UK (6 May 2010), it was of interest that one of the more unusual examples of Irish
words that have found their way into the English language is Tory (Tora). The term referred initially to the dispossessed Irish
who became the object of pursuit (tir) in their own land and hence outlaws and wild Irish in the opinion of the settlers. The
nickname Tory was then applied in the late seventeenth century first (1679-80) by the Exclusioners as a term of insult to those
who were against the exclusion of James, Duke of York, from the succession to the Crown, on the basis that the Duke appeared
to favour Irishmen. From 1689 Tory became the name of one of the political parties in England, and later in Great Britain,
until it became the Conservative Party in 1830. For those acquainted with literature in Irish, a variant of the same word appears
in the title of the well-known tale, Traocht Dhiarmada agus Ghrinne, from the Fenian saga cycle (The Pursuit of Diarmaid
and Grinne by the jealous Fionn Mac Cumhaill). Another example is rapparee based again on 17th century Irish history;
rapaire is translated as pikeman or irregular soldier while ropaire may be translated as robber or scoundrel or bandit. The
connotations that eventually applied to the use of the word in the English language have their roots in attempted conquest.
Describing in Irish the race of blue-skinned people in the popular film, Avatar, provides an example of how languages differ.
The colour spectrum may be segmented in different ways in the lexicon of different languages. Differences are more easily
understood in terms of networks of meanings rather than precise equivalents. The range of colour terms expressed in Irish by
liath-glas-uaine is related to the range grey-green in English. The colour term liath may refer to things in nature which have
85
become grey or faded, grey hair (gruaig liath). Either liath or glas may refer to things in nature for which grey is their natural
colour: a grey horse (capall glas) but as grey as a badger (chomh liath le broc) ; the saying, Far-away hills are green is expressed
in Irish as Is glas iad na cnoic i gcin. However, a green dress, where green is an artificial colour, is gna uaine. The colour term
glas may have connotations of immaturity or rawness: gnach glas, callow youth, as green might be used in English, or aimsir
ghlas as raw weather; but liath/glas san aghaidh as grey/pallid in the face. At the other end of this spectrum, rich dark green
grass may be expressed as far gorm and a person of black skin as duine gorm. However, gorm is the normal term for blue as
in gna gorm, a blue dress. To describe accurately in Irish the blue-skinned race of the film is, perhaps, an indication of how
(linguistic) reality may differ from things only imagined.
STILL A REPUBLIC?
The lack of confidence in the institutions of authority represented by State and Church is serious issue and, together with the
causes and effects of recession, led to a series of articles in The Irish Times (Spring 2010) on the meaning of Renewing the
Republic in these times, on issues ranging from the possible need for change in all public institutions, the rle of the Church
in education particularly, to the importance of civic society and redefinition of self. However, the candidate of the Labour Party
in the presidential election to be held in October 2011 contended (The Irish Times, 27 January 2011) that a real republic was
never created in Ireland, insofar as power and resources are still so unevenly distributed.

On St. Patricks Day, 2010, the editorial in The Irish Times was entitled Being Irish in tough times. However, it ended with
the words of the alternative national anthem, or alternanthem entitled Ireland, Ireland, (commissioned by the newspaper to
mark national day, St. Patricks Day, 2010):
Sometimes its heaven and sometimes its hell,
But Id rather be Irish than anything else.
Nevertheless, despite all these crises, Irish people donated up to 8 million to aid agencies in the immediate aftermath of
the Haiti earthquake. This high level of charity donation is borne out in other research. By end 2010, however, charities were
reporting some decline in the level of donations.
The place of the Irish language has always been central to the concepts of sovereignty, autonomy and definition. It has
always been intricated with political action, popular will and civic endeavour. The foregoing account, however, has attempted
to give an indication of the enormous changes that have occurred in a relatively brief period across all the areas that impinge
on peoples lives: the economy, political life, public institutions including religion, society itself. New and different values have
emerged but side by side with the more traditional. Not everything has been rejected. The place of the Irish language in this
new and ever changing world does not appear to have yet been clearly articulated. It is questionable whether a solely rightsbased approach is sufficient to ensure the inclusive and enthusiastic popular movement from the bottom-up of a kind that the
political class ignores at their peril.
Government intentions for the commemoration of the1916 Rising became known when the Taoiseach put the 2011
estimates for his department before the relevant Oireachtas Committee in July 2011. The content of the commemoration being
planned will continue long after 2016 and will be co-ordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach. An inclusive all-Ireland
structure was to have representation from Northern Ireland (politicians and others) and from academics (to ensure accuracy).
The Oireachtas Consultative Group had its inaugural meeting in July, chaired by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the
Gaeltacht, the first draft of the programme to be prepared by officials for discussion by the Oireachtas Consultative Group. It
will be of interest to see how Renewing the Republic will be part of this commemoration together with the place of the Irish
language in the philosophic base for republicanism in todays Ireland.
86
THE IRISH
LANGUAGE
A concise historical account of the Irish language was given in More Facts about Irish 2008.
THE PRESENT
LANGUAGE
COMMUNITY
This chapter is concerned with issues of competence, use and attitudes across the population, including the Gaeltacht,
in a changing society and environment. Mention is also made of language support initiatives and of legislation
affecting the Gaeltacht, arising from the 20-Year Strategy for Irish.
TERRITORIALITY AND PERSONALITY

DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
Changes are detailed below in the definition of Gaeltacht and, to some extent, in the definition of Gaeltacht to include urban
settings. How this will work out in practice is not yet clear although pilot schemes in the Gaeltacht were announced before
Easter 2012. Whether or how definition on community or network grounds will actually coincide eventually with definition
on territorial grounds remains to be worked out. Additionally, whether the Gaeltacht role of dars na Gaeltachta would
include the urban network type Gaeltacht was not initially clarified although the non-ministerial members of the new reduced
board of that agency are nominated by the County Councils which contain areas other than the traditional Gaeltacht regions.
In the event, responsibility for network Irish communities outside the Gaeltacht will be under the aegis of Foras na Gaeilge.
The Gaeltacht Bill of 2012 made then for interesting debate.
The Clr Tacaochta Teaghlaigh (Family Support Programme) which replaced Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge (Scheme for
Speaking Irish which had been confined to the Gaeltacht) is open to some extent to all families, not solely to Gaeltacht
families, raising their children with Irish as the home language, in a bid to increase the number of Irish speakers through
intergenerational transmission. It met with little enthusiasm in the initial stages.
The results of Census 2011, as giving the most recent account of the number, location and use patterns of Irish speakers,
are discussed in some detail in the following sections.
ABILITY IN IRISH
ABILITY AND SURVEYS
In advance of the publication of Census 2011 results, some surveys provided a possible source of (then) current information.
Survey conducted by Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (Teachers of Irish) and other language
organisations
A series of questions on Irish were asked in an Ipsos MRBI Omnipoll conducted between 6 and 15 July 2010. The sample
consisted of 1,000 respondents aged 15+, who were randomly chosen. Of the sample, 77% were not in secondary school
education at the time of the survey; 12% had a child or children in education at that level; 8% had siblings at that level; 4%
were themselves in secondary school education.
The general results on self-assessed ability to speak Irish were as follows. Of the total, 16% (including an even 16% of both males
and females) professed having no Irish while 4% did not know or refused. Lower ranges of ability are shown in the following table.
Ability to speak Irish: Lower ranges of ability (% of respondents)

Categories/Ability
The odd word
A few simple sentences
Parts of conversations
Male
26
31
17
Female
21
35
13
Age 15-24
22
31
15
Age 25-34
25
27
16
Age 35-44
18
42
13
Age 45-54
32
30
15
Age 55+
23
34
16
TOTAL
24%
33%
15%
Results on the higher ranges of ability are shown below.

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Ability to speak Irish: Higher ranges of ability (% of respondents)

Categories/Ability
Most conversations
Native speaker
Male
Female
Age 15-24
11
Age 25-34
Age 35-44
Age 45-54
Age 55+
TOTAL
7%
3%
Overall, 10% of respondents self-reported high ability levels, females and the age group 15-24 being highest as percentages of the
total. This trend is seen in other surveys also. The ability of 48% of respondents is at the self-reported level of parts of conversations
or a a few simple sentences. Ability levels of native speaker to parts of conversations constitutes 25% of respondents.
Attitudes towards Irish in education as professed by these respondents are given below in the section on Attitudes and are
repeated in Chapter 4: Acquisition Planning: Education.
Survey by iReach
An independent survey was conducted by the research company iReach for the travel agency www.lastminute.com. One
thousand respondents from the four provinces took part. Language skills were included. The results were published in time for
St. Patricks Day 2011.
The general results on the language items were as follows:
Ability in Irish: Can speak Irish (% of respondents)

Gender
Age group
Region
Females 53%
18-25 56%
Connacht/Ulster 54%
Males 38%
35-44 43%
Dublin 46%
Rest of Leinster 46%
Munster 45%
Use of Irish by those with competence (% of respondents)

This week
46%
Last month
21%
(including 56% of the age group 18-24)
With regard to a range of other modern languages presented, respondents chose among them mainly on criteria of practicality,
usefulness, being career-enhancing.
90
CENSUSES 2006 (ROI) AND 2001 (NI): SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASSES, OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS AND IRISH
Language and occupational status: Linguistic litism in the Irish labour market
This is the title of a study on certain aspects of census results, conducted by three academics from the universities of Ulster and
Limerick, which was published in the Economic and Social Review dated Winter 2009.
The material is based on the 2006 census in the Republic and the 2001 census for Northern Ireland and Wales in the UK;
it requires highly statistical skills to interpret the methodology. From the outset, the authors admit the difficulty of finding a
meaningful definition of Irish speaker as defined by census results. Basically, the authors contend that being Irish-speaking
confers a structural advantage on workers in the Irish labour market with regard to occupations in the professional/managerial/
technical (referred to as PMT) categories. When other factors related to labour market attributes were taken into account, it
appeared that language still remained the variable that made the difference between being in a higher occupation or not. The
findings for the Republic were as follows.
Irish speakers and occupational class

Occupation/Language
Irish speaking
Non-Irish speaking
PMT
42%
27%
Semi-skilled/unskilled
12%
19%
Irish speakers and economic status

Status/Language
Irish speaking
Non-Irish speaking
Unemployed
3%
6%
Unable to work (illness/disability)
2%
5%
Irish speakers and level of education

Education/Language
Irish speaking
Non-Irish speaking
Degree +
25%
14%
Primary or less
9%
22%
The findings given for Northern Ireland were broadly similar although not as inclusive.
Irish speakers and occupational class

Occupation/Language
Irish speaking
Non-Irish speaking
PMT
36%
23%
Irish speakers and level of education
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Education/Language
Irish speaking
Non-Irish speaking
Degree +
27%
23%
Primary or less
25%
44%
The authors conclude that ceteris paribus [all other things being equal] there is a bias in Irelands labour market which favours
Irish speakers over non-speakers. They attribute this advantage to three possible factors which are not altogether proven from
the data: the quality of education (citing gaelscoileanna and the disproportionate number of Irish-medium schools which are
feeder schools for third level institutions); the subjects chosen for study at third level (citing Education); the networks that
provide social capital for Irish speakers.
Not surprisingly, when speakers were divided into categories of use, the likelihood of more frequent users attaining PMT
occupations was higher than for less frequent users.
For Northern Ireland, from the various statistical analyses used, it was concluded that, although being Catholic was associated
with a certain level of disadvantage (in labour market terms) with regard to finding a job in PMT occupations, this was not
statistically significant. On the other hand, some knowledge of Irish was a significant advantage in the likelihood of resulting in
jobs in the PMT sectors. This was almost as high as in the Republic; NI 5.8 points higher; ROI 6.7 points higher advantage.
Overall then, the authors conclude that there was a small but undeniably significant advantage in being Irish-speaking in
terms of obtaining jobs in the PMT sectors. Unusually, they add that they appreciate that many might find their conclusions
difficult to accept. On the other hand, as documented in other sections of More Facts about Irish, knowledge of Irish generally
accompanies higher levels of education; higher levels of education invariably tend to lead to higher paid occupations.
Additionally, knowledge of Irish has a role in the choice of education as a career.
While the study and its conclusions do, as the authors stress, raise the issues above the merely anecdotal, it would be even
more useful, as a language planning tool, if it were possible to provide more definite links between (i) the source of ability
in Irish (e.g. Gaeltacht home; gaelscoil or Irish-medium school; English-medium school with strong Irish department) and
eventual occupation; (ii) the language in which the actual occupations operated, factors which census data could not supply.
Whether the examples of linguistic litism mentioned by the authors of this study, (e.g. Tsarist Russia and French), are in any
way comparable to the Irish situation is a moot point. The argument bears much further scrutiny in terms of social dominance
attaching to a select linguistic group. The census data does provide the possibility of cross-referencing between data on the Irish
language and other variables which led to this piece of research. One wonders, however, if similar census data were available
on proficiency in mathematics or English, would the same or other so-called lites emerge? There appears to be no actual
proof that Irish language proficiency solely provides the structural advantage in the labour market put forward by the authors,
however tempting the hypothesis.
In reporting this research, the media headings predictably linked Irish speakers with being a social and educational lite;
this may well have had two-edged outcomes with regard to image and attitudes. If possession of Irish is an advantage, its
acquisition being made widely and easily accessible to all would appear a possible policy option.
This census-based study echoed many factors already raised in earlier research based on questionnaire methodology with
sample populations.
CENSUS 2011: NUMBERS OF SPEAKERS

CONTEXT
As preparations for this census were under way, demographers were hoping that the Republic of Ireland in the current recession
would not follow the warnings coming from the new Coalition Government in the United Kingdom (UK) that the mode of
census taking is too expensive. In fact, advertisements for 440 home-based area supervisors, each to lead 10-12 enumerators,
for the conduct of Census 2011, were placed by the CSO; interviews were scheduled for November 2010.
The census of the population of Ireland was conducted on Sunday, 10 April 2011; censuses are held in Ireland (Republic)
every five years. It contained two additional questions: on health and home language(s), including sign language, other than
English and Irish. For the latter question, rating of ability in the English language was asked. The question on religion caused
some public debate in relation to atheism, which is not a religion. The census form was made available in Irish, English and 21
other languages. A new departure, with the input of the National Centre for Geocomputation (National University of Ireland
Maynooth), was the mapping of every dwelling in 20,000 small areas. This will provide detailed information on population
across a range of factors by regional areas from county down to the level of townland. Cross-referencing by the information
provided in response to census questions will no doubt prove very useful to policy makers.
92
In relation to Irish, concerns were expressed that addresses of households were first issued in English but this was later
corrected by the CSO and instructions given to enumerators with regard to those requesting Irish. In fact, An Coimisinir
Teanga had intervened when complaints were made that local authorities were refusing to allow addresses in Irish on the revised
electoral list. The then Minister for the Environment (under whose remit local authorities come), although saying that local
authorities should not refuse names and addresses in Irish, nevertheless maintained that English-only versions could be used
outside the Gaeltacht, a point unacceptable under the Official Languages Act (and indeed international legal instruments).
In Northern Ireland, no Irish version of the census form was provided, although Welsh and Scottish Gaelic versions were
provided. An information sheet in Irish was apparently provided in Northern Ireland.
General demographic trends for 2009, a high EU birth rate of 16.8 per thousand and a low death rate of 6.6 per thousand,
ensured that Ireland had the highest natural growth in population in the EU at 10.2 per thousand. This despite the highest
outflow of people in the EU, due to the recession, many of whom were returning foreign migrants. In April 2010, the
estimated population stood at 4,470,700. The preliminary and provisional Census results (end June 2011) show a figure of
4.58 million (4,581,269), with more women than men, the reverse of Census 2006; it was reported as the highest level in
150 years. A report from the Trinity Immigration Initiative (Trinity College Dublin), entitled Current and Future Reality of
Irelands Multicultural Status, published in July 2010, concluded that Ireland will remain multicultural despite a decrease in
immigration but that State policies are far from reflecting this reality. It remains to be seen whether this augurs increase or
decrease in ability in Irish, given the precarious state of Gaeltacht regions. The actual Census 2011 results confirmed both of
these reported upward trends: in total population and in the number of non-nationals.
Publication online of the actual forms filled in for the 1901 and 1911 censuses proved extremely popular. It is hoped to
proceed with publication online of the next available census after 1911 which took place in 1926. Legislation to facilitate this
was required as the 100-year rule on privacy with regard to sensitive personal information would be breached (Statistics Act
1993). The Statistics (Heritage Amendment) Bill, No. 30 of 2011, was then introduced in the Seanad to amend the 1993 Act
in relation to the 1926 Census, the first taken after the establishment of the State, in order to give special heritage status to that
1926 census and release it to the public for research. Bill No 36 of 2010 on the same issue had lapsed.
The table below, extracted from Northern Ireland Census 2011 (NI Statistics and Research Agency, NISRA) shows
population patterns over the centuries in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland (keeping in mind that the political
entity of NI came about in 1921 as six counties of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster).
Population of Ireland North (NI) and South (ROI)

Census
Population of Ireland
ROI as %
NI as %
1841 (Pre-Famine)
8,175,124
79.8%
20.2%
1861
5,798,967
75.9%
24.1%
1881
5,174,836
74.8%
25.2%
1926
4,228,553
70.3%
29.7%
1971
4,514,313
66%
34%
2011
6,399,115
71.7%
28.3%
Census 2011: Consequences of migration patterns

Two events during June 2010 are fairly indicative of the current consequences of migration. The new Minister of State for
Equality, Integration and Human Rights advertised in June 2010 for expressions of interest from migrants to a proposed
Ministerial Council on Integration, on a regional basis (Dublin; Rest of Leinster; Munster; Connacht/Ulster). In the same
month, the first Irish person to become a Muslim imam proposed plans for a mosque in Galway.
Current immigration and emigration patterns may already be affecting the overall numbers of speakers in the State
although these factors may well have changed again even as the 2011 census was being analysed. In the case of immigration
93
from the ten new EU states, a significant drop occurred in 2008 in the number of PPS (personal public service) numbers
issued, from 67,000 issued in 2007 to some 29,500 in 2008. In addition, over 50% of those who received PPS Numbers in the
year 2004 appear to have returned home since they are neither in work in Ireland nor in receipt of welfare, according to figures
from the Central Statistics Office issued in late 2009. Possibly due to new restrictions with regard to the issue of work permits
and a definite decline in the availability of jobs, it was reported that incoming workers from outside the EU fell by some 40%
during 2009, from 13,565 (2008) to 7,942 (2009). These workers came from India, South America, China, the USA and other
countries and tended to be employed in hospitals and IT companies. The number of asylum seekers fell by over 1,000 from
2008 (3,866) to 2009 (2,689).
Emigration by Irish citizens has increased with Australia the land of choice for a significant number just ahead of Canada.
For Australia, the number sought of both residence visas (2,521 granted in 2009) and work permits increased as well as the
number of working holiday visas (22,786 took these up). An Australian Information Day organised in Dublin in January 2009
proved very popular not only among single people but with families also. The majority were highly skilled people under 40.
This trend is a new and, in some senses, an unwelcome one.
Nevertheless, preliminary returns from (June 2011) from Census 2011 appeared to show that inward migration may have
been underestimated and emigration overestimated. A fairly unusual finding was reported in mid-July 2011: the population
of the State is at 4.58 million; however, 7.2 million PPS numbers appear to exist. An audit has been called for to explain the
discrepancy of 2.62 million.
Colourful citizenship ceremonies have now been introduced after a pilot formal ceremony in June 2011 proved popular
and successful. The newly admitted citizen takes an oath of fidelity to the nation and of loyalty to the State.
RESULTS
General
The March Census 2011 preliminary results were released within three months on 30 June 2011 showing population changes
by male/female for 3,440 areas of the State. On 29 March 2012 the former Principal Demographic Results were published in
a new general format entitled This is Ireland Highlights from Census 2011 Part 1 accompanied by an interactive website.
Part 2 followed on 28 June 2012 (formerly Principal Socio-Economic Results) while a range of thematic publications appeared
throughout 2011/2012. Among these were Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS, 31 July 2012) which included a SAPMAP
which could be used to find information on 15 themes relating to 10 geographic areas.
The general population continued to increase, standing at 4,588,252 persons which included 544,357 classified as nonnationals, also an increase on 2006. Females outnumbered males by some 43,000, a continuing pattern. Irish Travellers had
increased by 32% to 29,573. Religion results are discussed below in Chapter 5, Other faiths.
The new question on foreign languages elicited the information that 514,068 persons used a foreign language in the home
setting, Polish being top of the list, followed by French, Lithuanian and German.
Irish language
With regard to ability in the Irish language in the general population, the results were as follows.
Census 2011: Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the State
94
Total
Speakers
Non-speakers
Not stated
*Irish speakers as percentage of total
4,370,631
1,774,437
2,507,312
88,882
41.4% (40.6% if those not stating included)
Census 2006 and 2011: Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the State: Comparison
Census
Total
population
Speakers
Non-speakers
Not stated *
Irish speakers
as % of total
2006
4,239,848
1,656,790
2,300,174
100,682
41.9% or
40.8% if nonstating included
2011
4,370,631
1,774,437
2,507,312
88,882
41.4% or
40.6% if nonstating included
*Those not stating have been excluded from the total in calculating the percentage 41.4% for 2011 and similarly for 2006.
The 2011 percentage shows a decrease of 0.5% on 2006 although the actual number of speakers has increased by 117,647 on
2006 when 1,656,790 respondents returned as having ability in Irish. The number not stating is lower in actual figures than
in 2006, when it was 100,682. Within those professing ability in 2011, the following factors from the Central Statistics Office
(CSO) publications are of note.
There was a striking difference between males and females: 37.9% of males in comparison with 44.9% of females.
As in other censuses, the highest percentages were in the school-going age cohorts from 5 to 19 years: 5-9 years:
63.6%; 10-14 years: 73.7%; 15-19: 64.2%.
Nevertheless, these figures for the cohort 5-19 years, while on the one hand giving an average 67.2% who profess
ability in Irish, also means that approximately one third of the cohort are non-Irish speakers in an educational
system which offers Irish to all students. The corollary appears to be that an attitudinal or ability or teaching/
learning problem exists.
There was a fall-off in the cohort 20-24 years at 44.2% that gradually reduced through the age groups to 33.5%
at age 65 and over with the exception of the age group 55-64 at 36.1%.
In all age groups the percentage of females with ability was higher than in males.
The crucial 3-4 age cohort showed an increase from 2006 (14,773 speakers; 13.7%) to 18,740 or 14.3% of the
cohort in 2011. Females predominated once more.
CENSUS 2011: ABILITY IN IRISH IN THE GAELTACHT

One of the more striking aspects of the 40-year celebrations of RnaG were the references, particularly by those broadcasters
involved in the early days, to the linguistic changes in the Gaeltacht community they served. In comparison with the past, the
community is now totally bilingual. These changes are borne out in the next group of tables which show the situation in the
official Gaeltacht as depicted through Census 2011 returns.
Census 2011: Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the Gaeltacht population
95
Total
population
Speakers
Nonspeakers
Not stated
Irish speakers as percentage of total

(non-stating excluded)
96,628
66,238
29,114
1,276
69.5%
Census 2006 and 2011: Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the Gaeltacht: Comparison
Census
Total
population
Speakers
Nonspeakers
Not stated
Irish speakers as
percentage of total
2006
91,862
64,265
26,539
1,058
70.8%
2011
96,628
66,238
29,114
1,276
69.5%
Those not stating have again been excluded from the total in calculating the percentage. The Gaeltacht is here defined by the
various territorially based Areas Orders (1956-1982). The new Acht na Gaeltachta (2012) provides for definition on a range
of criteria as discussed further below. Some other salient factors with respect to the 2011 returns for the Gaeltacht population
include the following.
The total Gaeltacht population has increased by 4,766 persons.
As expected, the highest percentages professing ability even in the Gaeltacht were in the school-going age cohorts
from 5 to 19 years: 5-9 years: 83.6%; 10-14 years: 89.1%; 15-19: 83.5%.
There was a fall-off in the cohort 20-24 years at 69.2% that reduced to 58.7% at age 25-34 and 62.8% at age
35-44; the significance of these age groups is that they may be current or prospective parents, a fact which has
implications for intergenerational transmission of Irish. The following three older age groups (45-65 and over)
show increased levels of Irish speakers, an indication of community transmission in the past which appears to be
constantly decreasing as a result of many inter-related factors.
The crucial 3-4 age cohort shows an increase from 2006 (1,226 speakers; 51.4%) to 1,410 or 52.4% of the total
cohort of 2,801 in 2011.
Just below 70% of the Gaeltacht population profess ability in Irish. However, this varies from Area to Area as the figures
in the next table show.
Census 2011: Percentage of Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the Gaeltacht
population by Area (and total Area population)
Cork
County
Donegal
County
Galway
County
Galway
County
Kerry
County
Mayo
County
Meath
County
Waterford
County
80%
72.7%
49.8%
75.2%
74.5%
64.1%
63%
76.1%
(3,715)
(23,810)
(14,572)
(32,131)
(8,449)
(10,559)
(1,699)
(1,693)
Despite the increase in the Gaeltacht overall population in 2011, a continuing decline has been ongoing in the numbers
professing ability as shown below.
Censuses 1996-2011: Decline in percentage of Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the
Gaeltacht population
96
1996
2002
2006
2011
76.3%
72.6%
70.8%
69.5%
SUMMARY ON ABILITY IN IRISH IN THE GENERAL POPULATION: CENSUSES 1851-2011

Given the reducing numbers in the Gaeltacht, the majority of current speakers are school-generated. While the 29.1% of
1851 reflected in general community-based speakers, the 41.4% of 2011 are differently constituted, only some now being
community-based.
Summary on ability by percentage of total population (3 years and over) 1851-2011

1851
1926
1961
1971
1981
1986
1991
1996
2002
2006
2011
29.1%
18.3%
27.2%
28.3%
31.6%
31.1%
32.5%
43.5%
42.8%
41.9%
41.4

Clearly passive ability will not a vibrant language community create. The next set of tables illustrate the levels of use of Irish in
the general population by the 41.4% professing knowledge of the language, daily use outside education probably being the best
indicator of a living language in use in intercommunal contexts, including the family. Almost a quarter of those with ability
never use Irish or apparently never find situations in which to use it. The two extremes are shown in the second table below.
To ensure accurate figures, provision is made in the tables following below for the addition of a separate category of 38,480
persons who use Irish daily in education and also outside education to varying degrees. They are not included in education daily
as this would mean including them twice. Education is then categorised as daily in education only.
Use of Irish outside education also by this separate category of 38,480 persons is:
Number
Daily
Weekly
Less often
*Never
38,480
21,631
7,510
5,776
3,563
*These additions have been made in tables further below on use of Irish. Some confusion appears to have occurred for the
3,563 respondents in 2011 who professed to using Irish outside education also and then ticked never. The same problem
occurred in 2006. This accounts for any discrepancy in tots in some tables further below.
Census 2011: Daily and No Use of Irish by those with ability

Total with ability
Daily use in
education only
Daily use outside

education
Never
Not stated
1,774,437
519,181(29.3%)
55,554+21,631
= 77,185 (4.35%)
435,219 +3,563
= 438,782 (24.7%)
15,411
This figure of 77,185 daily speakers is a long way yet from the 250,000 targeted in the 20-Year Strategy by 2030. It includes
the Gaeltacht and represents no more than 1.77% of the total population, immigrants included. Nevertheless, even given the
current lack of natural opportunities for use, there still remains a substantial number of potential daily speakers among those
who use their ability on a less than daily basis. A possible policy approach might be to target these more occasional speakers
through existing local Irish language committees and through the detailed small area statistics now available through the
Central Statistics Office (CSO) with a view to moving users upwards to the next level of use. The current total numbers of these
potential daily speakers are depicted in the next table. Together, they come to 723,878 persons, some of whom at least might
welcome interventions which would allow more focused occasions of use for their ability in Irish.
97
Census 2011: Varying degrees of use of Irish outside the education system by those with ability
Total with ability
Weekly
Less often
1,774,437
103,132+7,510 = 110,642 (6.2%)
607,460+5,776 = 613,236 (34.6%)
The overall picture on use of Irish is shown in the next table. While it has improved to some extent in numbers from Census
2006 if not in percentage terms, due to the increase in the population generally, there still exists a substantial base on which
to build as shown below.
Census 2011: Frequency of use of Irish outside the education system by those with ability
Total with ability
Daily
Weekly
Less often
Never
1,774,437
77,185 (4.35%)
110,642 (6.2%)
613,236 (34.6%)
435,219 (24.5%)
To these percentages may be added the 519,181 speakers, the 29.3% who use Irish daily within the education system only.
Nevertheless, the ability figures for the cohort 5-19 years (above), while on the one hand giving an average 67.2% who
profess ability in Irish, also means that approximately one third of the cohort are non-Irish speakers although operating in
an educational system which offers Irish to all students. The corollary appears to be that an attitudinal or ability or teaching/
learning problem exists and at more levels than the students perhaps, given the Department of Education survey results
reported in Chapter 4 below.
There is certainly room for improvement in both ability and use among the school-going population, particularly with the
imminent increases at both primary and post-primary levels (Chapter 4 below). The immigrant population is hardly the cause.
With regard to the population who speak a language other than English or Irish at home, the numbers in the school-going age
cohorts who speak no English are not very numerous: age 5-12: 441; age 13-18: 134, or 575 overall. Not unusually, in the age
group 0-4, the figures are much higher at 7,862. It is presumed that the others in these age groups in the immigrant category
have sufficient English to function in the English-medium education system where Irish is offered as a subject. Anecdotal
evidence points to these already bilingual children as in general accepting Irish as another addition to their linguistic repertoire.
Some are in Irish-medium schools.
A view of the age groups returning as using Irish daily outside education is given below. The figures include the category of
persons who while using Irish daily in education, also use Irish outside education daily.
Censuses 2011: Daily use of Irish outside education (+ also outside education) by age
group in the total population (3 years and over)
Age group
outside
education
3-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-34
35-44
Total cohort
18,740
198,940 219,292 178,751 128,613 260,880 234,404 196,503 164,361 173,953
% Irish daily
1,334
1,801
1,774
2,476
3,682
8,282
11,190
8,347
7,038
9,630
+791
+5,301
+4,253
+2,995
+1,084
+1,973
+1,914
+1,612
+953
+755
=2,125
=7,102
=6,027
=5,471
=4,766
=10,255 =13,104 =9,959
=7,991
=10,385
11.34%
3.6%
2.7%
3.06%
3.7%
3.9%
4.9%
6%
5.6%
45-54
5.06%
55-64
65
and over
As in the table on daily use in the Gaeltacht further below, the preschool group are highest of the schoolgoing age cohorts.
98
SUMMARY ON USE: CENSUSES 2006 AND 2011
Censuses 2006 and 2011: Frequency of use of Irish by those with ability: Comparison
Census
Total with
ability
Daily in
education
only
Daily
outside
education
Weekly
outside
education
Less often
Never
2006
1,656,790
453,207
7.35%
72,148
4.35%
102,861
6.208%
586,097
35.4%
415,479
25%
2011
1,774,437
519,181
29.3%
77,185
4.35%
110,642
6.235%
613,236
34.6%
435,219
24.5%
While numbers have increased, the intercensal period appears to have witnessed little significant percentage change except in
education. There has been a very slight decrease in the Never and Less often categories. The latter, however, has not led to
increases in the more frequent categories of use. The 10.5% of respondents who use Irish daily and weekly remains constant
but the 175,009 recorded in 2006 in these more frequent use categories has increased to 187,827 in 2011, a rise of 12,818.
Continuing increases could lead to the type of critical mass that might lead to a societal breakthrough.
USE OF IRISH IN THE GAELTACHT 2011

In Census 2011, of the total population of 96,628 (aged 3 years and over), there were 66,238 persons who returned themselves
as Irish speakers, 69.5% of the total. This was an increase of 1,973 on 2006 when 64,265 were returned out of a total of
91,862. As in the case of the rest of the population, the exact meaning of the term Irish speaker in the context of the census
is not clear. It may cover many degrees of fluency. However, in percentage terms, there has occurred a slight drop of 1.3% in
speakers (70.8% to 69.5%) and a corresponding rise in non-speakers (29.2% to 30.5%) in the Gaeltacht. The percentages
of those non-stating hovers between 1% and 2%. The number of those in the total Gaeltacht population who are speakers of
foreign languages is 7,066 (7.3%), a factor to be taken into account. Some may be in Gaeltacht schools. They are distributed
across the Gaeltacht Areas as given below.
Speakers of Foreign Languages in Gaeltacht Areas

Donegal
Cork
Galway
Kerry
Mayo
Meath
Waterford
751
275
4,890
608
385
69
88
The comparative table below gives the number of self-professed speakers of Irish across all the Gaeltacht Areas.
99
Census
Total
population
(3 years and
more)
Speakers
Non-speakers
Not stated
Irish speakers
as percentage
of total
(non-stating
excluded)
2006
91,862
64,265
26,539 29.2%
1,058
70.8%
2011
96,628
66,238
29,114 30.5%
1,276
69.5%
In the general population, opportunities for use are in many cases quite limited. Even in the weaker Gaeltacht regions,
however, it is often assumed that there could exist more opportunities for non-speakers to acquire Irish and for speakers to use
Irish. The next comparative table shows the situation with regard to use by those with competence in Irish in the Gaeltacht.
Censuses 2006 and 2011: Frequency of use of Irish by those with ability in the Gaeltacht
Census
Total with
ability
Daily in
education
only
Speaks
Irish also
outside
education
Daily
outside
education
Weekly
outside
education
Less often
Never
2006
64,265
13,982
5,179
17,687
6,564
15,150
4,313
21.75%
8.05%
27.5%
10.2%
23.6%
6.7%
14,518
5,666
17,955
6,531
16,115
4,647
21.9%
8.6%
27.1%
9.9%
24.3%
7.0%
2011
66,238
There were a number of non-stating respondents under this census question on frequency of use: 2006 (1,390 or 2.2%); 2011
(806 or 1.2%). They have not been subtracted from the total in calculating the percentages in the table on frequency of use
directly above. However, if the categories Non-stating and Never are put together, the result shows a combined figure of
8.9% for 2006 and 8.2% for 2011 of the population of the Gaeltacht that might be considered neutral or negative in relation
to the language.
While daily use of Irish outside education may be the most crucial indication of language vitality, the age groups speaking
the language on a daily basis have added significance, particularly the younger age groups.
Censuses 2011: Daily use of Irish outside education by age groups in the Gaeltacht
Age group
outside
education
3-4
5-9
10-14
15-19
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and
over
Total cohort
1,410
5,570
6,222
5,520
3,873
7,595
8,949
8,971
8,151
9,977
% Irish
daily outside
education by
% of cohort
370
524
538
700
986
2,101
2,948
3,097
2,869
3,822
26.2%
9.4%
8.6%
12.7%
25.5%
27.8%
33%
34.5%
35.2%
38.3%
To these may be added a total of 2,170 speakers across the age spectrum who also use Irish daily outside education. There is little
room for complacency in these figures except perhaps in the pre-school group at 26.2% which is two and a half times higher
than the average of the next three age groups comprising the cohorts age 5-19 which is no more than just over 10% (10.2%).
SUMMARY OF ABILITY AND DAILY USE IN THE GAELTACHT 2011

Both total population figures and ability in Irish as being self-professed may be taken as givens. However, there are various ways
of presenting the degrees of use of that ability, each of which gives a different perspective. Even accepting that the numbers
who daily use Irish outside education may be the best criterion of stability of the language in the Gaeltacht, whether that fact is
expressed as a percentage of the total population, or of the total population aged 3 years and over, or of the number professing
ability will all give a different assessment and a varying understanding of the vitality of the Irish-speaking communities and
regions. In addition, the question arises as to how best to deal with those non-stating or with those professing ability but who
never use it, whether when presenting information or as a problematic issue for policy.
100 More Facts About Irish
Summary of ability and daily use in the Gaeltacht 2011

Total population
Ability
Daily use outside education
96,628
66,238
17,955 + 2,170 = 20,125
(aged 3 years and over)
(68.5% or 69.5%
30.4% of those with ability
when excluding non-stating)
or 20.8% of total population

over 3 years of age
Since the total number of daily users for the State is 77,185 and the number for the Gaeltacht is 20,125 (26% of the total daily
speakers), then the figure for the country outside the Gaeltacht is 57,060.

The position varies from Gaeltacht to Gaeltacht as the next table shows.
Gaeltacht
Daily users
outside
education
(*including
also)
Daily users
as % of total
population
0-65 years and
over
Daily users
as % of
population
aged over 3
Daily users as
% of ability
Daily users as
% of all grades
of frequency of
use incl also
(and excluding
non-stating
and never)
Cork
673+309
=982
3,895 (25.2%)
3,715 (26.4%)
2,951 (33.3%)
2,209 (44.5%)
Donegal
5514 + 1,533
=7,047
24,744 (28.5%)
23,810 (29.6%)
17,132 (41.1%)
12,547 (56.2%)
Galway&
Galway City
8,392+2,329
=10,721
48,907 (22%)
46,703 (23%)
30,978 (34.6%)
20,684 (51.8%)
Kerry
1,875+626
= 2,501
8,729 (28.7%)
8,449 (29.6%)
6,185 (40.4%)
4,659 (53.7%)
Mayo
970+202
= 1,172
10,886 (10.8%)
10,559 (11.1%)
6,667 (17.6%)
4,557 (25.7%)
Meath
221 + 93
= 314
1,771 (17.7%)
1,676 (18.7%)
1,054 (29.8%)
669 (47%)
Waterford
310+128
= 438
1,784 (24.6%)
1,693 (25.9%)
1,271 (34.5%)
891 (49.2%)
Seven County
Gaeltacht Areas
23,175
100,716 (23%)
82,033 (28.3%)
66,238 (35%)
46,216 (50.14%)
*This category also are those who use Irish daily in education and also outside education to varying degrees including some who
use Irish daily.
In interpreting this table, the following points are made:
There appears to be 18,683 (100,716 82,033) children under 3 who are crucial to the future of the language in
the Gaeltacht and who would require sustained policy intervention. No more than 1,000 preschoolers are currently
in preschool provision and the new Scim Tacaochta Teaghlaigh (Family Support Scheme in place of the annual
Deontas or Grant Scheme) has not yet been requested by a large volume of parents and families. It may take time
for a department-initiated intervention to be replaced by a scheme where the initiative must come from the family.
No more than 35% of those professing ability in Irish use it on a daily basis outside education.
Nevertheless, of the three categories of actual users daily, weekly, less than that just very slightly over half
(50.14%) use Irish on a daily basis outside education.
However, just 28.3% of the population from 3 years of age use Irish daily while less than a quarter (23%) of the
entire population do so.
There are differences between Gaeltachta:

of those with ability Mayo (17.6%) returns the lowest percentage of daily speakers and Donegal (41.1%)
the highest;
Mayo has no more than 11.1% as daily users in its quite large population of 10,559 over 3 years of age.
With regard to the highest level of frequency of use, that is daily outside education, Galways high figure
(51.8%) is due to the County while Donegal (56.2%) and Kerry (53.7%) are over the 50% mark. Mayo
is lowest at 25.7%. The smaller Gaeltachta do reasonably well on percentages but their actual numbers
are low in volume.
The overall assessment appears to be that little significant change in language terms has occurred since Census 2006
although the issue remains whether current figures are sufficient to maintain the Gaeltacht as a language community.
Deeper analysis by the expert Donncha hallaithe reported over several weeks (8/15/22 Lnasa/Augusth 2012) in the
Irish-language newspaper, Gaelscal, brought up some interesting findings. The research was conducted on the geographic
unit of District Electoral Divisions (DED) within the Gaeltacht as far as that was possible. Only parts of some DEDs are in
the Gaeltacht and demographic breakdown was not yet available at the period when the analysis was done. The categories of
Gaeltacht region (A, B, C according to daily use of Irish, within plus outwith the education system) as distinguished in the
research Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Gaeltacht formed the basis for examination of linguistic trends. Conclusions
showed a mixed picture. On the one hand, there was a welcome upward trend in use in some of the stronger Gaeltacht areas.
Of 24 DEDs in Category A, the percentage change for daily use was upwards in 11 DEDs and down in 13, ranging from 7 in
Sailearna in Galway to +15.8 in Mrthain near Ballyferriter in Kerry. Overall, however, the pluses outnumbered the minuses by
14.1. The researcher is of the view that information at DED level would constitute a useful base for the (19) language planning
schemes outlined in the Gaeltacht Act. He also points to the current Gaeltacht boundaries being out of kilter with reality, since
in some towns outside the official Gaeltacht apparently more Irish is spoken than in towns within the Gaeltacht.
ABILITY AND USE IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE STATE 2011

It was observed in More Facts about Irish 2008 that ability and more especially use of that ability was higher in some areas than
others. It was surmised that this may have been due to local supportive institutions, e.g Irish-medium education, a third-level
institution, the Garda College. The following table examines change in some locations since 2006, a factor which appears to
belie the possible explanation formerly surmised. However, there also exists the possibility that, with the increasing public
profile of Irish in the intervening period, the census use of the term speaker may have been more rigorously understood by
those in contact with supportive institutions. As a result, some respondents may (or indeed may not) have self-reported ability
and use in less generous terms than formerly.
Census 2006 and 2011: Ability and Use in Various Locations in the State Cities
Location/Census
Census 2006
Census 2011
CITY
Population over
3 years of age
Ability (%)
outside education
(national average:
4.354%)
*Daily use (%)

outside education
(national average:
4.349%)
Ability (%)
*Daily use (%)
Dublin
2011: 508,177
33.8%
4.0%
162,879 (32.05%)
6,497 (3.4%)
Cork
2011: 115,425
42.8%
3.5%
46,566 (40.34%)
1,584 (3.4%)
Galway
2011: 72,471
45.9%
7.4%
31,866 (43.97%)
2,372 (7.44%)
Limerick
2011: 54,831
39.8%
2.7%
21,101 (38.48%)
675 (3.2%)
Waterford
2011: 44,651
40.4%
2.1%
16,847 (37.73%)
423 (2.51%)
*Including use in education but outside education also.
Census 2011: Ability and Use in Various Locations in the State Towns
Location/Census/Support
Census 2011
TOWN Population over

3 years of age
Ability (%)
(national average: 41.4%)
*Daily use (%) outside education

Carlow
21,763
8,275
264
38%
3.2%
Dundalk
35,973
12,538
358
Irish-medium education
34.9%
2.9%
Dungarvan
8,953
4,020
207
near Gaeltacht
44.9%
5.12%
Ennis
24,074
11,277
330
46.8%
2.9%
Maynooth
11,949
5,864
311
University; Irish-medium education
49%
5.3%
Irish-medium education and

community scheme
Irish community scheme; Irish-medium

education
Census 2011: Ability and Use in Various Locations in the State Towns
Nenagh
7,984
3,423
131
Community scheme in the past;
42.9%
3.8%
Newcastle West
5,964
2,240
72
37.6%
3.2%
Portmarnock
8,890
4,053
117
45.6%
2.9%
Templemore
1,998
978
19
Garda College
48.9%
1.9%

Towns are often more amenable to language planning where the effects locally are more easily seen and heard and may become
an accepted part of the landscape. With regard to ability in Irish, six of these nine towns are above the national average. All
have some additional supportive language institution as included in the table. Interestingly, the three remaining towns are not
without similar supports, given in italics.
However, translation of ability into daily use outside education gives another perspective. Only two of the six towns with
above average ability levels outdo the national average on this criterion of daily use outside education: Dungarvan (County
Waterford) and Maynooth (County Kildare). Of the remaining four towns, Ennis (County Clare) and Portmarnock (Fingal,
to the north of Dublin City) have similar higher than average ability levels but lower than average returns for daily use outside
education at 2.9%; Ennis has almost three times the population of Portmarnock. On the other hand, the use level for Dundalk
is the same as that for both Ennis and Portmarnock although Dundalk is well below average ability levels at 34.9%. Carlow
and Newcastle West (County Limerick) have similar ability (38%; 37.6%) and use levels (3.2%), yet Carlow has a population
over three times that of Newcastle West. Nenagh (County Tipperary) has a population and ability levels somewhat lower than
Portmarnock, yet has a higher daily use outside education rate of 3.8%. Templemore and Maynooth have similar above average
ability levels; both have third-level institutions for which entry levels require a high standard of education. Maynooth has six
times the population of Templemore, where daily use outside education is low at below 2%.
It is difficult then to pinpoint commonalities to account for higher than average ability and daily use results that might be
generally applicable to similar situations as a policy guideline.
The next set of tables examines ability and use at the higher geographic level of the provinces.
Census 2011: Ability and Use in Various Locations in the State Provinces
Location/Census
Census 2011
PROVINCE Population over 3

years of age
Ability (%)

Connacht
518,459
239,493 (46.2%)
18,904 (7.9%)
Leinster
2,382,633
890,834 (37.4%)
29,378 (3.3%)
Munster
1,189,114
537,564 (45.2%)
18,573 (3.5%)
Ulster (3 counties)
280,425
106,546 (38%)
10,333 (9.7%)

Connacht in the west, with its large Gaeltacht area, exceeds the national average in both ability and use levels. Munster (with
three smaller Gaeltachta) is high in ability but below average in use. Ulster with its large Donegal Gaeltacht is below average
in ability but has the highest use levels. The very populous Leinster which contains both the capital city and a small Gaeltacht
returns the lowest (and below average) figures for both ability and use. While Dublin city and many of the towns of Leinster
have supportive Irish-medium structures in education, the province also has a high immigrant population. The next table
considers a geographic level below province: two differing counties of the province of Leinster, the fairly recently established
Fingal to the north of Dublin city and the historic midlands county of Offaly.
Census 2011: Ability and Use in Various Locations in the State Counties
Location/Census
Census 2011
COUNTY Population over

3 years of age
Ability (%) (national average:

41.4%)

Fingal
257,491
96,537 (37.5%)
3,137 (3.25%)
Offaly
72,893
28,178 (38.7%)
596 (2.1%)
To add to the information in this table, there were 54,123 speakers of foreign languages in Fingal, constituting 21% of the
population. Of these, 8,850 or 16.4% either did not speak English well or not at all. Offaly had 6,664 speakers of foreign
languages who constituted 9% of the population and 24.5% of these had little or no English (1,636 persons).
Nevertheless, while undoubtedly a contributory factor, the immigrant population is hardly the sole cause of the more or
less static position of the Irish language in percentage terms during the intercensal period, despite the Census 2011 finding
that those of non-Irish nationality (both sexes, all ages) increased by 29.7% (124,624 persons) from 2006 to 544,357 in 2011.
In respect of English language skills, of those from states excluding Ireland who speak a language other than Irish or English at
home, 59,686 persons do not speak English well while a further 8,193 have no English. Among those residents (of both sexes)
of nationality other than Irish who speak a language other than Irish or English at home, 60,594 do not speak English well and
412 not at all.
With regard to those in the population from all countries but resident in Ireland who speak a language other than English
or Irish at home, the numbers in the school-going age cohorts who speak no English are not very numerous: age 5-12: 441;
age 13-18: 134, or 575 overall. Not unusually, in the age group 0-4, the figures are much higher at 7,862. It is presumed that
the others in these age groups in the immigrant category have sufficient English to function in the English-medium education
system where Irish is offered as a subject. Anecdotal evidence points to these already bilingual children as in general accepting
Irish as another addition to their linguistic repertoire. Some are in Irish-medium schools.
Overall, having regard to the several perspectives in geographic terms in the tables above, with regard to the Irish language
since Census 2006, as reported in More Facts about Irish 2008, little significant change has occurred either way at any geographic
level, despite changes in the population with upward increases in the number of people overall and in immigrants. The same
challenge remains as described in More Facts about Irish 2008, that of providing outlets for use of the ability that undoubtedly
exists. This challenge raises several questions. Would planning and policy at local rather than at the macro-level provide more
visible, measurable and impactful outcomes? Would scarce resources be better deployed at local rather than at national level?
Who would best implement policy at local level effectively? How should local policy be enmeshed in macro-policy? While the
change in percentage terms is minimal, the upward trend in actual numbers may gradually create a critical mass the strength
and impact of which might create its own positive momentum.
ATTITUDES: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

THE IRISH LANGUAGE AND THE IRISH PEOPLE
This is the title of the third study by the sociologist Fr Michel Mac Gril into attitudes. Since the earlier works also included a
section on the Irish language, comparison is possible. The previous studies were Prejudice and Tolerance in Ireland (1977) and
Prejudice in Ireland Revisited (1996).
The field work for this most recent research by Mac Gril and Rhatigan, published in April 2009, was conducted by the
Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) between November 2007 and March 2008 with 1,015 respondents aged 18
or over. The questions replicated those used in the language section of the previous studies the future of Irish; competence in
Irish; frequency in the use of Irish but added three new questions on attitudes to use of Irish. These latter elicited once more the
social norms revealed in earlier studies. The fact that 15% of the sample proved not to be Irish-born is indicative of immigration
in the population at large. The results were further analysed according to personal variables which included age, gender, place of
rearing, marital status, area of birth, region of residence, educational level, occupational status, take-home income.
With regard to support for Irish, the patterns were not only similar between 2007/2008 and those of 1988/1989 but also
between the total sample (which included those born outside Ireland) and the Irish-born within the total sample. If those who
aspired to see Irish revived throughout the population (40.3%) are combined with those who wished to see it preserved (52.9%)
in the Irish-born sample (85% of respondents) surveyed, over 93.2% showed positive attitudes towards the language, while no
more than 6.7% would discard Irish no small base for linguistic planning. This compares with 40.9% and 52.5% in the
total sample which includes those born outside Ireland, or a cumulative total in favour of 93.4%, with 6.6% for discarding the
language. While the groups among the Irish-born most in favour of revival tended to be among the young, the well-educated,
males, those living in urban areas, and those in status occupations, the overall results have interest also. If the figures for revival
and preservation are combined, the figures are male 91.2% and female 95.2%; for discarding the language male 8.9% and
female 4.7%. Similarly, if 93.2% is the combined figure for the total sample, still 83.2% of those with primary education or less
are favourably disposed towards the language while 94.2% of the unskilled/semi-skilled are in favour. No more than 5.8% of
this latter group would discard Irish. For those earning 60,000 p.a., the combined figures are 95.5% in favour while for those
at the opposite end of the income scale, under 6,000 p.a., the figures are 96.6%. Within these two latter income groups, those
at the lower end are more in favour of revival (61.6%) while the top earners tend more towards preservation (51.1%).
Since school is the predominant source of Irish for the majority of Irish-born people, the change after school life to more
favourable attitudes, even among some sub-groups not proportionately high in support for Irish, proved another finding of
interest. These subgroups across personal variables included the middle-aged; males; third level educated; blue-collar workers;
not single. Females were significantly more positive towards Irish both when in school and after school. However, all subgroups,
across personal variables, recorded positive changes.
Self-reported reasonable competence in Irish was slightly higher in the Irish-born (47%) than in the total sample (42%),
as might be expected; the total at 42% is close to the 1988/1989 national sample at 41%; the current Irish-born competence
levels at 47% are, however, 6% higher than the national sample of the late 1980s. Those in the highest professional occupations
reported the highest levels of competence: 23.6% fluent; 64% reasonable. Over 9% of this group reported having no
competence, a figure only half that of those in the unskilled/semi-skilled category of whom 18.8% reported as having no Irish.
Those with completed second level or third level education were, unsurprisingly, of higher competence levels. The Munster (as
place of rearing) subgroup was highest in reasonable competence which included highest in fluent and middling competence.
Overall, the patterns are similar to census returns and other surveys.
As might be expected from other surveys, it is in the actual use of that competence that figures fall, showing little
difference between the total and the Irish-born results, no more than 20% and 22.6% respectively reporting occasional or
more often use of Irish. Across the personal variables, the highest frequency of use is in the age group 18-40; among the
singles/never marrieds; in the province of Munster; among those with third level education; in high status occupations.
The occasions of use, which include passive and active use, show little upward change, keeping in mind, however, that the
comparison is total sample (1998/1989) with Irish-born (2007/2008). Radio and television still dominate (up from 50% to
53%) and reading remains the same (14%) as does the more active skill of communicating with officials (11%) and use at
work (18%). Home use has fallen slightly (from 45% to 42%) but use with Irish-speaking friends has increased by the same
amount (from 39% to 42%) as has using Irish at all possible opportunities (from 13% to 17%). Nevertheless, the responses
to the three new questions reveal social inhibitions to speaking Irish. While 60% of those with reasonable competence would
like to use Irish as much as possible, 63% would still hesitate to do so when non-speakers are present and 66% if uncertain
of an interlocuters ability in Irish.
The level of agreement with the statement that Irish could provide a good basis for Irish unity in the long term (in terms of
a common identity) was highest in the age groups 18-40; among those with incomplete second-level education; among the
unskilled or semi-skilled; in the subgroups separated/divorced or in permanent relationships; fairly evenly distributed across
the four provinces but much lower in Dublin. There were differences of note between 1988/1989 and 2007/2008 with regard
to the statement on Irish as a basis for unity. In the earlier period, 24% agreed and 57% disagreed, a difference of 33%; in the
more recent period in the total sample, agreement rose to 30% and disagreement fell to 33%, a difference of 3%.
The social status of Irish was shown to be very high across all the personal variables and unchanged since 1988/1989; Irish
speakers are a definite in-group in society.
The report was launched by the (then) Minister with responsibility for Irish, whose department funded the work. Some of
the recommendations with which the report ends (or varieties of them), found their way into the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish
Language 2010 - 2030.
EMANCIPATION OF THE TRAVELLING PEOPLE
Published in July 2010, and dealing with one aspect of prejudice and tolerance, this is the title of a study by the same
sociologist, Fr Mchel Mac Gril, into attitudes towards native travellers in Ireland over the last 35 years.
The results are to some extent contradictory. On the one hand there is an increase in the number who would deny
citizenship to Travellers. On the other hand, there is an increase in those who would welcome Travellers as a member of the
family, or accept Travellers on juries, or employ Travellers. Not unexpectedly, perhaps, those showing most tolerance towards
Travellers were in unskilled occupations and had least education. One of the recommendations of the study was the creation
for Travellers in Ireland of a unique ethnic status. A Bill is to be introduced by a Sinn Fin deputy on the question in early 2013
on the same lines as the recognition given to travellers in Britain.
This concept has been around for at least 20 years. It appears to have been initially sparked off by possibilities for increased
status for marginalised groups through Council of Europe recognition. It was supported by the previous Minister for State with
responsibility for issues of equality at the (then) Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. But not apparently
supported by all members of the travelling community, some of whom prefer the traditional appellation of the trade of tinker,
despite the socially pejorative connotations tending to attach to that term in Ireland.
CARLOW IRISH LANGUAGE RESEARCH GROUP (GRPA TAIGHDE AR AN NGAEILGE I GCEATHARLACH):

PEOPLES EXPERIENCES AND OPINIONS ON THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN CARLOW 2010
The results of a survey conducted among a sample of 300 people during Summer 2010 in Carlow were very positive. Carlow
is a thriving county town of over 20,000 with a third- level Institute of Technology and an arts venue which was opened in
Autumn 2009 Visual (for contemporary art) and the George Bernard Shaw Theatre (seating 350). The multi-faceted festival
igse is run every June over nine days. A strong tradition of communal activity on behalf of Irish has developed over the years.
This has resulted in Irish-medium education as a choice and a place for Irish in most areas including the arts and media.
The response rate to the survey was 298 (over 99%) of whom just 9.4% self-reported as having no Irish; over half of
these had not been born in Ireland (5.5%). Of the remaining 90.6% who reported having some Irish, 50% reported being
competent in the language.
On attitudes, almost 80% considered Irish very important and almost 90% were in favour of events and activities to
promote the language particularly in terms of more visibility and use of the language in public (81%); over 83% would
welcome a cultural centre for Irish (Ionad Cultir Ghaeilge).
Interestingly, 18 voluntary workers were trained to carry out the survey by the director, a university lecturer. The positive
results are probably indicative of the continuing language promotion activity over the years among the community by the
voluntary group, Glr Cheatharlach. The research was funded by Foras na Gaeilge as is a Development Officer with the voluntary
organisation.
The surveys which follow arose largely out of concerns in relation to Fine Gael policy with regard to the Irish language in
education.
SURVEY ON IRISH IN EDUCATION CONDUCTED BY COMHAR NA MINTEOIR GAEILGE AND OTHER
LANGUAGE ORGANISATIONS (ORGANISATION FOR TEACHERS OF IRISH)
A series of questions on Irish were asked in an Ipsos MRBI Omnipoll conducted between 6 and 15 July 2010. The sample
were themselves in secondary school education. The attitudes revealed by respondents towards Irish in education could be a
useful tool for planners.
Respondents were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how important it was to them that children growing up in Ireland today
are taught the Irish language.
57% rated at the top of the scale (42% at 5; 14% at 4);
23% rated at the bottom of the scale (9% at 2; 14% at 1);
19% rated in the middle at 3.
Overall, it appears that Irish in education holds quite a degree of importance for respondents.
Respondents were then asked their opinion on the level of education to which children should be taught Irish. Given the
differing views of political parties on this issue, the results were again interesting for policy makers. Only 18% were of the
opinion that teaching Irish should be confined to the primary school with no more than a slight increase on that figure (20%)
who would end the teaching of Irish at Junior Certificate level. Over 50% (54%) of respondents, however, would continue
Irish to Leaving Certificate level.
To Leaving Certificate level
54%
To Junior Certificate level
20%
To Primary School level
18%
None of these
5%
Dont know/Refused
2%
Using Irish as medium for teaching more subjects at primary level would encourage better usage of the Irish language was
the basis of a statement with which respondents could agree or not. Curriculum planning and teacher education are areas of
policy in which this is an issue of import.
Agree
65%
Disagree
32%
Dont know
2%
The respondents were also asked which of a list of subjects the Department of Education should require all students at
Leaving Certificate level to study. Replies were as follows.
Subject/%
English
Maths
Science
Geography
History
Irish
French
Religion
96%
95%
82%
75%
73%
61%
56%
34%
Keeping in mind that 57% rated the importance of Irish in education at the top of the scale; that 54% considered that
Irish should be taught to Leaving Certificate level and that 65% agreed that using Irish as medium for other subjects at Primary
level would aid usage of Irish, the figure of 61% for retention of Irish by the Department among subjects at Leaving Certificate
level is quite high. For respondents, the reasons why this is their response are basically two:
Irish is our native tongue
41%
The Irish language is central to our culture and heritage
39%
Two other replies received lesser importance:

Irish is an official language of the State
22%
Irish improves your chances of employment in Ireland and abroad
10%
On the other hand, the reasons given for the Department not to require students to study Irish at Leaving Certificate level
were quite varied and more difficult to weave into a single policy.
Students should be free to choose subjects after Junior Cert level
26%
Irish is irrelevant/no benefits/ not necessary
22%
Irish is too difficult/takes too much time from other subjects
19%
Dead/dying language/ no one uses it
14%
Its not important/of no use
10%
Cant use it outside Ireland
6%
Irish is badly taught in schools
4%
Other replies (from 4% to 2%) were either negative (no one likes it/not interested/waste of time and resources) or policyoriented (Irish policy has failed) or learner-oriented (Not everyone is good at languages).
Overall, there appears to have been a high level of interest in the survey on the part of respondents since the Refusals/
Dont knows were generally at 2/3% on the educational questions and 4% on the question of self-rating ability in speaking
Irish.

Comhairle na ng is the organisation of 34 local youth councils run by the 34 City and County Development Boards, often in
co-operation with local youth services, in order to give young people a voice in their own locality. Preparation of the National
Childrens Strategy 2000-2010 (published in 2000) included a comprehensive consultation process with over 2,500 children
and 300 adults. The Strategy itself gave rise then to the idea of Dil na ng (National Youth Parliament) for the age group 12
-18. Each local Comhairle na ng elects one representative to the Council of Dil na ng. The Dil is overseen and part-funded
by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The National Youth Council of Ireland (Comhairle Nisinta na ng, 1967)
has organised Dil na ng in cooperation with the Department since 2003. The issues of concern to the age group 12-18 are
debated and then lobbied for at official policy level. Many of the issues pertain to education. As the longstanding representative
body for voluntary youth work organisations on a national basis, the National Youth Council of Ireland is mentioned in the
Youth Work Act 2001 and had been recognised in social partnership arrangements. Comhairle and Dil together constitute a
strong advocacy body.

Arising from a recommendation by delegates at the Dil na ng meeting in March 2010, and from the ongoing consultation
process of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) on the Junior Cycle, a formal consultation occurred
in November 2010 in Dublin Castle. It was jointly organised by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
(of the previous administration), the NCCA, and the Council of Dil na ng. A total of 88 delegates, senior and junior
cycle students, from their local Comhairle na ng, attended the day long session. The resulting report on proceedings (Report
of a consultation with young people on reform of the Junior Cycle) was compiled by an independent social research consultant
and launched by both the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Minister for Education and Skills (of the current
administration) on 11 July 2011.
The Minister for Education (Labour Party) said that the report would have an impact on policy decisions in education.
He went on to state views which he had consistently put forward on modes of active learning and continuous assessment. The
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Fine Gael) was reported to have described .the finding that the majority of young
people did not want Irish to be a compulsory subject as interesting. This observation drew some comment, particularly in
light of the number of participants involved (29 from Junior Cycle and 59 from Senior Cycle) and of the fact that the actual
report included many more comments on Irish. The four subjects considered compulsory by the students were Social, Personal
and Health Education (SPHE), Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE), English and maths.
Extracts from sections (given in italics) of the report giving the actual comments on Irish include the following.
Junior Cycle students
Other subjects most enjoyed learning in their whole lives
Irish in the Gaeltacht made learning fun by having to communicate in it all the time
What most enjoyed learning in primary school
Irish included in list because it is our national language and the first language of some
Other subjects most enjoy learning now
Irish because it is easy to learn
New subjects for Junior Certificate
New subjects and activities relating to Irish and world cultures
Compulsory subjects for Junior Certificate
English, maths, music, Social Personal Health Education (SPHE), Civic Social Political Education (CSPE), and Physical
Education (PE). However, there were differing opinions on Irish (and a list of subjects).
Improvement of current subjects
All schools have an Irish month to promote the spoken language (one participant).
Learning a favourite activity or subject

Surroundings (from a list of motivational factors) such as learning Irish in the Gaeltacht. Those students who learned Irish in
the Gaeltacht or French in a language college agreed that learning languages in a practical and engaging manner made them
more enjoyable and easier to learn.
Easiest subjects to learn at school Junior Cycle
Irish included in a list of other subjects.
Senior Cycle students
Suggestions for change if Minister for Education (inter alia)
An Irish oral exam in the Junior Certificate examination.
Less focus on academic subjects and more on practical and social skills and sport; make languages optional; let students study
only what they are really interested in.
Subjects most enjoyed learning in their whole lives
Learning languages in a practical and engaging manner (e.g. through immersion in a French or Irish college; through games
and sports).
What most enjoyed learning in primary school
Irish was popular among participants because they had a good teacher, loved the language and, in a small number of cases,
Irish was spoken at home. Irish because I love the language.
Compulsory subjects for Junior Certificate
Almost all Senior Cycle students agreed that English, Mathematics, SPHE and CSPE should be compulsory subjects at JC
level (albeit with some changes n content etc). There was disagreement over whether or not Irish and other modern continental
languages should be compulsory for students. Most young people agreed that all other subjects should be optional.
Improvement of current subjects
Languages: more focus on spoken Irish and a wider choice of modern languages available at JC level.
Easiest subjects to learn at school Junior Cycle
List identified included Irish.
Like to learn best
Examples included learning through speaking a language.
SURVEY CONDUCTED BY MILLWARD BROWN LANSDOWNE FOR THE IRISH INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Given the widespread public comment on the differing policies of the political parties for the Irish language, particularly in
education, a poll was conducted by the Irish Independent newspaper and published on the eve of the General Election in
February 2011. The survey concentrated on the sole issue of Irish being made optional at Leaving Certificate level, the policy
of the Fine Gael party. The poll results showed some ambivalence.
Irish obligatory to Leaving Certificate level (LC)
53%
Irish not obligatory to Leaving Certificate level
44%
Dont know
3%
As public sentiment showed less support for the Fine Gael policy in the weeks before the election, the party softened its
original policy to the more ambivalent version of promising consultation on the issue of obligatory Irish to LC level but with the
intention of implementing the policy in any case. The party also pointed to their policy of retaining Irish as obligatory to Junior
Certificate level, of curricular reform and of increasing the number of students sitting the higher-level examination in LC Irish.
It was the opinion of the party that the fact that no more than 4.4% of people are daily speakers of Irish (outside of
education) apparently results from the policy of compulsion. This argument was seen by many to seem to defy logic.
Compulsory Irish as a policy means in practice that State-funded schools must offer courses in Irish to LC level. Students may
choose not to sit the exam. Those who do so are not obliged to pass the exam in order to obtain the LC exam in toto.
IPSOS MRBI 50TH ANNIVERSARY SURVEY REPORT NOVEMBER 2012
Four questions on the Irish language were included in this comprehensive attitudes and values survey on Changing Ireland, two
on self-assessed ability and two on personal attitudes or views. The results were as follows:
Ability
Ability to speak Irish
Ability to understand Irish as heard on radio/television
Very well
Fairly well
Very little
Not at all
All of it
Most of it
Some of it
None of it
4%
16%
55%
24%
4%
14%
56%
26%
The percentages for passive (understanding spoken Irish on radio or television) and active (speaking) ability are very close.
Interestingly, while not strictly comparable, the 4% who professed high speaking ability is close to the 4.35% reporting as daily
speakers outside education in Census 2011 (above) while the 24% who profess no ability in this survey mirrors the 24.5% in
Census 2011 who never use Irish. Some 75% of the survey respondents self-report some ability to speak Irish and 74% report
ability to understand.
The Ipsos MRBI survey also revealed that the higher levels of ability were among students and those in the age cohort
18-34 and in the geographic regions Connacht/Ulster and Munster. The survey results by voters of political parties professing
ability in Irish were:
Fine Gael
86%
Fianna Fil
80%
Labour Party
76%
Sinn Fin
75%
Attitudes or views
Would you personally like to see the Irish language
used more widely in everyday life?
Would you like to see it revived

as the main language?
Yes
No
No opinion
Yes
No
No opinion
58%
31%
11%
27%
61%
12%
Operation or activation of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish would apparently have reasonable support in the population in
general. The most surprising response is perhaps the 27% who would like to see Irish revived as the main language. The
expression the main language does not clarify whether reference is to sole language or dominant language in a bilingual
situation. Nevertheless, use of the main language and not a main language and the 27% support for the former is striking.
TAKE CHARGE OF CHANGE DECLARATION NOVEMBER 2012

Between May and November, the President of Ireland was responsible for the convening of four regional workshops of young
people aged 17-26 in Dublin, Cork, Monaghan and Galway to hear their views on being young and Irish in todays Ireland.
This process culminated in a bilingual seminar of 100 invited young people at ras an Uachtarin (the Presidents residence)
in November 2012 at which a report, Being Young in Ireland 2012, and a Declaration containing a series of proposals were
presented. Interestingly, the Irish language figured first and third in order of importance on the list of recommendations.
1. Adopt a dual approach to teaching Irish at Leaving Certificate level: the first (compulsory subject focused on
speaking, the second (optional) subject focused on literature [principally for gaelscoileanna].
3. Develop social opportunities for the Irish language.
If this may be taken as an indication of young peoples attitudes towards Irish, these attitudes appear to be positive.
AN GHAELTACHT
DECLINE AND REMEDY: SCIM LABHAIRT NA GAEILGE
The information given below for the years 2006 -2007 to 2009-2010 derives from the most recent statistics for Scim Labhairt
na Gaeilge, issued 14 September 2010. This scheme has now been replaced by Clr Tacaochta Teaghlaigh (Family Support
Programme). Results from the former scheme are given since they provide some degree of comparative information.
1. Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge returns 2006-2007

Applicants
(a)Full Grant
(b)Partial Grant
Refused
Kerry
415
204
166
45
Cork
194
76
100
18
Donegal
1189
746
373
70
Mayo
283
61
134
88
Waterford
72
39
28
Galway
1386
1141
183
62
Meath
68
42
26
3607
2309
1010
288
64%
28%
8%
(a)+(b)
3319 (92%)
Gaeltacht
TOTAL

Applicants
(a)Full Grant
(b)Partial Grant
Refused
Kerry
376
190
152
34
Cork
175
74
77
24
Donegal
1202
735
362
105
Mayo
299
52
104
141
Waterford
67
36
28
Galway
1323
1075
173
75
Meath
76
40
17
18
*3518
2202
913
400
62.5%
26%
11.4%
(a)+(b)
3115 (88.5%)
Gaeltacht
TOTAL
*This figure is inclusive of 3 applications not yet examined for 2007-2008 according to statistics released in September 2010
(Mayo: 2; Meath: 1).

Applicants
(a)Full Grant
(b)Partial Grant
Refused
Kerry
398
243
76
79
Cork
186
100
49
37
Donegal
1201
798
219
184
Mayo
260
68
61
127
99
56
24
19
Galway
1335
1065
147
120
Meath
63
34
22
*3542
2364
598
573
67%
17%
16%
(a)+(b)
2962 (84%)
Gaeltacht
Waterford
TOTAL
(Mayo: 4; Galway: 3).

Applicants
(a)Full Grant
(b)Partial Grant
Refused
Kerry
374
245
61
68
Cork
167
104
32
31
Donegal
1132
795
150
169
Mayo
236
35
60
130
Waterford
89
65
14
10
Galway
1292
1044
118
100
Meath
65
38
14
13
*3355
2326
449
521
69.3%
13.4%
15.5%
(a)+(b)
2775 (82.7%)
Gaeltacht
TOTAL
(Donegal: 18; Galway: 30; Mayo: 11).
The overall results for the four years reveal the following trends.
5. Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge total returns 2006-2010

Year
Applicants
(a)Full Grant
(b)Partial
Grant
Refused
2006-2007
3607
2309
1010
288
64%
28%
8%
(a)+(b)
3319 (92%)
2202
913
400
62.5%
26%
11.4%
(a)+(b)
3115 (88.5%)
2364
598
573
67%
17%
16%
(a)+(b)
2962 (84%)
2326
449
*520
69.3%
13.4%
15.5%
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009 2010
*3518
*3542
*3355
(a)+(b)
Outstanding
*3
*7
*60
2775 (82.7%)
In the press release accompanying the overall figures, the composite table contained an adjustment of 1 for 2009 2010 under
the categories Refused and Outstanding (= not yet examined).

While the number of applicants varies slightly and the percentage of full grants remains relatively stable, there is a significant
drop in the percentage of partial grants given with a corresponding rise in refusals. The overall trend in grant awarding is slight
but continuous decline. On issuing the figures available in September 2010, the Minister with responsibility for the language
remarked on the number of parents still raising their families through Irish in the Gaeltacht. He also explained the rationale of
the partial (or 50%) grant. The partial grant is awarded if the Department believes that the required standard may be reached
by the household within three years. If the household fails to do so, the grant is then refused. It is not clear whether the rise in
refusals was a consequence of the application of this condition. The percentage of all grants awarded has fallen by 10% from
92% to 82.7% between 2006-2007 and 2009-2010.
The Minister also signalled possible future redesign of this particular scheme to ensure articulation with the 20-Year
Strategy. This redesign became the Family Support Scheme.
Reports are given by those District Electoral Divisions (DED) fully or partially situated in each Gaeltacht area. Over
the four year period, the changing nature of the Gaeltacht today is clear as evidenced not only by the range of household
applications across DEDs but also by the continuing general decline in the upper ranges of applications.
6. Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge, results by year by range of number of households

returning in Gaeltacht DEDs 2006-2010
Gaeltacht
No. of
DEDs
No. of DEDs with Applicants
2006-07
Kerry
Cork
Donegal
Mayo
Waterford
Galway
Meath
26
26
26
26
10
10
10
10
38
36
38
38
23
23
23
15
3
3
3
3
36
34
35
35
6
6
6
6
2007-08
2008-09
Range of no. of applicant

households across DEDs
excluding zero
2009-2010
26
25
25
26
10
10
10
10
35
35
38
36
20
19
19
19
3
2
3
3
36
33
35
33
6
6
5
6
From - To
61 - 1
50 - 1
49 - 1
44 - 1
39 - 7
36 - 5
37 - 6
35 - 5
255 - 1
246 - 1
247 - 1
229 - 1
58 - 1
66 - 1
52 - 2
48 - 1
61 - 1
56 - 11
73 - 4
67 - 3
209 - 1
197 - 1
202 - 1
195 - 1
35 - 1
32 - 1
31 3
34 - 3
This table above presents information on applications only, not on the results of those applications. A more complete picture
emerges from figures issued by the Department in late 2010. These cover the continuous period from 1993/4 to 2009/10 in
detail. Some extracts are given in the tables below. They show continuing indication of a changing Gaeltacht community.
When all tables are taken in conjunction with each other, they appear to demonstrate that any change may upset the
delicate linguistic balance, causing movement upwards or downwards. These changes may include: population increase or
decrease in line with national demography; the changing ratio of English speakers; families moving in or out depending on
their dominant language; schools closing or amalgamating; available housing; a local language plan; availability of linguistic
supports. A DED with a single application in one year sometimes becomes a zero application in later years; this may occur if
the application is refused or if the conditions of a partial grant are not met within the required period of time.
Given the meaning of the term galltacht (English-speaking district; literally, district of the foreigner/stranger), it is notable
that five of the seven Gaeltacht areas in fact contain a DED of that name. The results for the DED thus named within the
five Gaeltacht regions are added to the data given below as an example of the isolation that may occur and the determination
required to maintain the home language in the face of severe odds.
7. Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge, results across DEDs of highest and lowest applications in
1993-1994 and 2006-2010; results are given in brackets (Full + Partial + Refused)
The DED named Galltacht has also been added. A single zero outside a bracket signifies no applicants.
Gaeltacht/DED
KERRY
Among highest
Na Gleannta
Cill Chuin
An Daingean
Among lowest
Cnoc Branainn
Doire Fhonin
Galltacht
1993-1994
*2009-2010
76 (24+39+13)
35 (26+7+2)
31 (5+11+15)
44 (25+5+14)
39 (36+2+1)
38 (21+7+10)
4 (0+1+3)
1 (0+1+0)
9 (0+7+ 2)
9 (4+3+2)
4 (1+0+3)
1 (1+0+0)
CORK
Among highest
*Bal tha an Ghaorthaidh
38 (7+17+14)
Sliabh Riabhach
25 (4+10+11)
Gort na Tiobratan
24 (11+8+5)
Among lowest
Galltacht
3 (1+1+1)
* Results for two subdivisions added together.
DONEGAL
Among highest
Machaire an Chlochair
Gort an Choirce
Among lowest
Sidhe-chor
Gleann Gheis
Galltacht
MAYO
Among highest
An Geata Mr Theas
Dumhach ige
Among lowest
37 (25+7+5)
35 (21+7+7)
31 (22+5+4)
N/A since 1999-2000
254 (228+22+4)
154 (136+15+3)
229 (210+11+6)
130 (121+6+3)
0
1 (0+0+1)
31 (2+20+9)
1 (1+0+0)
2 (2+0+0)
2 (0+0+2)
62 (10+42+10)
23 (4+8+11)
48 (9+17+18)
30 (4+11+15)
7. Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge, results across DEDs of highest and lowest applications in
1993-1994 and 2006-2010; results are given in brackets (Full + Partial + Refused)
Na Muing
Baile Odhbha
Galltacht
4 ((0+1+3)
4 (1+2+1)
3 (0+2+1)
1 (0+0+1)
1 (0+0+1)
0
WATERFORD
Among highest
An Rinn
Baile Mhac Airt
Among lowest
Ard Mhr
36 (11+25+0)
12 (1+5+6)
67 (56+7+4)
19 (9+5+5)
3 (0+2+1)
226 (197+22+7)
134 (117+15+2)
195 (176+12+7)
136 (123+6+3)
2 (0+0+2)
2 (1+0+1)
1 (0+1+0)
1 (0+0+1)
17 (0+14+3)
15 (13+1+1)
12 (3+4+5)
34 (25+4+5)
2 (2+0+0)
0
3 (3+0+0)
12 (7+4+1)
4 (1+1+2)
0
GALWAY
Among highest
An Crampn
Garumna
Among lowest
Leitir Breacin
Muighros
Galltacht
MEATH
Among highest
Domhnach Pdraig
Among lowest
Cill Bhrde
Tailtn
Galltacht
A small number of applicants remained to be assessed for the year 2009-2010. In some instances, DEDs are Part of DED
only these have not been marked for purposes of this table.
Gaeltacht DEDs returning 5 or less applicant households can hardly be expected to sustain a vibrant community language. If these
are combined in any Gaeltacht region with DEDs returning zero applicant households, the possibility of sustainability is lessened
further as the table below shows. It decreases even more when it is taken into account, firstly, that not all of these applications
may necessarily succeed and, secondly, that the numbers in any household may vary. In addition, while the children of schoolgoing age examined by Department personnel may exhibit degrees of fluency, this does not necessarily indicate that Irish is the
language of the home. The issue of critical mass of speakers hardly becomes relevant in some instances since percentages, while
useful in detecting trends, are no indication of the actual number of speakers nor of their location in respect of community
proximity. More and more, in many respects, these DEDs bear more resemblance to the dispersed networks of urban speakers.
Nevertheless, the situation of the larger Gaeltacht areas is not directly comparable with that of the smaller regions.
8. Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge, Gaeltacht DEDs having 5 or less or zero applicant

households in 1993-1994 and 2006-2010; percentages are given in brackets.
Total DEDs
Gaeltacht
Year
No. of DEDS
5 or less
applicants
No. of DEDs
zero applicants
% of Total
DEDs
26
KERRY
1993-1994
(10) 38%
2009-2010
12
(12) 46%
1993-1994
(2) 20%
2009-2010
0%
1993-1994
(13) 34%
2009-2010
12
(15) 39%
1993-1994
(12) 50%
2009-2010
(13) 56.5%
1993-1994
(1) 33%
2009-2010
(1) 33%
1993-1994
(15) 43%
2009-2010
(11) 31%
1993-1994
(4) 66%
2009-2010
(2) 33%
10
38
23
35
CORK
DONEGAL
MAYO
WATERFORD
GALWAY
MEATH
The smaller Gaeltachta, Cork, Waterford, Meath, appear to be healthier than some larger regions. However, an analysis
by a former researcher in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), which also points out this resurgence of a kind,
nevertheless finds the basic trends less reassuring. Part of this analysis of the Scim returns is based on an extrapolation from
the number of households with at least one child between the school-going years 5-19 in the 2006 census figures since these
would be eligible to apply for the grant. These number some 10,000. But no more than 3,500 households actually applied.
The inference is that, inter alia, the majority may have felt that their child/children had insufficient Irish to do so. It could
be further inferred from the actual results of the 3,500 applicant households that no more than 25% of the total number of
10,000 had sufficient fluency to merit the full grant and some 4.5% had reasonable competence. This led to the headline in
the newspaper, Gaelscal, stating that just 30% of Gaeltacht children had Irish. Not surprisingly, the Editorial argued that the
future of Irish in the Gaeltacht is a personal linguistic choice for the young and for families. It further argues that the loss of the
Gaeltacht need not necessarily affect those linguistic initiatives outside the Gaeltacht. In the readers survey on the Scim, 77%
felt that its benefits should be extended outside the Gaeltacht. In one Gaeltacht, Ubh Rthach (Iveragh), where an extensive
range of supports is available to families to enable them to maintain Irish as the home language, the local committee held
meetings to discuss the results for the region with the community. A columnist in Gaelscal was of the view that, instead of
grants to individual families, the funding might go towards some facility for the entire community. However, the relevant
Minister considered the most recent results quite hopeful.
From Scim to Clr

Gaeltacht grants, including Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge, had been under discussion for some years and particularly since the
publication of the Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht (2007) with its emphasis on the critical role
of family transmission of the language. Within their terms of reference for cost cutting measures, the McCarthy Report (July
2009) had recommended the abolition of this and other support mechanisms for Irish. However, the actual linguistic effects of
this and other Gaeltacht schemes were also under scrutiny pending changes with the anticipated coming into operation of the
20-Year Strategy. In April 2011, under the new Coalition, the Minister of State announced the cessation, at the end of the school
year 2010-2011, of Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge, begun in 1933, in order to make way for a new approach which might better fulfil
the aims of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. Submissions were requested from Gaeltacht groups towards this and meetings held by
Department representatives with the community. The representative Guth na Gaeltachta (Voice of the Gaeltacht) recommended
an inclusive approach across a range of supports directed at home speakers of Irish: Scim Cainteoir Baile.
In the event, a new scheme entitled Clr Tacaochta Teaghlaigh (CTT, Family Support Programme) was signalled for early
announcement in a media interview with the Minister in early March 2012. A budget of 500,000 had been set aside for
the new scheme; no allowances or grants would be paid but an array of support services would be available to families raising
their children with Irish as the home language. Interestingly, this new scheme to replace Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge (Scheme
for Speaking Irish), which had been confined to the Gaeltacht, is open to certain families outside the heartland, not solely
to Gaeltacht families, arising out of provisions in the 20-Year Strategy. The Family Language Support Programme was finally
announced on 26 April 2012.
The CTT comprises 12 specific measures directed towards supporting five groups as follows, generally families and parents
but also the community and organisations working towards the same ends. The target groups include:
Group 1: Gaeltacht families who are expecting a child and who wish to raise the child through Irish, as well as
Gaeltacht families who are raising pre-school children through Irish or who wish to raise their pre-school children
through Irish.
Group 2: Gaeltacht families who are raising primary school children through Irish, as well as Gaeltacht families who
wish to raise their primary school children through Irish.
Group 3: Gaeltacht teenagers.
Group 4: The Gaeltacht and Irish language community in general, as well as language-based organisations.
Group 5: Certain communities outside the Gaeltacht, i.e. parents raising their children through Irish or who wish to
raise their children through Irish.
An illustrated booklet was issued to explain the benefits of assisting children to acquire Irish as well as an advice kit. Other
publications may follow. The shift to parent and self-initiated requests for support to the Department resulted initially in
quite slow contact. Some Gaeltacht community organisations were funded to provide services: In September 2012, Muintearas
Teoranta and Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne received 762,378 between them for the provision of language support services in
Gaeltacht primary schools, thus providing assistance to parents also. This includes the former Scim Cntir Teanga (Language
Assistants Scheme). Muintearas were additionally granted 75,000 to provide gymnastics classes in primary schools in the
Connemara Gaeltacht.

The measures include:
-
a language awareness campaign; this began with the circulation of a leaflet through the Health Service Executive,
targeting parents and giving advice on the benefits of bilingualism;
a support pack for parents (booklet and CD);
two types of Summer Camps: for 3-6 year olds and for 7-14 year olds (instead of the current scheme for 4-7 year
olds);
assistance for local organisations to organise activities (e.g. mother and toddler groups);
development of the current Language Assistants Scheme for schools;
development of a portal website containing advice and resources.
DECLINE AND REMEDY: EDUCATION
Preschool
A new Government initiative allowing children one year free preschool education led to an increase in attendance at all forms
of provision, including at provision through the medium of Irish. However, the umbrella organisation for Naonra in the
Gaeltacht drew attention to the lack of any linguistic condition accompanying this funding for Gaeltacht provision. There are
already no lack of examples of private provision which function mainly or exclusively through English only, particularly in
the weaker Gaeltacht areas or Breac-Ghaeltacht. Cessation of funding from the Department of Children and Youth for new
capital projects in early childhood provision was signalled in 2011. This factor, allied with the possible loss of assistance with
staffing through MFG (below) or other schemes, could have quite a negative effect on preschooling in the Gaeltacht. The
announcement in late January 2012 by the Minister of State at the Department of the Gaeltacht of a grant of 38,000 towards
equipment for a childcare centre in Ceathr Rua (Carraroe) was then welcomed. Statistics and other relevant information on
provision through Irish are given below in Chapter 4: Education.
Primary school
The Council for Gaeltacht and Irish-medium Education (An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaochta; COGG,
2002) has ensured the production of much material since its inception, both in research and in resources. While all these
publications are useful to all schools, those with particular reference to education in the Gaeltacht are highlighted in the list below.
2003
An Ghaeilge sa Chras Oideachais Tr Leibhal (Irish in Third-Level Education)
2003
An tInnacs Taighde (Research Index)
2004
Solthar Minteoir do na Bunscoileanna Ln-Ghaeilge. (Teacher Supply in Primary Gaelscoileanna)
2004
Ts na Litheoireachta i scoileanna Gaeltachta agus ln-Ghaeilge (Beginning Reading)
2004
An Ghaeilge sna Colist Oideachais (Irish in the Colleges of Education)
2005
Tuairisc ar Shiden S (Report on Reading Materials Project)
2005
Staid Reatha na Scoileanna Gaeltachta (Current State of Gaeltacht Schools)
2005
Largas na Promhoid, na minteoir & na tuismitheoir (View of Principals, Teachers, Parents)
2006
Solthar Minteoir do na Bunscoileanna Ln-Ghaeilge (Teacher Supply Primary Gaelscoileanna)
2006

Oideachas agus forbairt ghairmiil leannach minteoir i scoileanna Gaeltachta agus Ln-Ghaeilge.
(Education and Continuing Professional Education for Teachers in the Irish-medium Sector)
2007
Struchtr Oideachais na Gaeltachta (An Education Structure for the Gaeltacht) + Achoimre (Summary)
2007

Cruinneas na Gaeilge scrofa sna hiar-bhunscoileanna ln-Ghaeilge i mBaile tha Cliath

(Accuracy of written Irish in Dublin second-level Irish-medium Schools)
2007
Leabhair Ghaeilge do Phist (Childrens books in Irish)
2009
An Scrd Cainte sa Ghaeilge (The Oral Examination in Irish)
2009
Learning to read in Irish and English
2010
I dTreo Lnbhainistocht Scoileanna Fraincise i dTimpeallacht Mhionlaigh (French Schools in Canada)
2010
Tacaocht Teanga i Scoileanna Gaeltachta (Language Support in Gaeltacht Schools)
One of the more recent studies supported by COGG, Taighde ar Dhea-chleachtais Bhunscoile, (Research on Primary Good
Practice, October, 2010) concerns good practice in Gaeltacht primary schools with regard to the acquisition, development,
and language socialisation of pupils for whom Irish is their first language. The authors remark on the linguistic mix among
pupils in primary schools in even the strongest Gaeltacht areas, the necessity for clear school policies within the international
understanding of immersion education, and the requirement for specific language work to support first language pupils given
that the communication language with the peer group tends to be largely English. They identify six examples of good practice:
communication with parents and community on the language policy of the school and on their respective roles
in the maintenance of the language;
regular group work with pupils for whom Irish is their first language;
continuous emphasis on rich and accurate Irish with these pupils;
regular language-rich activities as drama and story-telling with pupils including visitors from the region;
a clear immersion policy in the context of literacy or bi-literacy this is taken to mean emphasis first on literacy
in Irish;
a campaign to encourage speaking Irish among pupils.
Statistics compiled by the Council and released towards the end of February 2011 show that of the 9,500 pupils in Gaeltacht
primary schools, no more than 1,000 (10.52%) are native speakers.
The policy of amalgamating small rural schools, signalled in the McCarthy Report (2009), could have devastating effects
in the Gaeltacht where 70% of primary schools have three or fewer teachers. Unless the language of instruction was to be a
determining factor, Gaeltacht schools operating through Irish could be obliterated over time. In October 2010, the previous
administration had initiated a value for money review of small primary schools. The then Minister for Education and Skills
(also Tnaiste; Deputy Prime Minister) had made her personal view clear both in the Dil on 23 September 2009 in the wake
of the McCarthy Report (July 2009) and later; as did her party, Fianna Fil, in their 2011 election manifesto: small schools
were not threatened. In January 2011, the Department initiated a value for money review across all areas of high expenditure,
the provision of small primary schools (less than 50 pupils) included, and a public consultation process ensued. The key
topics were expected demographic growth, scarcity of resources, efficiency, effectiveness, alternative organisational approaches.
In answer to a question, the Minister said in the Dil (23 March, 2011) that he did not have a predetermined view on the
outcome of the review which was expected by the end of the year. On 13 April, the Minister of State for Small Business is
reported to have told parents that the Coalition had no mandate to close rural schools. Nevertheless, in late 2011 the proposed
new pupil teacher ratio threatened many small schools, leading to concerted lobbying in early 2012.
In their submission to Government, Guth na Gaeltachta (Voice of the Gaeltacht) repeat arguments made when the
school in Dn Caoin, Kerry Gaeltacht, was threatened in 1970: a school is a community resource; in the Gaeltacht it is a
linguistic community resource and therefore central to policy in the operation of the 20-Year Strategy. The group makes
three recommendations: that plans for amalgamation of any school within the Gaeltacht should contain a Linguistic Impact
Statement; that the Council (COGG) should be given responsibility for assessing the efficacy of Gaeltacht education and
that no amalgamation should occur without the assent of the board of the Council; that the Council be tasked with
the preparation of a linguistic policy for all Gaeltacht primary schools to ensure as much uniformity as possible. In its
submission, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) point out that no research supports the notion that bigger
schools are educationally better than small schools. The INTO also supports the rle of the small school in the Gaeltacht
where small group communication is important to language retention and development, as indeed is the case in the Irishmedium gaelscoil.
At the start of the school year 2011-2012, three primary schools in the Donegal Gaeltacht decided on an Irish language
immersion policy for Junior and Senior Infants classes at least. These schools, Scoil Dhoire Chonaire, Scoil Chaiseal na gCorr
and Scoil Rann na Feirste are situated in relatively strong areas linguistically. That such a policy was taken is an indication of the
difficulties of mixed intake in local schools. Reaction ranged from hopes that a similar approach might prevail in other areas as
a symbol of community desire to retain the language to questions concerning the retention of Gaeltacht status by areas where
such an immersion policy is absent. At the end of 2011, another Donegal Gaeltacht school, Mn na Manrach primary school,
where the Irish writer Samus Grianna had been a pupil, received notification of possible closure from the Department of
Education. It had shortly before celebrated its centenary but was finally down to seven pupils, all girls, and had to close its
doors after 100 years and more.
January 2012 saw a series of protests by Gaeltacht schools, parents and the organisation ESG (Eagraocht na Scoileanna
Gaeltachta Association of Gaeltacht Schools), locally and in Dublin, against the proposed measures on increased pupil teacher
ratio (already signalled in the Budget for 2012) which would affect all schools but particularly the smaller ones. Since pupil
capitation grants and teacher salaries would transfer to their next school, the savings appeared minimal to protesters and totally
at variance with State policy to sustain the Gaeltacht, since the smaller schools tended to be more Irish-medium and transferred
pupils could find themselves in a different linguistic milieu entirely.

As in the case of the proposal to move the office of An Coimisinir Teanga into the office of the Ombudsman even as a
public consultation was underway on the Official Languages Act (Chapter 3), similarly the decision on the pupil teacher ratio
in all schools was put into practice for 2012-2013 before a report on small schools currently in preparation was available to the
Minister.
Some further discussion on this issue appears below, Chapter 4: Education.
As the local school in the case of children, the local rural post office is also a social and linguistic amenity for older people
particularly. The community association of Bal tha an Ghaorthaidh (Ballingeary) in the small County Cork Gaeltacht began
a campaign in early January to retain full services in their local post office.
Colist Samhraidh (Summer Colleges)

A press release issued on behalf of the previous Minister for the Gaeltacht on 7 December 2010 described Scim na
bhFoghlaimeoir Gaeilge (Scheme for Learners of Irish) as one of the most successful language schemes administered by his
Department. This scheme grant-aids Gaeltacht Mn T (housewives) to provide accommodation for students attending Colist
Samhraidh (Summer Colleges). The linguistic and economic benefits of the system are significant. This was borne out in
January 2012 as a result of the online teacher training college, Hibernia, transferring its summer courses from the south Kerry
Gaeltacht of Ubh Rthach (Iveragh) to the nearby relatively stronger Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne. The south Kerry region was
endeavouring to implement a stronger linguistic policy in their area. Recognition was a major aid towards this apart from the
loss of some 1 million in economic terms.
For 2011, the grant for Mn T was reduced by 5%. It was also announced that overall responsibility for the Colist had
been transferred at that time from Education to the Department with responsibility for the language.
Research on the general scheme of Colist Samhraidh Gaeilge (Irish Summer Colleges) and the associated grant scheme
of the Department with responsibility for the language, Scim na bhFoghlaimeoir Gaeilge (SFG, Scheme for Learners of Irish)
was put out to tender by COGG in late 2010. It is now underway and the results expected by late 2012.
A report based on a survey of the students benefiting from the Scim (which supplanted two existing schemes in 1972)
was carried out by the Department with responsibility for the language and published in November 2010; a debate also took
place in Seanad ireann on 2 November 2010. The recommendations on language and community were, in general, reflected
in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. The numbers attending the Colist are cited in the Context and Impact Indicators attaching to
the Key Outputs of the new style Revised Estimates 2012 of the Department.
The discontinuance of the State grant for trainee student primary teachers in respect of the Gaeltacht course they undergo
(announced early 2012) will have no small effects on those Colist which organise these courses, on the households which
provide accommodation, and on the local economy.
Adult education
In the field of adult literacy, a survey in the Gaeltacht is being supported by the agency Breacadh (Dawn) through a doctorate
to be conducted at the National University of Ireland, Galway (Acadamh). It is the first to be held in the Irish language
community. The agency already runs literacy classes for Irish in the Gaeltacht and produces resources for the sector. It works
with the Vocational Education sector in Gaeltacht areas.
In the Republic, it is reported that 25% of the population have literacy problems while in the city of London, a million
adults cannot read and a third of under-11s in State primary schools cannot read or write properly.
DECLINE AND REMEDY: THE FAMILY
Given the figures cited above, it is of little surprise that transmission of Irish in the Gaeltacht family has declined. Some
families, however, have decided on remedial action and have established a support organisation for Gaeltacht parents,
Tuismitheoir na Gaeltachta. This organisation is found in both the Munster and Connacht Gaeltacht. In Connacht, it
currently comprises some 80 families endeavouring to bring up their children through Irish and to provide some aspects
of community support for them. Its work is conducted solely through Irish. It provides out-of-school activities to enable
children socialise and play through Irish as much as possible and liaises with local schools. Ironically, its endeavours in the
Gaeltacht setting mirror those of parents in the Galltacht (or English-speaking areas) over many years, where services had to
be fought for from officialdom.
DECLINE AND REMEDY: YOUTH

It was reported (June 2010) that young people in Spiddal in the Galway Gaeltacht were of the view that Irish as a community
language would be gone in 20 years. This was certainly the prognosis of the Linguistic Study (2007), but only if no corrective
measures were taken. It is sometimes difficult to find the mean between stating possible or probable outcomes and having them
accepted as unalterable fact.
For 2011, dars na Gaeltachta supported some 62 youth clubs and drop-in centres having up to 2,000 members.
DECLINE AND REMEDY: LANGUAGE PLANNING AND THE COMMUNITY
Language planning community meetings were held during 2010 in several areas, some to discuss the findings of the
Comprehensive Linguistic Study (2007). In the Cork Gaeltacht area of Mscra (Muskerry), under the aegis of Comharchumann
Forbartha Mhscra, the initiative is unambiguously titled, r dTeanga, r bPlean (Our Language, Our Plan). The new (May
2010) development manager of Comhlacht Forbartha na nDise (Decies Development Company) in Waterford planned a
community consultation approach also. Guth na Gaeltachta (Voice of the Gaeltacht) continued its comprehensive advocacy
and community work in Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore) in Donegal and in other regions also. There is also now a local community
newspaper in Irish, Goitse, in the area and school pupils have been introduced to the stark findings of the Linguistic Study.
In Kerry, four groups came together to form Corca Dhuibhne ag Caint (Corca Dhuibhne Talking) to ensure use of Irish in
shops and other centres catering to the public: Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne (Corca Dhuibhne Heritage), Cumann Lucht Gn
agus Trdla an Daingin (Society of Business and Trade of Dingle town), dars na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Authority) and the
agency to promote training and employment, FS (Foras iseanna Saothair 1988, Agency for Work Facilitation) FS usefully
translates also as growth.
Comprehensive community proposals were put forward in a Language Plan for the Moycullen (Maigh Cuilinn) area of
Galway, prepared by the Department of Irish (Roinn na Gaeilge) of the National University of Ireland, Galway, for the local
branch of the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge) and published in early 2010. A language support centre was proposed
containing a language services centre having its own manager. The entire plan may be accessed online.
A most comprehensive plan was launched in November 2010 by Comhlacht Forbartha an Spidil Teoranta (Development
Company Limited) in Spiddal, County Galway, to increase the number of daily speakers from the current 67% to 70% within
five years, in line with the objectives of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. The cost is estimated at under 70,000 p.a. to support a
development office and staff. This plan may be found at www.anspideal.ie.
The 75 year celebration took place in May 2010 of the resettlement of 27 Connemara families in County Meath that
became a new Gaeltacht. By August 2010, the new shadow spokesperson on the Gaeltacht for the Fine Gael party had launched
the concept of turning Clare Island (just over 160 islanders), County Mayo, (Cliara not to be confused with Oilen Clire
off the west Cork coast) back into a Gaeltacht with the aid of the local development committee, by 2030. The first goal was
a movement to create a gaelscoil from the local school. This, of course, is a matter for parents. While 90% of the islands
population supported the initial re-gaelicisation plan, matters were still at that stage in 2012. Clare Islands last speakers were
alive in the 1930s but the tradition is still strong. Another Mayo island, Achill, is partially Gaeltacht although Plean Gaeilge
Acla 2008-2011 is open to the entire community. The next phase is now being developed through specific focus groups in
the context of the 20-Year Strategy with emphasis on not only maintaining but extending Gaeltacht status. The initial public
planning meeting in November 2010 was held in bilingual format. In South West County Donegal the Gaeltacht around
Teileann is in the C category with a low number of daily speakers (37%). At the 2010 public igse (Festival) on its future,
some views were more pessimistic than others. It was hoped that the discussion might spark more determined action. In
County Clare, a group from the Carrigaholt (Carraig an Chabhaltaigh) area are working to regain their Gaeltacht status which
was fairly recently lost. A Coiste (Committee) is working on a Linguistic Plan to 2016 with the aim of seeking Gaeltacht status
for all or some of the countys inhabitants. It is notable that the emphasis is on people not on territory. A community group
in another former Breac-Ghaeltacht area, Newcastle in south Tipperary, were planning a festival for July 2011 to kickstart a
linguistic revival. A community development group (Coiste Forbartha Charn Tchair and Glr na nGael) in Carntogher in
Northern Ireland have allowed 50 years, two generations, to reach their goal of regaining their past linguistic heritage.
The 2012 Gaeltacht Act, changes in both the definition of Gaeltacht and in Gaeltacht support programmes, and the emphases
of the 20-Year Strategy increased the impetus for genuine community planning, particularly the documents issued by the
Department on 26 April 2012, Priseas Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Process), of which the content is outlined below.
A new study of the decline of Irish as vernacular was published in February 2011, Contests and Contexts: the Irish Language
and Irelands Socio-Economic Development, by Dr John Walsh of the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG). Its thesis
is that the language shift in the 19th century was detrimental to both society and economy resulting in not only language loss,
but additionally in loss of self-confidence and of economic creativity. In September 2011, a work in Irish, Meon Gaelach, Aigne
Nulaoch (Gaelic Disposition, Creative/Inventive Mind), by Professor Fionnbarra Brolchin (Professor Finbarr Bradley),
came out; it discusses the advantages of a native language in developing an innovative and smart economy.
DECLINE AND REMEDY: COMMUNITY AND OFFICIAL INITIATIVES
In addition to local language plans as noted above, other community-oriented development initiatives are noted below.
Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta (MFG, Gaeltacht Development Working Group)

MFG was established in 1991 as a grassroots voluntary organisation, representing a partnership between all relevant local
interests, in order to implement the EU LEADER programme (now the National Rural Development Programme, NRDP) in
Gaeltacht regions. It had regional offices in the Gaeltachta. Over the years the range of its activities grew in response to local
demand and in implementation of its aim:
Community development through the enhancement of social, cultural and economic opportunities in the Gaeltacht.
Possibly in response to economic demands for streamlining, rationalisation and cost cutting, but ostensibly in the context of a possible
change in legislation for dars na Gaeltachta in view of the proposed 20-Year Strategy, the then Minister for the Gaeltacht announced
in the Dil (Lower House) on 29 April 2009 that the powers of MFG were to be transferred to dars na Gaeltachta. A single
body would in future be responsible for all employment and community schemes in Gaeltacht areas and the remit of the voluntary
organisation would be reduced, with consequent changes for personnel employed by MFG. These changes had been discussed on
23 April 2009 at a meeting between the Minister and An tdars. By July 2010, it was reported that discussions were still ongoing
on the proposed merger. In August 2010, the post of chief executive for MFG was advertised in the press on the retirement of the
incumbent. By November the new appointee was announced to begin work in early December. A brief news release from dars na
Gaeltachta, dated 14 December 2010, gave details of a meeting between both organisations at which agreement was reached on the
necessity for high levels of cooperation between the two organisations, given that both have staff, offices and development schemes
across all the Gaeltacht regions. Another meeting was planned for 2011 to finalise a joint scheme of operations.
MFG had been the conduit for both EU and Government funding as well as some specifically Gaeltacht funding. The
agency delivered the 2007-2013 Rural Development Programme in the Gaeltacht . Answering questions in the Dil on
1July2010, the previous Minister had given the following information: the overall allocation for MFG for delivery of the
Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 was then 17.3 million of which 1.68 million was designated for business
creation and development. (In addition, Comhar na nOilen, the partnership company for island communities of which most
are in the Gaeltacht had been allocated a total budget of 4.6 million under the EU Leader programme). The budget for the
MFG programme was apparently later cut from 800,000 to 500,000 by the previous administration. In late February 2011,
the media reported what was the first industrial strike in the Galway Gaeltacht for 30 years. Ways to continue employment
within the constraints of reduced funding were sought by the union involved.
However, in early September 2011, following an independent report commissioned by the official funding body, Pobal
(Community), the Board of MFG announced the immediate closure of the agency on financial grounds. Liquidators were
appointed. Overall, it was reported that some 134 jobs were lost (100 part-time) and communities were left with unfinished
projects and without services locally. Talks had been initiated between representatives of MFG (chair and CEO) and the
Department of the Environment together with Pobal. (community development programmes had formerly been administered
by the Department of Community, Rural [later Equality] and Gaeltacht Affairs). In November 2011, it was reported that
Pobal, in consultation with the Department of the Environment, [was] identifying possible mechanisms to implement
the programmes previously implemented by MFG in Gaeltacht areas. In early January 2012, the previous Minister of the
previous Department of Community, Rural/Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs put several questions to the current Minister for the
Environment, under whose remit Pobal and community funding now come. The response was that the EU Leader programmes
would soon be organised and that the requirements of the Official Languages Act would be fulfilled in Gaeltacht areas in
relation to these programmes. Gradually, implementation of the programmes was being arranged with existing community
development groups and companies under new arrangements to include the Gaeltacht in their area of operations.
However, by October 2012, debate in the Seanad led to media reports which indicated that the new plans were not yet
fully operational, due in part to legacy issues of outstanding projects. Some feared that EU funds through the LEADER
Programme might have to be returned arising out of delays.
PHYSICAL PLANNING IN THE GAELTACHT
Public documents pertaining to the Department of the Gaeltacht and Gaeltacht planning, released under the 30 year rule,
show that ministerial discussion on the issue goes back even further although without satisfactory resolution, despite the best
efforts of dars na Gaeltachta, until the Planning and Development Act 2000 finally gave recognition to the special case of the
Gaeltacht regions in planning matters. The results of physical planning on the Gaeltacht as a language community are crucial
to the linguistic integrity of the region.
By mid 2010 up to 1,900 houses were for sale in Gaeltacht areas, the majority of them holiday homes and almost one third
of them in Donegal, where the causes were reported to lie in the economic problems of Northern Ireland and a new wave of
emigration with the loss of jobs, coupled with the new second home annual tax of 200 introduced by the Dublin Government
in 2009. Added to this was the service charge of 15,000 of the County Council on building a holiday home. The linguistic
balance of the community keeps changing.
As one example, the current six-year County Development Plan for Donegal runs to 2012. As part of the review process,
public consultation meetings were held across the county during September 2010 and the target date for individual or group
submissions was extended to 8 October. Economic, social, and language circumstances have changed since 2006.
Physical planning was not, however, mentioned in the Gaeltacht Act 2012. As yet, none of the proposals of the 20-Year
Strategy (below) have been realised. As some Council plans are currently to be renewed, including plans for Gaeltacht areas,
movement on the issue may be called for. Local plans must be submitted to the Department of the Environment to ensure
that they do not contravene any State regulations. In addition, some changes concerning designation of some lands (ceantar
fuarlaigh) have been introduced in recent years by the Office of Public Works.
DECLINE AND REMEDY: PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030
Context
The proposals made in the Strategy derive from the principles regarding the Gaeltacht outlined in the Government Statement
of December 2006 and on the broad thrust of the 2007 commissioned work, Report on the Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish
in the Gaeltacht.
Some changes were subsequently made to the Draft Strategy; these are reflected in the Gaeltacht Bill 2012.
The school
The suite of measures described below under Chapter 4: Education have validity also for education in the Gaeltacht. Specific
additional proposals are also made in the Strategy. In the first instance, the opportunity for all Gaeltacht students to have
access to their education through the medium of Irish is clearly stated (D/CRGA and D/ES to implement suitable provision,
given differing contexts in Gaeltacht regions). A review of post-primary provision in gaelscoileanna and in the Gaeltacht will be
carried out. Designated inspectors will still be deployed by the Department of Education and Science (D/ES).
Structural proposals are of three kinds:
at primary level, a new language acquisition unit to be developed in the three main Gaeltachta;
dedicated arrangements to be developed for second level Irish-medium education throughout the State, to
include competent staff and a comprehensive integrated support service for which funding will be provided, in
any future review of Vocational Education Committee (VEC) structures;
the long-proposed language education resource centre in Baile Bhuirne (Ballyvourney, County Cork Gaeltacht
region) to be progressed;
other resource supports to comprise courses, schemes and scholarships;
intensive out-of-school courses in Irish for post-primary students requiring linguistic support;
maintenance and strengthening of current D/CRGA schemes such as language assistants in schools and home visits;
a more coherent approach to Gaeltacht Summer Colleges.
Language planning and the community

The importance of community language planning from the bottom up is considered central to the Strategy envisaged to
ensure the future of the language in its heartland. Such planning will constitute a major part of being designated a Gaeltacht
region through the new Gaeltacht Act. Plans must integrate a variety of aspects of community life from a linguistic perspective:
education; family support services; services for youth, children with special needs, the elderly; local government services
and local/physical planning; community development including religious services, health services, sport and local business
development and tourism (cultural/educational). While funding would be available for the planning exercise, and for the
proposed State support for Irish-speaking families in the Gaeltacht, it is made clear in the Strategy that future State expenditure
will focus on the linguistic impact of all ventures, particularly on families and on youth.
The aim of planning will be to strengthen the community language in strong areas and the language networks in areas with
a lesser number of speakers, the focus being on the varying linguistic needs in different areas.

Towards criteria
In line with some of the recommendations of the 2007 Linguistic Study, the Government would introduce a new Gaeltacht
Act to define Gaeltacht status on linguistic rather than on solely geographic criteria. Communities that encounter difficulty
reaching full compliance with these criteria will have two years to develop plans to ensure their status. Otherwise, Gaeltacht
status will be lost. All plans would, in any event, be reviewed every seven years. New areas may be added if they satisfy the
linguistic criteria. The proposed content of such plans is found above, under Local planning and the community and below
under Content of the Gaeltacht Bill (when it was finally published by the subsequent administration).
Physical planning in the Gaeltacht

The Strategy has three specific proposals in relation to physical planning in the Gaeltacht, all of which answer previous concerns
raised:
planning guidelines for the Gaeltacht will be prepared by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local
Government for local authorities;
collaboration between the various departments and interests involved will ensure shared services and expertise;
Gaeltacht plans will have the same status as town plans and will be approved by the new dars na Gaeilge [a
concept which was later abandoned].
In addition, every county which has a designated Gaeltacht area will be required to prepare and implement County Language
Plans. These plans will consist of specific targeted initiatives aimed at increasing on a yearly basis the percentage and number
of daily Irish speakers. The various stakeholders will be the service deliverers, advised by language planners. Two further items
of interest are also mentioned: this approach may be extended to other counties if evaluation warrants such extension; the
designated Gaeltacht areas include the network Gaeltacht areas. The term network Gaeltacht as used in the Strategy has two
references:
Gaeltacht areas with few speakers; the new Category D urban areas. [This latter term was not later used in the
Gaeltacht Act].
The Fiontar report had recommended that An Bord Pleanla, under the Department of the Environment, should have a specific
Gaeltacht planning unit to act on planning decisions of those County Councils which have specific Gaeltacht obligations under
the Planning and Development Act 2000.
COALITION 2011 (FINE GAEL/LABOUR): CHANGES TO THE DRAFT STRATEGY
At a Cabinet meeting of 31 May 2011, the content was agreed of the legislation required to implement sections of the Strategy.
These final Government decisions were announced on 3 June 2011 by the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs. Preparation
of the heads of the Bill could now proceed although the time frame for drafting and debate had not yet been clarified. Extracts
from the official announcement are given below.

This section of the statement concerning the Gaeltacht contained no material change from the original version of the Strategy.
Provision will be made in the Gaeltacht Bill for a new statutory definition of the Gaeltacht, which will be based on
linguistic criteria rather than on geographical areas, as is currently the case.
Provision will be made under the legislation for a language planning process in order to prepare language plans
at community level for each Gaeltacht area and for the Minister to approve and review those plans periodically.
Statutory status will be given to a new type of network Gaeltacht area outside the existing statutory Gaeltacht
areas. These will be areas, predominantly in urban communities, that will have a basic critical mass of community
and State support for the Irish language.
Gaeltacht Service Towns, i.e. towns which service Gaeltacht areas, will also be given statutory status.
BILLE GAELTACHTA 2012 (GAELTACHT BILL)
General Context
New legislation for the Gaeltacht and its boundaries had been mooted for years. The eventual Gaeltacht Bill of 2012 had
its immediate genesis, however, in two facts. One lay in the ominous findings of the Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the
Gaeltacht (2007) together with its recommendations on Categories of Gaeltacht, A, B, C, in respect of the percentage of daily
speakers, and the possibility of a Category D to cover urban areas outside the Gaeltacht. The second were the various provisions
contained in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish regarding the Gaeltacht, the development agency, dars na Gaeltachta, and a
general increase in the number of daily Irish speakers throughout the country.
With regard to the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy in the Gaeltacht, it was officially decided on 31 May 2011 that
dars na Gaeltachta would perform that function. In the event, the decision in June 2011 to leave dars na Gaeltachta solely
as a Gaeltacht agency permitted the use of a single piece of legislation to cover both matters arising out of the 20-Year Strategy
for the Irish Language. A Government decision of 7 February 2012 followed: to have a Bill in respect of the Gaeltacht drafted
as a matter of priority. The objectives of the Bill comprised:
a new definition for the Gaeltacht on linguistic rather than geographic criteria, based on community language
planning and which may include areas outside the traditional Gaeltacht;
a statutory role for dars na Gaeltachta in the implementation of the Strategy in the Gaeltacht;
changes to the board of An tdars: reduced membership and no elections.

On the interesting concept of network Gaeltacht, the Minister stated in late February 2012 that:
after the enactment of the Bill, any community with a strong Irish language presence, in the Gaeltacht or outside,
may prepare their language development plan for consideration;
in the meantime, the Department is considering pilot schemes in certain areas outside the Gaeltacht where Irish
has a strong community presence; the scheme may be announced before Easter.
Several such areas had hopes of inclusion in these pilot schemes, including Ballymun (Dublin), Clondalkin (Dublin), Ennis
(County Clare). However, in the event these pilots were confined to the Gaeltacht as discussed below.
Priseas Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Process)

Clarification followed eventually on 26 April 2012 with the issue by the Department of Priseas Pleanla Teanga (Language
Planning Process), a compendium of short documents on the process, made public during the actual drafting process of the Bill
and in advance of its publication, which gave some of the content of the Bill, another unusual step. The documents comprised
a Nta Eolais (Information Note) on such planning in the Gaeltacht accompanied by a list as Appendix which divided the
existing Gaeltacht into19 Language Planning Areas, six of which were given priority to begin the planning process. A planning
template (area/domain; target; objectives; actions within specific timeframe) was provided for the proposed Language Plan for
those six areas in which Irish was still a strong community language. All sections of this template had been already completed by
the issuing Department except the proposed actions. Non-speakers were among the domains for action. The biggest challenge
facing the organisations chosen to lead the planning, e.g. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne in West Kerry, was the variety of the
linguistic communities within the delineated areas.
A Plphipar (Discussion Paper) on Grasin Ghaeilge (Irish Language Networks) was also part of the compendium of
documents. These were part of the 20-Year Strategy, having been put forward as a proposal in the Comprehensive Linguistic
Study of 2007. They are described as communities largely in urban areas where a basic critical mass exists of community
and State support for the language. No specific areas were pinpointed unlike the Gaeltacht list. However, there is no small
significance in the statement that these too were destined to have a statutory basis in future, as is the case already with the
existing Gaeltacht regions. A list (but not a template) of possible language planning criteria for these Networks is included; they
are close to those in use by the Glr na nGael competition, covering the critical domains and target groups, as is the proposed
representative local committee. The base line for daily speakers is 10% including in education and a footnote reminds that
30% was the baseline for the weakest Gaeltacht of Category C given in the Linguistic Study. However, these Networks are no
longer characterised as Category D or as Gaeltacht.
In the Discussion Paper, given the seismic changes (Chapter 3, Funding, below) envisaged by Foras na Gaeilge for the
sections of the voluntary sector it core funds, some interesting proposals appear in relation to the operation of such a system
of urban language planning:
in this case, preparation of a language planning template is envisaged as a joint task for the Department and Foras
na Gaeilge;
assistance to a group or community seeking statutory recognition as a Network is to be provided by Foras na
Gaeilge *i gcomhar le in co-operation or in partnership with the organisations funded by Foras na Gaeilge, such
assistance to be provided primarily in the form of human resources.
It is to be noted that, separate from the funded organisations, Foras na Gaeilge itself funds staffing in selected Scimeanna
Pobail (Community Schemes), some or all of which in the Republic might be in a position to apply for statutory recognition
as Networks.
Once the plan for the Network has been devised, the process is more or less as later described in the Act: submission to the
Minister for approval; statutory designation as Network to follow acceptance of plan; regular review of implementation of the plan.
Both the Discussion Paper with regard to the Networks and the Information Note with regard to the 19 Gaeltacht Areas
make similar references to funded organisations.
Information Note (extract in translation)
An tdars (Gaeltacht Authority) currently funds community-based organisations such as co-operatives and
development groups. It is agreed [presumably by the Department and the Authority] that one lead organisation will
direct language planning in each LP Area and that other organisations in the same Area will operate under that lead
organisation insofar as language planning is concerned. Since these organisations are funded by the Authority, it is
a matter for that agency, in co-operation *(partnership) with the organisations, to take the required steps to develop
and operate this approach.
Discussion Paper (extract in translation)
Assistance to a group or community seeking statutory recognition as a Network to be provided by Foras na Gaeilge *i
gcomhar le in co-operation or in partnership with the organisations funded by Foras na Gaeilge, such assistance to be
provided primarily in the form of human resources.
*The Irish i gcomhar le carries an interesting element of mutuality between the parties involved. At the time of publication
of Priseas Pleanla Teanga some time before the publication of Acht na Gaeltachta 2012, the 19 core-funded organisations
were still engaged in a fairly intense engagement with Foras na Gaeilge on the New Funding Model which had been proposed
(Chapter 3, Funding, below). It can hardly have escaped their attention that the system proposed for the funding agency in
the Gaeltacht, dars na Gaeltachta, of using lead organisations with other organisations in a more auxiliary role might well
be that to be proposed also in the case of Foras na Gaeilge and the voluntary core-funded sector.
All these documents of Priseas Pleanla Teanga place the language planning set out in the sole context of the 20-Year
Strategy. The need for training in language planning is recognised for the Gaeltacht organisations. It is to be organised by
dars na Gaeltachta in co-operation with Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge at National University of Ireland Galway
(NUIG). The Network groups are not specifically mentioned in this regard but neither are they excluded. But the processes in
both Gaeltacht and Networks, while sharing some characteristics, nevertheless differ in many respects.
Political context
This priority Gaeltacht Bill was eventually published on 19 June 2012 and initiated in the Seanad (Upper House). Much of
the content had already been mooted. However, political agreement and meticulous drafting apparently take time. Its bumpy
passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas took, or was allowed, a lot less time. It was the first major piece of legislation on
the Gaeltacht since 1956 and presaged major change. It was also the first time for 30 years that cross-party agreement on the
language was not forthcoming. Of 166 amendments proposed, the Minister accepted not one. The Oireachtas Committee on
the Gaeltacht did not discuss the Bill. In fact, the Opposition walked out en masse. It may also have been the first time that so
much passionate debate in both Irish and English took place on matters linguistic. Despite the late publication, passage before
the Summer recess appeared to be the priority. The Bill was through both Houses, passed in the absence of the Opposition,
and signed into law by 25 July 2012, within a month of publication.
Subsequent orders or regulations made under the Act must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.
Views previously expressed when the Official Languages Bill 2003 was being debated may be apposite also in this instance,
e.g. any legislation is better than no legislation, amendments are possible later when problems of implementation become
clearer; legislation can grow cold through over-debate and be shelved.
Content of the Gaeltacht Act 2012

Apart from the required references to other Acts or Statutory Instruments and amendments, repeals or revocations, there
are two substantive PARTS in the Act: PART 2 on Language Planning and PART 3 on the Amendment of the dars na
Gaeltachta Act 1979. Since the content of the former was fairly well known in advance through the publication of Priseas
Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Process) by the Department, it was the latter section, PART 3, which drew most debate.
The Language Planning section deals with such planning under three different categories or geographic levels: Gaeltacht
Language Planning Areas; Gaeltacht Service Towns; Irish Language Networks. Language planning criteria and implementation
are also included. Such specific reference in legislation to language planning per se was another first. However, the actual
planning is left largely to local organisations.
The dars na Gaeltachta section is basically a set of amendments which set the agency in a whole new set of circumstances.
The content is set out briefly below.
Language planning criteria

Criteria may include the following as set down in PART 2 (12) of the Act:
the proportion of the population which speaks the Irish language;
the availability of education in Irish;
the availability of childcare and family support services in the Irish language;
the extent of the use of the Irish language in commerce and industry;
the extent of the use of the Irish language socially and recreationally;
the use of the Irish language in the provision of public services.
Ability in the population appears to be the main criterion. This presumably, in census terms, includes education. The extent
of the use by individuals of this ability is not a criterion. The other five criteria are services of one kind or another, two of
which are (or should be) provided by the State: education and public services in Irish. Education, however, tends to be largely
the result of continuous voluntary sector lobbying, even in the face of some State planning. The remaining three services are
to date provided by voluntary organisations (even if State-aided although that aid is now under threat) and by individuals or
companies (particularly in commerce and industry, even if availing of Foras na Gaeilge schemes).
While acceptable as possible criteria in a language planning exercise, the onus appears to be largely on the community
to ensure these criteria are met, irrespective of the larger multi-layered context in which that community must operate as a
community.
Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas

With regard to PART 2 and the process to be followed in local language planning, an organisation based in or adjacent to the
Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas (already designated) applies to dars na Gaeltachta for selection as the language planning
lead agent in a given Area. The chosen organisation then sets about producing the Area plan according to the set criteria
and within a specified timeframe (initially 2 years) with facilitation from dars na Gaeltachta if required. Final approval of
the plan submitted is the prerogative of the Minister. If approved, the same organisation which drew up the plan remains
responsible for its implementation.
A time extension may be allowed for completion of the plan. However, if no plan is submitted within the original or
extended timeframe, the Minister may request dars na Gaeltachta to select another of the initial applicant organisations to
prepare the Area Plan. However, if no such organisation has applied, the Minister may then declare thatthe area concerned
is no longer a Gaeltacht area and the date after which it shall not be a Gaeltacht area. The same fate awaits an area where a plan
submitted is returned for amendment but is still found wanting, and no other applicant organisation is available from among
the initial applicants to prepare another plan. However, even if such orders are made, these shall not prevent the Minister from
exercising his or her powers.
The same type of provisions governs implementation by the successful organisation of any plan approved by the Minister.
Progress will be reviewed by the Minister and, if not adequate, deficiencies and a timeframe (which may be extended)
for remedying them will be communicated to the organisation. If a successful outcome does not ensue revocation of the
designation as a Gaeltacht Area may occur. In all cases, dars na Gaeltachta will be consulted by the Minister on whether there
is a reasonable prospect of success.
Gaeltacht Service Towns

The concept of these Service Towns did not form part of the Priseas Pleanla Teanga (above) published by the Department.
However, the idea had long been around that towns such as Dingle and Cahirsiveen in Kerry; Galway City; Letterkenny in
Donegal (or indeed the City of Derry in Northern Ireland); Dungarvan in Waterford or Athy in Meath had a particular role to
play in the maintenance of the language in the Gaeltacht. For purposes of the Act, a Gaeltacht Service Town:
is situated in or adjacent to a Gaeltacht Language Planning Area;
has available both public services for the Gaeltacht Language Planning Area and social, recreational and commercial
facilities that are of benefit to the Language Planning Gaeltacht Area.
In the case of such towns, it is the Minister who will make the designation of the town as a Gaeltacht Service Town and will
publish notice of that intention together with reference to the provision of an Irish Language Plan. The ensuing process is
the same as that described above under Gaeltacht Areas. In this instance, however, depending on the geographic location of
the town, inside or outside the Gaeltacht, the facilitating agency will be either dars na Gaeltachta or Foras na Gaeilge. If a
submitted plan from the town is approved by the Minister, an official order follows.
Irish Language Networks

The process for Networks follows the same outline as described above: designation by the Minister, nomination by Foras na
Gaeilge of an representative organisation and assistance from that body in drawing up a Plan which goes through the same steps
as outlined in the other two cases above. If the Plan is not accepted, revocation of the designation may follow.
Definition of a Network refers to a community (other than a Gaeltacht community) which:
supports the use of the Irish language, and
has agreed to the implementation of an Irish language plan.
In this instance, no reference is made to the Minister exercising his/her own powers.
dars na Gaeltachta
In summary, the section of the Act on the Gaeltacht is a sequence of amendments to the Principal Act (1979) which include
the following, and to references to elections to dars na Gaeltachta which will no longer take place:
Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas instead of Gaeltacht;
an end to regional committee;
membership now reduced to 12 persons, six ordinary members nominated by the Minister plus the chair;
four persons nominated by the four County Councils with larger Gaeltacht communities (Galway, Donegal,
Mayo, Kerry) plus three persons, one person each from Cork, Meath and Waterford Councils, who will rotate
membership; no person to serve more than two terms; all persons being persons of capacity;
the provision of assistance to organisations in language planning as well as continuing with its own projects.
Persons wishing to be nominated by the Minister were required to make an expression of interest. This process began with a
public notice posted on 30 July immediately after the Bill became an Act. By the target date of 25 September, 68 persons made
application for the seats available for nomination. The applications were assessed but individuals were not interviewed. The
Minister was not obliged to appoint any of the applicants. The County Council nominations were 3 Fine Gael councillors from
Mayo, Galway and Kerry and 1 Fianna Fil councillor nominated by Donegal County Council. For the rotating membership,
an Independent was put forward by Meath County Council. However, it led to criticism that by mid-November 2012, neither
chairperson nor ministerial appointees had been sanctioned with the result that no meeting had been held of the new board
of An tdars.
At its 20 July 2012 meeting, the outgoing Board had noted that officials from the Department and staff of An tdars
would be collaborating on an operational plan for the language planning process laid out in the Act. The Board also emphasised
the need for adequate resources and funding for its twin roles of enterprise and full community development. In fact, an
additional sum was granted in the 2013 Budget for the language planning responsibilities arising out of the Priseas Pleanla
Teanga (Language Planning Process).
Two additions to the Gaeltacht Act are of note with respect to dars na Gaeltachta:
the possibility, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, of
Antdars delivering services on behalf of other State bodies in the Gaeltacht;
that the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister
for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, give directions in writing to An tdars to promote the development of
particular industrial and employment sectors.
In relation to delivering services for other State bodies, a provision of the 20-Year Strategy, neither education nor physical
planning are specifically mentioned. However, the hope probably is that whichever services are, or may be delegated, there is
more likelihood of delivery in Irish through dars na Gaeltachta.
Points of criticism
As already indicated, no fewer than 160 amendments were introduced and rejected by the Minister during debate on the Bill.
Only 5 were debated. The Irish language lobby was very active throughout the short process of passage through the Houses of
the Oireachtas and issued statements of disappointment when the Bill was passed due to the Government (Coalition) majority
despite a walkout by the Opposition.
In general, criticism to be heard and read across the media including magazines (Irish and English) was directed towards:
the Bill being rushed through without sufficient time for debate;
official decisions being made on the basis of saving money (abolition of the election to, and of regional meetings
of, An tdars);
the powers given to the Minister and subsequent perceived lack of independent scrutiny [the role of approving
and especially of monitoring the progress of language plans was seen as proper to An Coimisinir Teanga];
the possible intervention powers given to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in relation to dars
na Gaeltachta;
the lack of specific reference and statutory direction in relation to public bodies in language plans including the Courts;
lack of reference to resources for implementation of plans by organisations.
The changes to dars na Gaeltachta came in for sustained criticism on the basis of democratic deficit and severing the link
with local democracy through removal of the franchise from the Gaeltacht community with the abolition of elections [although
most successful candidates in the past had been political party members]. Members of the last elected board remained in office
until 30 September 2012.
The onus placed on local organisations to devise and implement language plans was viewed as unacceptable given the
existence of three State bodies whose prime responsibility this was: the Department, dars na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeltachta.
In the case of the Gaeltacht, this was viewed in some quarters almost as faulting the community where the language was not
being maintained; official quarters viewed the move as giving the community power over its own destiny. This latter view was
greeted with some doubt as being a useful political philosophy in times of recession. Nevertheless, the relationship between
State and community appears to have moved over the years some distance from the concept of an enabling State.
The rle of State agencies in anglicising the Gaeltacht over the years did not appear to have been addressed. At the end of
October 2012, An Coimisinir Teanga explained, in relation to lack of service through Irish in a Gaeltacht Social Welfare office, that
no provision exists in the Official Languages Act itself to ensure that State bodies employ persons competent in Irish to Gaeltacht
offices. If bodies include this stipulation in their Language Schemes, the rle of An Coimisinir may then come into play.
One magazine columnist commented that while there had been many plans over time for the Gaeltacht, in this instance
the plan was the plan.
Criticism reached the point where the Opposition are apparently now preparing an alternative revised Bill, with the aid of
some in the Irish language voluntary sector, to be introduced at some point in the future. It stands little chance of becoming
an Act, given the Government majority, but may provide time for the debate that was perceived to have been curtailed in the
case of Acht na Gaeltachta 2012.
Points welcomed
While criticism, whether valid or not, usually dominates media space, some areas of the Gaeltacht Act were welcomed. Among
these were:
language planning was now statutorily recognised;
elements of the 20-Year Strategy were being implemented;
Gaeltacht Service Towns were an innovative addition to the process;
Some longstanding issues of the Gaeltacht were being addressed in some fashion;
additional funding to An tdars and 1 million to Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG) to assist in
administration and training in the implementation of the Language Planning Process.
In relation to the latter, the number of Gaeltacht Planning Areas reached 25 of which 3 were prioritised to begin planning. The
Language Planning Unit of An tAcadamh, however, saw two of its experienced staff deployed elsewhere within the university.
Both had been co-authors of the Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht (2007).
DECISIONS ON PLANNING AREAS AND CRITERIA
It was noted that, despite the haste with which the Gaeltacht Act 2012 was put through, implementation with regard to the
new Gaeltacht planning areas was decidedly slow. The first notices under section 7(3) of the Act were not published until
20December 2013. These three included Ciarra Thiar (West Kerry); Cois Fharraige (Galway); Gaoth Dobhair, Rann na Feirste,
Anagaire, Loch an Iir (Donegal). In addition, the Minister of State hoped to publish notices for ten more areas in 2013 and
the rest thereafter. Language planning guidelines were promised for 16 January 2014; two months from this date were given
to allow Gaeltacht organisations apply to dars na Gaeltachta to be considered for selection to lead the planning process in
the different areas. This selection process bore some resemblance to that conducted by Foras na Gaeilge on organisations in the
voluntary sector as described below. In accordance with the Act, two years were allowed to the chosen organisations to prepare
and submit an area language plan; this to be followed by 7 years of implementation of accepted plans with the assistance of
Antdars and including periodic review of progress by the Department.
The choice of planning areas had, in fact, been subjected to some change since the passage of the Act. This arose from
proposals from dars na Gaeltachta which better reflected the sociolinguistic composition of adjacent areas as well as the
inability of the original 6 areas invited to begin since the guidelines were not yet available.
SUMMARY ON COMPETENCE AND USE

ABILITY
In the State
With regard to ability in the Irish language in the general population, the results were as follows.
Census 2011: Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the State

Total
Speakers
Non-speakers
Not stated
*Irish speakers as percentage of total
4,370,631
1,774,437
2,507,312
88,882
41.4% (40.6% if those not stating included)
Census 2006 and 2011: Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the State: Comparison
Census
Total
population
Speakers
Nonspeakers
Not stated
*Irish speakers
as % of total
2006
4,239,848
1,656,790
2,300,174
100,682
41.9% or 40.8%
if non-stating included
2011
4,370,631
1,774,437
2,507,312
88,882
41.4% or 40.6%
if non-stating included
In the Gaeltacht
Census 2011: Irish Speakers (3 years and over) in the Gaeltacht population
Total
population
Speakers
Nonspeakers
Not stated
Irish speakers as percentage of total

96,628
66,238
29,114
1,276
69.5%
Census
Total
population
Speakers
Nonspeakers
Not stated
Irish speakers as
percentage of total
2006
91,862
64,265
26,539
1,058
70.8%
2011
96,628
66,238
29,114
1,276
69.5%
USE
In the State
Census 2011: Frequency of use of Irish outside the education system by those with ability
Total with ability
Daily
Weekly
Less often
Never
1,774,437
77,185 (4.35%)
110,642 (6.2%)
613,236 (34.6%)
435,219 (24.5%)
In the Gaeltacht
Census 2011: Daily use outside education

Total population
96,628
(aged 3 years and over)
Ability
Daily use outside education
66,238
(68.5% or 69.5% when excluding
non-stating)
17,955 + 2,170 = 20,125

30.4% of those with ability
or
20.8% of total population
over 3 years of age
Censuses 2006 and 2011: Frequency of use of Irish by those with ability in the Gaeltacht
Census
Total with
ability
Daily in
education
only
Speaks
Irish also
outside
education
Daily
outside
education
Weekly
outside
education
Less often
Never
2006
64,265
13,982
5,179
17,687
6,564
15,150
4,313
21.75%
8.05%
27.5%
10.2%
23.6%
6.7%
14,518
5,666
17,955
6,531
16,115
4,647
21.9%
8.6%
27.1%
9.9%
24.3%
7.0%
2011
66,238
CONSTITUTIONAL,
LEGAL, AND
ADMINISTRATIVE
PROVISION
FORIRISH
This chapter looks at the many changes that have occurred in recent years over a range of official matters pertaining to
the Irish language, some positive, others less so. The overall political, administrative and statutory context is also sketched.
POLICIES OF REVERSAL
CONSTITUTION
Given the constitutional status of the Irish language, any political references to constitutional affairs or to possible changes
tend to be of interest to Irish speakers.
Referenda
Among the priorities of the Coalition which took office in March 2011 were several specific issues which it intended to put to
referendum or in legislation:
Abolition of the Seanad.
Enabling Oireachtas committees to carry out full investigations.
Protecting the right of citizens to communicate in confidence with public representatives.
Strengthening childrens rights.
Cutting the salaries of judges as part of general public service cuts.
Two amendments to the Constitution went to referendum in October 2011 in tandem with the presidential election: on
reductions in judicial salaries (although the judiciary would prefer an independent report to a referendum), on the outcome of
the Abbeylara judgement which limited the investigative powers of Oireachtas Commitees. The people accepted the former and
rejected the latter. A referendum on childrens rights (which had reached a form of wording through the work of a committee
set up by the previous administration) was postponed until November 2012. On Tuesday, 5 July 2011, in response to a
parliamentary question, the Minister for Finance said that the commitment in the Programme for Government to legislation
to protect whistle-blowers would be expedited as overarching legislation providing for good faith reporting and protected
disclosure on a uniform basis for all sectors of the economy. The Seanad referendum has apparently been postponed although
mentioned from time to time. The abolition of the Seanad appeared on Section C, (Bills in respect of which heads have yet to
be approved by Government), of the legislation list for 2012 when publication of the Bill was expected, as was the Amendment
to the Constitution (Childrens Referendum) Bill, which had been promised as a standalone referendum. However, precedence
timewise was given at that time to the referendum on the new EU fiscal treaty, as required in the opinion of the AttorneyGeneral. The Childrens Referendum followed.
Constitutional Convention
The agreed Programme for Government of the Coalition contained the following commitment:
Building on the well-established and tested Constitution of Ireland, and decades of judicial determination of rights
under that constitution, we will establish a process to ensure that our Constitution meets the challenges of the 21st
century, by addressing a number of specific urgent issues as well as establishing a Constitutional Convention to
undertake a wider review.
The Constitutional Convention was intended to examine a range of issues including reduction of the voting age, amendment
of the clause on women in the home, blasphemy, the presidential term, same-sex marriage, and review of the Dil electoral
system. In response to questions in the Dil on 3 May 2011, the Taoiseach informed deputies that the Government and
Attorney-General were working on the matter; the Convention would report within a year of its establishment. Until the terms
of reference were available, it was not clear whether Article 8 (Language) would be for discussion also. In October 2011, the
Minister for the Environment gave the following information when speaking at a discussion organised by the Political Studies
Association of Ireland. The Constitutional Convention was to be announced within weeks and a Citizens Assembly (drawn
from the electoral register) would form part of the Convention which would look at issues such as the role of women in the
home, same-sex marriage and the abolition of the Seanad. Article 8 (Language) was not specifically mentioned.
In late February 2012, draft proposals on the Convention were eventually promised by the Government; consultations
with the Opposition on the composition of the proposed Convention were intended. Since matters of the Constitution are
matters for the people, a draft structure for the Convention was being proposed of one third politicians, two thirds persons
chosen at random from the electorate. The initial list of topics to be discussed were two: reducing the voting age to 17 and the
term of office of the President to five years were to be considered by the Convention with proposals within a specified period.
The Convention may also be asked to later examine the issues of electoral reform, the role of women in the home, blasphemy,
giving Irish citizens abroad the right to vote in presidential elections and same-sex marriage.
Eventually, 66 representative members of the public who remain anonymous (together with another secondary 66 to act
if those in the first list became unavailable) were randomly chosen, 33 politicians (including NI) were appointed by September
2012. A web portal was promised and webcasts of proceedings but this was quite slow in being mounted on www.constitution.ie.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties and The Wheel (representing some 900 voluntary organisations) set up the campaign
Hear Our Voices, the Civil Society Charter for the Constitutional Convention. From nominations of the many groups, a list
of 12 advisory experts across a range of constitutional topics was submitted to the secretary of the Convention and agreement
reached that submissions would be received from civil society. In late October, one of the signatories to the Charter, the CEO
of the development organisation, Concern Worldwide, was appointed Chair of the Convention by the Taoiseach and the
Tnaiste. It appeared that work could finally begin before the end of 2012. In advance of a formal start to proceedings the Chair
met with organisational representatives of civil society.
In general, the Convention was considered to have been given symbolic rather than any political importance since its
advice need not necessarily be taken.

The existing Article 8 on Language has not yet been proposed in any public statements for consideration by the Convention.
In an interesting comment on language and the Constitution, the current speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, when
on a visit to Dublin in March 2010, apparently considered the provisions of Article 8 of the Irish constitution as a mistake
which his country would not emulate. The Ukraine would have only one state language, Ukrainian, and Russian would not be
given the status which English has in Ireland, although the rights of Russian speakers would be protected. He compared the
situation of the two dominant languages in both countries and how they tend to dominate in the media and in social prestige,
moving the native language to a peripheral position. The populations of both countries are markedly different; the Ukraine
(46 million) has approximately 11 times the population of Ireland. Two years later, in May 2012, a draft law proposed by the
ruling Regions Party to enhance the official status of the Russian language (spoken in parts of the country) led to unruly scenes
in parliament and demonstrations outside it. For many people, use of Ukrainian is the symbol of sovereignty and a sign of the
waning influence of Russia. The view of demonstrators was that Ukrainian is the threatened language while there is no attack
intended on Russian speakers whose language and rights are safe.
LEGISLATION AND TRANSLATION
An Coimisinir Teanga pointed out in an address in late November 2010 (Tralee Institute of Technology) that the Irish language
is mentioned in some 140 Acts of the Oireachtas; more references were to follow in the years 2011-2012, particularly in relation
to the issue of translation of legislation, primary and secondary.
Court rulings on the translation of legislation and associated documents

In April 2001, the Supreme Court had upheld the demand of a citizen ( Beolin) to relevant legislation being provided in
Irish, that is Acts of the Oireachtas and the Regulations of the District Court. In October 2001 a solicitor, Pl Murch, had
been granted judicial review proceedings in the matter of Acts of the Oireachtas, Statutory Instruments (SIs, which give effect
to new legislation) arising, and all Rules of Court being made simultaneously available in Irish since their unavailability was
constraining his ability to serve his clients. The case was taken on constitutional grounds. A High Court judgment in 2004
found it a constitutional duty of Government departments to provide translations of SIs. At the time, the lack of suitably
qualified translators had formed part of the States defence. In February 2009, the State itself appealed the High Court
judgment to the Supreme Court. On 6 May 2010, the Supreme Court decision set aside the High Court judgment and Orders
of the High Court. However, a declaration was also made that there was a constitutional obligation to provide the respondent,
in his capacity as solicitor, all Rules of Courtin an Irish language version of the same, so soon as may be practicable after they
are published in English. The lengthy judgment, which was delivered in Gaeilge (as stated on the Courts website) appeared to
make a distinction on the basis of constitutional obligation on the one hand and, on the other, the issue of any and all legislation
rather than those portions directly applicable to particular instances, including specific SIs.
In relation to legislation and packaging in the case of medicinal drugs, an Irish speaker took a case to the High Court on
the basis that there was an onus on drug companies to provide bilingual packaging on their products sold in Ireland since an
existing EU directive provided for packaging in the official language or languages of member states. However, the wording
of the directive was changed to include unless the member state decrees otherwise. The change was accepted by the EU
institutions. The Irish state argued in the High Court that bilingual packaging would add to the cost of drugs. The cost of drugs
does not appear to be uniform across the EU. No regulation in domestic legislation has yet been made by the Irish government.
Government response to Court rulings

An Bille um an Dl Sibhialta (Forlacha Ilghnitheacha), Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Bill, 2011
In June 2011, a Bill was introduced entitled An Bille um an Dl Sibhialta (Forlacha Ilghnitheacha), Civil Law (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Bill, 2011. Part 15 of this Bill, entitled Miscellaneous, contained six sections. The fifth, Section 38 of the Bill,
is an amendment to Section 7 of the Official Languages Act 2003, (which came into effect July 2007), which provided for
simultaneous printing and publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in both official languages. This amendment, described as
technical, in the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum, allows for electronic publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in
advance of official translation which could take weeks or even longer. The professed aim of the amendment is to help avoid
the risk of a constitutional challenge from somebody whose rights are affected by a piece of legislation which is not readily
accessible. The Memorandum goes on to say that the constitutional obligation to publish in both languages is not affected.
The timescale, however, is not clarified.
It is a reasonable assumption that the electronic version will be in English only. Interestingly, however, a possible
constitutional challenge from an Irish speaker whose rights might be affected by a piece of legislation which is not readily
accessible do not appear to have been considered. The existence at the time of two official translation facilities should, in
theory, have obviated the need for any delay in providing an Irish version of new legislation. Irish language organisations drew
attention to the fact that such matters ought to be considered in the upcoming review of the Official Languages Act.
The proposed amendment was seen as a further attempt at weakening of that Act and Orders under it by the new
Coalition, as in the case of the Placenames Order (below). Speaking in the Dil at the Second Stage of debate on the legislation
on12 July 2011, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence explained:
I have included the amendments in the Bill at the request of the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, T.D.
We had some heated discussion on this matter in the Seanad. But I would like to reiterate that this amendment is technical
in nature and would simply allow publication in electronic form of legislation as soon as it has been signed by the President
in order that there is instant accessibility to what the legislation contains. Deputies can be assured that does not in any
way prevent publication in both languages. Formal publication will thereafter have to take place in both languages.
I should mention that the previous Government had made a decision that it was necessary to introduce this provision in
the law and it was being prepared to be included in the somewhat smaller Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill that my
predecessor published in 2010. The proposal has also benefited from the advice of the Attorney General and the previous
Attorney General, neither of whom believed there was a constitutional difficulty of any nature.
An interesting insight into the issue was provided at Claremorris (County Mayo) District Court even as this Bill was going
forward in July 2011. Charges concerning after hours drinking were dismissed on the basis that the relevant legislation was
not yet available in Irish, although enacted in 2000. Other similar cases existed.
The immediate results of the amendment to the Official Languages Act were pointed out by An Coimisinir at Tstal na
Gaeilge 2012. From 14 July 2006, when the Act came into effect, until 2 August 2011, all Acts were published simultaneously
except that setting up NAMA (National Assets Management Agency) when a special arrangement was made. From August
2011 to 14 January 2012, despite the passage of legislation, none had been published simultaneously in both languages.
The introduction of the household charge (a fairly unpopular tax) by the Department of the Environment saw another
turn in this particular legislative change. On foot of a case brought before it by an Irish speaker, the High Court, on 15 March
2012, granted leave to challenge the charge on the grounds that the necessary legislation had not been published in Irish. The
legislation in both languages was made available within a week, as it happened. In a radio interview, An Coimisinir describeded
the legislative change which allowed publication of the legislation in English only on the internet as a temporary measure.
Towards the end of March 2012 just before the final date of 31 March, a bilingual card was distributed to households: Muirear
Teaghlaigh, Meabhrchn Deiridh (Household Charge, Final Reminder). There had been many complaints from the public
regarding lack of information on this particular charge.
Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012

September 2012 saw the introduction in the Seanad of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012.
The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission was formally established on 1 January 2004 (arising out of Act 2003) in order to:
To provide for the running of the Houses of the Oireachtas, to act as governing body of the Service, to consider and
determine policy in relation to the Service, and to oversee the implementation of that policy by the Secretary General
[also Clerk of the Dil].
The Service currently comprises some 380 staff, civil servants, for the 226 members of the two Houses of the Oireachtas and
their staff (including party staff and advisors); for the media, and for visitors from the public. Among the specific functions of
the Commission listed in the legislation is:
Providing translation services from one official language into the other in respect of Acts of the Oireachtas.
The purpose of the Amendment Bill 2012 is twofold, as stated in the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum:
- expansion of the role of the Commission to include both primary and secondary legislation;
- to provide for the periodic review of An Caighden Oifigiil (Official Standard for Irish).
It was in fact consolidation of the role of the Commission and of its staff in An Ranng Aistrichin as being statutorily
responsible for both these functions (Lr-Aonad Aistrichin, Central Translation Unit below).
The Memorandum explains the background in terms of the Supreme Court judgement ( Murch, 2010) and its
interpretation that:
The Constitution does not require simultaneous translation of Acts of the Oireachtas but does require translation within a
reasonable period of time, although there is no general constitutional obligation to translate every statutory instrument made
on foot of an Act of the Oireachtas.
The Memorandum also sets out other provisions of the Bill:
Translation
- translation of SIs by the Commission on request although Ministers are free to make other arrangements also in
the case of SIs;
- discretion to the Commission to seek the assistance of persons other than staff in the matter of SIs;
- discretion to seek fees for translation on demand of SIs, whether current or historical.
Caighden (Standard)
- publication and periodic review of the Standard not less than once every seven years in consultation (required)
with the Ministers for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Education and Skills, Justice and Equality, other
interested parties and the public in general;
- appointment of external experts to committees established on the Standard.
Two other items of interest in the Memorandum are:
- the Act comes into operation at a time appointed by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform;
- the cost of translating the annual output of SIs is estimated at 325,000;
- the translation cost of extant SIs over 10 years is estimated at circa 3.3 million.
The opportunity was taken by three Senators at Committee Stage of debate on this Bill (16 October 2012) to raise a series of
amendments in bilingual format. They included:
- What might be taken as an indirect reference to the fact that no steps had been taken to replace the training
agency Gaeleagras [below] through the wording of a proposed new section to be added to the Bill:
The Government shall ensure that the staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas, and of the Civil Service at large, has the capacity to
conduct their business through the medium of the Irish language, and will consequently ensure that the adequate free training
and support is provided for their staff, to build their capacity in that regard.
- Deletion of section 62 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011; the amendment to Section 7
of the Official Languages Act 2003 allowing for electronic publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in advance of
official translation instead of the simultaneous printing and publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in both official
languages as in the Official Languages Act since 2007.
- Translation of Bills in advance of debate.

- External translations to go to Commission for approval.
- All staff responsible for translation in all departments to be re-assigned to the Commission; a complement
of Commission staff to be competent in Irish to ensure service in Irish; the Commission to be provided
with the resources to assist members of the Oireachtas with regard to service through Irish in the matters
of: correspondence, translation or contribution to debate; that staff not be prohibited from wearing badges
indicating proficiency in Irish or ability to work through Irish.
- The timeframe for completion of translation of outstanding legislation to be 2014 and that resources and staff
be provided to the Commission to fulfil that timeframe.
The Bill was eventually put before the Dil just before Christmas 2012 without debate and with the purpose of ensuring the
proposed budget (324m over 3 years or 108m annually) for the Commission by 1 January 2013. The Opposition mounted
sustained criticism at the lack of debate on both the high costs in times of austerity and on the operation of the Oireachtas itself.
However, the Bill was enacted as Act 50 of 2012 on 26 December 2012.
Environment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2011: Logainmneacha (Placenames)

Another change to the Official Languages Act was made by the incoming Coalition in the matter of placenames (Logainmneacha
below). In response to the case of An Daingean/Daingean U Chis/Dingle, in mid-July 2011, having already signalled the
matter before the Seanad (Upper House) in June, the Fine Gael Minister for the Environment brought forward an amendment
to the Environment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2011. The amendment proposed was a more general approach instead of
response to one particular issue: local government law (in relation to placenames change) will supersede an order under the
Official Languages Act (2003). Under the proposed legislation, a local authority seeking change is required to specify the
desired name in Irish only or in English and in Irish. The proposed legislation will additionally require both a secret ballot in
the case of a plebiscite and adoption of a resolution by half of the members of the local authority in question. The amendment
was approved on 21 July 2011 in the Dil and the Bill became law on 2 August 2011.
The provisions on placenames in the final section of this Act 20 of 2011, PART 18, cover eight pages and two sections.
Some regard superseding of orders under the Official Languages Act as a weakening of the language legislation. Placenames
orders are usually put out for public consultation in advance of an order being made.
Other legal matters

A legal challenge of another kind was brought in the High Court in late 2010 by a civil servant on the basis that she did not
receive the 6% bonus marks for Irish when applying for a post in Brussels. Her case was upheld and she was awarded over
28,000. Both a significant clarification and precedent were thus ensured.
Almost continuously, the reports of An Coimisinir Teanga point to the lack of staff in State bodies of sufficient competence
to offer services to Irish speakers. This had largely come about due to a change in Government policy in the 1970s. In
response to a specific reference from An Coimisinir with regard to his concern on the non-application of the bonus marks
for competence in Irish in competitions for Civil Service posts, the Department of Finance had held that the bonus was at
the discretion of individual departments to apply or not. These two differing interpretations no longer hold. The practice of
35 years within some of the States departments not to follow the law has been declared wrong; application of the 6% bonus
for Irish should be applied in future or other court appeals from could be taken. It was reported soon after this High Court
judgment of 29 October 2010 that the State was contemplating an appeal to the Supreme Court.
In offering a positive solution to the dearth of people in the Civil Service able to offer service in Irish, An Coimisinir
suggested, in the context of the 20-Year Strategy, that a system of positive discrimination should apply for a number of years
in an effort to reach some equilibrium. A similar system was suggested (Patten Report) with regard to the Police Service of
Northern Ireland (PSNI), to ensure candidates from both the unionist and nationalist communities.
Both the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga and the Official Languages Act may now be in the process of change (below). In
late 2011 also the use of Irish became an issue in a case before the Special Criminal Court. It was clarified that the State may use
its choice of language in this court, independent of the language chosen by the accused person. Nevertheless, this may be affected
by a new directive from the EU with regard to language use in criminal proceedings, unless the Irish State succeeds in changing
it as was the case with labelling of drugs as reported below. The directive on criminal proceedings, which had been in discussion
for several years previously, came into force in all member states in late 2013 and was a new departure for the union. It gives the
right to interpretation in their own language in all courts in the union for EU citizens arrested or accused of a crime; this ruling
applies throughout criminal proceedings including when receiving legal advice.
In another aspect of language use in the courts, it was reported in February 2014 that an individual lost his request to the
Supreme Court to have a bilingual jury try his case. He had wished to forego the services of an interpreter, opting for a jury
drawn from a specific Gaeltacht area where most people speak Irish. One of the Justices commented on the lack of legislation
with regard to jurors and their competence in either Irish or English. In his view, this was an extraordinary state of affairs which
required urgent legislative action.
The European Union issued a directive to Member States to the effect that the directions on certain drugs be given in the
official languages of each State.
During 2011, an Irish citizen sought a judicial review to ensure that the Irish State, through the Department of Health,
would comply with this directive. This case was discontinued in January 2013 on the grounds that the original directive had
been amended. In fact, it appeared that the Irish State, through the Department of Health, had proposed this amendment which
changed the original wording of the EU directive from official languages to one of the official languages.

Arising out of the changes announced in early June 2011 (on Government decisions of 31 May 2011) to the 20-Year Strategy for
the Irish Language, a subsequent Government decision was taken on 7 February 2012 to have a Bill in respect of the Gaeltacht
drafted as a matter of priority. The elements of such a Bill were given in November 2011 in the Departments Implementation
Plan for the 20-Year Strategy for 2011. The objectives of the Bill comprise:
- a new definition for the Gaeltacht on linguistic rather than geographic criteria, based on community language
planning and which will include areas outside the traditional Gaeltacht;
- a statutory role for dars na Gaeltachta in the implementation of the Strategy in the Gaeltacht;
- changes to the board of An tdars: reduced membership and no elections.
The latter received much criticism on the basis of severing the link with local democracy and depriving a section of the
population of their voting rights. Of the previous 20 members, 17 had been elected and 3 (including the chair) appointed by
the Minister. The proposed board of some 10 to 17 members will have some appointed members and the rest nominated by
the seven County Councils which contain Gaeltacht regions. No amendments were accepted, however, following debate in the
Houses of the Oireachtas.
The passage of this Gaeltacht Bill which was enacted on 25 July 2012 has been fully discussed above at the end of Chapter 2.
Other legislation proposed for 2012

Other Bills which may have implications for language and which appeared among those on the legislative list for 2012 were:
Department
Bill
Publication
expected
Environment,
Community & Local
Government
Local Government Services Corporate

Bodies (Amendment) (To facilitate re-organisation, merger, abolition
of State agencies as recommended)
2012
Arts, Heritage &

Gaeltacht
Monuments
(Protection & regulation of the heritage)
Late 2012
Gaeltacht
(Redefinition of Gaeltacht; reduce board of dars na Gaeltachta;
dispense with dars elections)
2012
Education & Training Boards

(33 Vocational Education Committees to 16)
Mid 2012
Education & Skills
Further Education & Training (SOLAS) (Integration of sector;

dissolution of FS)
2012
*Education (Amendment) Bill 2012
On Seanad
Order Paper
(Amendment to Education Act 1998 to ensure rationalisation of

support services, speech therapy etc.; amendment to Teaching
Council Act 2001 re teachers registration and employment; repeal of
defunct bodies)
Order for 2nd

Stage
*Qualifications & Quality Assurance (Education & Training) Bill

2011 (Rationalisation of agencies)
Committee
Stage
Not all the above proposed Bills were at the same stage of progression at the time of publication of the 2012 list. *These latter
two Bills were already going through the Houses of the Oireachtas. The heads of others had been agreed and the text was being
drafted (e.g. Gaeltacht Bill; Education & Training Boards). For others, the heads may not yet have been agreed by Government.
Since there exists a precedent of adding other items to Bills under the title Miscellaneous, as occurred in the case of An Bille
um an Dl Sibhialta (Forlacha Ilghnitheacha), Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2011 (above), now enacted, all
published Bills require scrutiny in relation to language issues.
Lr-Aonad Aistrichin (Central Translation Unit)

A High Court judgment in 2004 found it a constitutional duty of Government departments to provide translations of SIs. At
the time, the lack of suitably qualified translators had formed part of the States defence.
In November 2008, a Government policy decision was taken to ensure translation into Irish of the many statutory
instruments and regulations arising out of the various legal acts. No specific policy had existed on the issue of secondary
legislation as was the case with regard to translation of Acts. In addition, court cases might be taken by legal practitioners or
by citizens on the lack of such translated secondary legislation proving a hindrance to them or of thwarting their rights under
the law. To give effect to this November 2008 policy, a Central Translations Unit was established during 2009, in the (then)
Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to implement a strategy for the translation of Statutory Instruments
[SIs] in line with constitutional requirements. This Unit reported in an affidavit to the court (in an instance requiring such
information) that overall some 60,000 pages remained (from the period 1993-2004) to be translated since the vast majority
of departments did not provide translations of SIs emanating from them. It was 2010, however, before a staff of translators
was employed for the new Unit. Translation then began on the statutory instruments of the host department and of all other
departments on request. Translation for other departments was on a commercial basis. The Minister also gave responsibility
at the time for examining the existing Language Standard (Caighden) to this new Aonad (Unit). The existing long established
(1922) Ranng an Aistrichin (Translation Section) was, of course, still part of the apparatus of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
In February 2009, the State itself appealed the High Court judgment of 2004 to the Supreme Court. On 6 May 2010, the
Supreme Court decision set aside the High Court judgment and Orders of the High Court. However, a declaration was also
made that there was a constitutional obligation to provide the respondent, in his capacity as solicitor, all Rules of Courtin
an Irish language version of the same, so soon as may be practicable after they are published in English. The lengthy judgment,
which was delivered in Gaeilge (as stated on the Courts website) appeared to make a distinction on the basis of constitutional
obligation on the one hand and, on the other, the issue of any and all legislation rather than those portions directly applicable
to particular instances, including specific SIs.
Changes, both legislative and structural, to accommodate this legal judgment were made or planned following new
arrangements by the incoming administration (March 2011). Firstly, in June 2011, a Bill was introduced entitled An Bille
um an Dl Sibhialta (Forlacha Ilghnitheacha), Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2011. Part 15 of this Bill, entitled
Miscellaneous, contains six sections. The fifth, Section 38 of the Bill, is an amendment to Section 7 of the Official Languages Act
2003, (which came into effect July 2007), which provided for simultaneous printing and publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in
both official languages. This amendment, described as technical, in the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum, allows for
electronic publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in advance of official translation which could take weeks or even longer. The
professed aim of the amendment is to help avoid the risk of a constitutional challenge from somebody whose rights are affected
by a piece of legislation which is not readily accessible. The Memorandum goes on to say that the constitutional obligation to
publish in both languages is not affected. The timescale, however, is not clarified.
Secondly, the submission of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to the Comprehensive Review of
Expenditure, which was requested of all departments in advance of Budget 2012 and Plan 2012-2013, made the following
reference (page 47):
Furthermore, [section blacked out, presumably reference to Government/official decision] provides for the integration of the
States translation services into the Houses of the Oireachtas. Amending legislation will be required.
This, in fact, signalled the end of the new Central Translation Unit within the Department with responsibility for the language
and transfer of staff to Ranng an Aistrichin which would, by legislation, then have responsibility for translation of both
primary and secondary legislation as well as any review of the Official Standard for Irish.
The Implementation Plan 2011 of the D/AHG for the 20-Year Strategy, published on 2 November 2011, states:
The Departmentwill take the relevant steps to draft legislation which will consolidate the States translation services. This bill
will amend the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003 in order to transfer the functions and staff of the Departments
Central Translation Unit to the Translation Section in the Houses of the Oireachtas for the translation of Statutory Instruments
[work the Unit had been set up to do].
Progressing the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill appeared among the targets for 2012 in the
Revised Estimates (23 February 2012) of the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht. The Bill also appears in Section A
(Bills expected to be published from the start of the Dil Session to the beginning of the next Session) of the list of intended
legislation for 2012, described thus:
To amend the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003-2009 in relation to the rationalisation of the States translation
services and An Caighden Oifigiil (Official Standard), responsibility for which are to be transferred to the Houses of the
Oireachtas.
The Bill was finally published and initiated in the Seanad on 18 September 2012, in which house it had reached Committee
Stage by 16 October (Legislation and Translation above).

Translation to Irish from legislation initiated in English appears to be almost always the issue. Once legislation is introduced
in English (whether in Dil or Seanad), all debate and amendments are consequently in English also. Until this changes, the
use of Irish in the Houses of the Oireachtas is unlikely to improve.
Publications
Two useful publications are available on matters relating to the law. For practitioners, the wide-ranging Sil ar an Dl (An Eye
on the Law), launched by An Coimisinir in March 2010, constitutes an invaluable professional tool. The bilingual leaflet, An
Ghaeilge sa Chirt (Irish in Court), issued by the office of An Coimisinir, sets out clearly the rights of those who wish to use
Irish in court, as set out in the Official Languages Act 2003. It also refers to the Irish language rights of the citizen if arrested.
Interpretation
In relation to the courts and interpretation/translation in general for those with little or no English, concerns have been raised
both by some judges and by the Irish Translators and Interpreters Association. This body called for auditing of contracts
or some form of quality control. A system of accreditation for court interpreters through tested minimal requirements and
membership of a national register is internationally accepted as a requirement for a reliable service in the case of governments
and public service providers.
There are now up to 158 accredited translators from the scheme initiated by Foras na Gaeilge. Others have emerged
from other courses. However, court interpretation and translation of legal documents are two quite different levels of specific
expertise.
REVIEW OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT 2003
In relation to the Official Languages Act 2003 it was recommended in the McCarthy Report (An Bord Snip Nua) that the
translation requirement should be amended and reduced to a more limited range of cases (see Funding at the end of this
chapter).
In his Annual Report for 2008, An Coimisinir Teanga had suggested a review of the Official Languages Act for 2013, ten
years after its enactment. Such a review was explicitly mentioned in the following terms in the section entitled An Ghaeilge
agus an Ghaeltacht (Irish and the Gaeltacht) of the programme for Government of the new Fine Gael/Labour Party Coalition:
Towards Recovery: Programme for a National Government 2011-2016.
Review of the Official Languages Act to ensure expenditure on the language is best targeted towards the development
of the language and that obligations are imposed appropriately in response to demand from citizens.
Some commentators saw this either as an opportunity to engage in further cost cutting or in weakening the provisions of
the Act or in preventing independent scrutiny of the operation of the Act across the State apparatus. The onus for the provision
of services appears to be placed more on citizens demands than on confidence in State obligations. The term appropriately is
capable of many interpretations.
On 5 July 2010 An Coimisinir published, in accordance with section 29 of the Act, what was described as a commentary
on the practical application and operation of provisions of the Act. Some specific amendments to the legislation were also
suggested. In adddition, in his 15-page English version of the report, An Coimisinir reiterated the case for linguistic legislation
on the use of Irish in the public domain.
provision should be made, in an organised and integrated manner, for the use of the language in the public life
of the country by those people who wish to use the language and who have acquired it either as native speakers or
through the education system.
His hope was that the outcome of the proposed review would be an Act fit for purpose: serving the wishes of the Irish
language community and giving meaning to the constitutional provisions for Irish, that is the first official language by virtue
of its being the national language.
He lists the areas of the Act that were working effectively at that time in State-related bodies in relation to use of Irish:
Communications, signage and stationery.
The courts and Houses of the Oireachtas.
Official placenames.
A system of monitoring compliance with provisions of the Act.
A structure for investigating and resolving complaints.
While he also considers it timely to carry out a review of other elements [italics not in original] of the legislation, the purpose
of this should be to ensure improvement, a sentiment with which Irish speakers concurred.
Among these other elements were the following amendments he suggested:
The level of service through Irish to arise from a classification (A, B, C) of public bodies in accordance with their
functions and level of interaction with the public in general (Irish speakers and Gaeltacht included). [The support
network facilitated by the Office of An Coimisinir already had three sectors (Annual Report 2008): Government
departments and offices; local authorities; other bodies].
Public bodies to be statutorily required to provide services in Irish in the Gaeltacht of an equal standard as in English.
Statutory provision for the right to use name and address in the language of choice with public bodies. [These would
seem fairly minimum requirements if custom and practice had not often proved otherwise].
Implementation of language schemes to be on a more strategic and consistent basis. [An Coimisinir suggested as a
possible alternative the standards system being considered for Welsh schemes, based on existing regulations. Welsh
experts, however, distinguish between the proposed right to access services and the preferred more definitive wording
of the right to receive services].
Priority to be given to publications in Irish for which there is greatest demand.

The most fundamental difficulty is, of course, lack of competent bilingual staff.
The problem of staff to be addressed whenever the recruitment embargo is relaxed.
The issue of staffing had two aspects. Firstly, the lack of competent bilinguals to carry out State policy. An Coimisinir argues
that while compulsory Irish is not being suggested, some type of system must be set in place to ensure that English is not
compulsory for the public. He also points out that having bilingual staff will reduce costs, of translation in particular. To
remedy the existing situation, he suggests that:

bilingual competence be recognised at the point of recruitment;
inservice require subsequent use of competence acquired;
Irish-competent staff be assigned to the Gaeltacht.
Secondly, a comparison is made between the Office of An Coimisinir, in 2010 down to 5 of the 8 sanctioned, and the 18 staff
in a similar type unit in Wales.

An Coimisir was of the view that the various amendments put forward should be at the least cost-neutral. Irish organisations
in general welcomed his proposals. By October 2011, no official review of the Act had as yet taken place. By November
2011, public consultation was announced by means of a questionnaire on the website of the Department of the Gaeltacht;
it would run until 31 January 2012. The wording of this questionnaire was considered biased in its intent by Irish language
organisations.
In January 2012, two important public discussions were organised by the Irish language sector in order to inform the
public. The speakers on the first occasion, Tstal na Gaeilge on 14 January organised by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge,
included An Coimisinir, a representative from the Department, two experts on language legislation from abroad and a series
of experts from Ireland, speakers representing various interests, public sector Irish language Officers and clients of services. The
Department accepted that the expert from Wales (with long experience of a similar situation) would be consulted in the review
of the Act. He is known to favour retention of the Office of An Coimisinir as an independent entity.

The second event was organised in Trinity College Dublin by the branch of Conradh na Gaeilge representing law practitioners.
The Department and An Coimisinir again participated as did law experts. Both events were well attended and served to clarify
many issues around the proposed amendment of the Official Languages Act 2003. Content was made available on the web.
Reminders that amendments had already been made which seemed to the majority to weaken rather than to strengthen the legal
position of Irish may have accounted for the volume of replies received on foot of the consultation process: 1,400 completed
survey forms and 240 submissions. The two existing amendments made during 2011 by the incoming administration were:
changes to the simultaneous publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in both languages and to the section dealing with Placenames.
They are discussed above, Legislation & Translation, and below, An Daingean and related issues. Both occurred prior to the
initiation of the consultation on the same Act to which the Oireachtas had already made these amendments.
Official response to the results of the consultation process was expected by end March 2013. Publication of the proposed
amendments was recently announced for before summer 2014. In the meantime, an unofficial draft document was circulated in
early March 2014. The proposed Heads of Bill are regarded as a significantly weakening of the Official Languages Act of 2003.
Amendments to the Act may follow. The Office of An Coimisinir is an integral part of the Official Languages Act. Changes
to this were announced on 31 October 2012 as discussed in the next section but later reversed.
Changes to the Office of An Coimisinir

The McCarthy Report, while making reference to the issue of translation, had made no recommendation in relation to the
Office of An Coimisinir itself. However, included in the list of proposals on reducing the number of public bodies announced
by the Government on 17 November 2011 was the surprising transfer of the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga to the Office of
the Ombudsman (together with the Office of the Data Commissioner and some functions of the Office of the Ombudsman
for Children). Some move had been signalled in the September 2011 submission from the Department of Arts, Heritage and
the Gaeltacht to the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE) requested of each department by the (new) Department of
Public Expenditure and Reform.
In the context of the review of the Official Languages Actoptions for the future of the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga
will be considered. Its possible relocation to the Departments offices in Co. Galway will also be assessed. (Page 51)
The eventual Report of the CRE stated (page 66):
The Office of the Ombudsman is now preparing to implement a range of streamlining/amalgamation measures
announced by Government on foot of the CRE, involving the functions of the Data Protection Commissioner, An
Coimisinir Teanga and certain aspects of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children.
Interestingly, the public advertisements for Director General of the Office of the Ombudsman and Office of the Information
Commissioner which were published on 10 February 2012 did not seek competence in Irish as a criterion nor refer to any
such functions of An Coimisinir Teanga. The advertisement carried the usual statements at the bottom: commitment to equal
opportunity and encouragement of applications under all nine grounds of the Employment Equality Act (these grounds do not
include Irish); welcome for correspondence in Irish (Cuirfear filte roimh chomhfhreagras i nGaeilge).
Irish language organisations mounted protests at the proposed move outside the Houses of the Oireachtas and in Galway.
No savings would accrue from such a move but rather probable costs for staff transfers from Galway Gaeltacht offices to Dublin
might. It was generally regarded as another blow to the Irish language support structure.
While the move was generally seen as part of the ongoing cost cutting exercise, the official argument centred on the radical
re-organisation of the public sector being undertaken. In July 2012, it was admitted that moving the Office would carry little
savings to the State. Both the Irish lobby together with Irish and international experts in linguistic legislation viewed the move,
inter alia, as undermining the independence of the Office of An Coimisinir and diluting the rights of Irish speakers. Kerry
County Council accepted a resolution supporting the independence of the Office and rejecting the merger. The proposal may
also have stimulated the level of response to the consultation on the Official Languages Act. Making the announcement during
the consultation process meant, of course, that respondents had the opportunity to make their views known. As is fairly usual
in such public consultations, advice and help was available, from the Irish lobby in this case, to individuals wishing to respond.
On 30 January 2012 in the Dil, the Minister of State opined that two Ombudsmen working in collaboration might be
quite effective; for his part, the position of Coimisinir would remain and the language would have the same protection as
formerly. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht held two meetings on 8 and
28 February 2012 where this issue was on the agenda, inter alia. At the first meeting evidence was given by the group Aontas
Phobal na Gaeilge (APG, Irish Community Union); at the second by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge and Foras na Gaeilge. The
support of the Committee was sought to ensure that the Office would remain an independent statutory Office. An additional
argument for retention of the Office was made referring to the unanimous re-appointment by the Oireachtas of An Coimisinir
in 2011 under the existing regulations as an independent officeholder. His contract as independent Coimisinir, signed by the
President, runs until 1916. Legal issues might then arise from the planned amalgamation. On the other hand, legislation is on
the agenda from the Department of the Environment which could copperfasten Government decisions, although after debate
in the Houses of the Oireachtas:
Department
Bill
Publication
expected
Environment,
Community & Local
Government
Local Government Services Corporate Bodies (Amendment)

(To facilitate re-organisation, merger, abolition of State agencies as
recommended)
2012
A report in The Irish Times (28 July 2012) stated that no formal consultation with the Office of the Ombudsman took
place before the announcement of the merger in November 2011. In fact, the Ombudsmans Office had been attempting to
update its own Irish Language Scheme with the Department since January 2008.
By September 2012, Ministerial statements had not given hope that a policy change might occur in relation to moving the
Office of An Coimisinir, even if the results of the public consultation process demanded this; the Government decision stood
although it was reported that proposals were in preparation. These were eventually announced formally on 31 October 2012
(presumably as part of the departmental drive to find cuts in advance of Budget 2013). In relation to An Coimisinir Teanga,
the decision entailed:
The Office of An Coimisinir Teanga is to merge with the Office of the Ombudsman.
The statutory powers and functions of An Coimisinir Teanga under the Official Languages Act 2003 will transfer to
the Ombudsman and will be delegated to An Coimisinir Teanga under the amending legislation.
An Coimisinir Teanga will continue to be statutorily appointed and exercise independent powers under the Official
Languages Act 2003 and will also continue to be based in the Gaeltacht.
It had been already established that no cost savings would accrue from any merger involving the Office of An Coimisinir
Teanga. No mention is made of moving administrative services to the department (as in the case of arrangements for some of
the cultural institutions also announced by the same department on 31 October 2012); this could, of course, interfere with the
independence of the Office. While An Coimisinir will continue to be statutorily appointed, the legal position of the rest of staff
is less clear. Clarification may result from debate on the amending legislation to the Official Languages Act, if seen to be required.
Looked at in the round, this Government decision appears to accomplish little more than an attempt to offer some form of
merger (since no savings are involved) to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This would be a more acceptable
explanation than the possible suspicion that the Coalition Government is gradually dismantling and eroding the legal support
system of the language. An effort to deceive the public was the reported response of Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge to the
decision. Interestingly, this controversial decision was reversed almost 18 months later, in early April 2014, after the resignation
of the first Coimisinir and the appointment of his successor. It was remarked that this occurred in advance of May local and
European elections. In addition, it gave cause for concern that other changes to the Official Languages Act might now be more
extensive even than feared.
Whether other more positive amendments to the Official Languages Act may come is unknown, particularly with regard
to state officials in the Gaeltacht unable to conduct business with citizens through Irish.

With regard to two issues arising from the Official Languages Act (as at November 2012), some clarifications were reported
during 2012. On the issue of costs to departments for services in Irish, questions are posed from time to time by deputies. The
official responses supplied by 12 of 15 departments for the year 2011 provided an overall total spend of 365, 241 on
the linguistic rights of Irish speakers. Percentages of departmental budgets varied from 0.007% (Finance) through 0.002%
(Education and Skills) to 0.0006% (Social Protection). An Coimisinir viewed these figures as verification of his Offices
contention that the cost of services for Irish speakers was relatively small. By August 2012, over 20 language schemes (first and
second) were still outstanding for approval from the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht.
NON-LANGUAGE SPECIFIC LEGISLATION
Language, or at least provisions relating to the Irish language, are present in many pieces of legislation, particularly those
pertaining to services to, or for, the public. An Coimisinir Teanga referred to some 140 Acts which give recognition to the
language when speaking in Tralee Institute of Technology in late November 2010.
For example, under the provisions of the Garda Schna Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner must ensure, as far as
possible, that members of the force in Gaeltacht areas should be competent to carry out their duties in Irish, a condition found
lacking in one Gaeltacht area in very recent times (Annual Report 2011, An Coimisinir Teanga, below). Other references
are found under the appropriate headings elsewhere in this work.
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

REPORTS OF AN COIMISINIR TEANGA
Annual Reports 2008 2010

The tables below give some indication of the application of provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003 and the scope of the
workload of the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga.
While all material from the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga may be accessed in either Irish or English, annual reports
clearly state that the Irish language version is the original text. The period 2008 2010 was one of tight restraint in public
spending. The Office of An Coimisinir also showed savings in line with State policy but had staff vacancies in addition (8 posts
are sanctioned for the Office).
Year
Budget
Drawn down
Staff
2008
1,040,000
830,000
2009
960,000
864,438
2010
796,000
743,966
Advice on controlling costs from the Office to public bodies included: provision of bilingual material in electronic format;
online services as much as possible; cooperation between related organisations; recruitment of bilingual staff. The Office
facilitates a support network for public bodies with confirmed schemes; it serves three sections government departments
and offices; local authorities; other bodies. These three divisions were again seen in the proposals on review of the Act (above).
During 2009, with an embargo on new posts in effect, discussion in the network centred on coping with the moratorium and
an increased workload. The Office of An Coimisinir itself was clearly coming under increasing pressure.
Another form of support lies in the information and advice available from the Office. During 2008, some 3,500 copies
were downloaded of the Guide to the Act, two thirds in English. The remodelled website drew 635,000 hits. By the following
year, 30,000 copies were downloaded and the website received one million hits. New Regulations on signage and stationery
published on 1 October 2008, came into effect on 1 March 2009. Subsequently, on this and other matters, the Office received
377 requests seeking advice. These regulations, (Statutory Instrument No 391 of 2008), arise from section 9 of the Act in
relation to the use of Irish or Irish and English. Advertising and live oral announcements remain to be clarified.
An Coimisinir presents two gold medals annually: to the students with highest marks in the thesis or research essay as part
of the course on Bilingual Practice at Fiontar, Dublin City University (DCU), and on the Sociolinguistics course at National
University of Ireland Galway (NUIG).
A bilingual educational resource for second level schools was prepared and tested in several school types during the first
term of the 2010-2011 school year. Encompassing language rights and Irish, within a human rights context, it was intended to
be used with the Civic, Social & Political Education course, once funding for distribution became available. It was eventually
launched, in multi-media format, on 27 September 2011.
Given the recurring arguments from some quarters with regard to the cost of translation incurred by official bodies due
to the provisions of the Official Languages Act in relation to policy documents of public interest, a significant item is found
in the 2010 Annual Report. In the case of Clare County Councils development plan 2011 2017, the body had pleaded lack
of resources when informing the Office of An Coimisinir of not supplying the draft plan simultaneously in Irish. In fact, the
overall cost of the plan turned out to be 361,868 of which the Irish translation, which was carried out during the official
investigation, cost 10,112 or 2.7%.
An Coimisinir sees his Office as performing three distinct roles: as independent ombudsman service; as compliance
agency; as advisory body on statutory language rights and duties. He has shown absolute impartiality and independence in all
aspects of his work, whether in following his powers to the letter, or in speaking publicly about Irish in the education system
or about the impossibility of operating language schemes in the absence of Irish-competent staff or about the crisis in the
Gaeltacht, exacerbated when official services are not available in the community language or, in relation to the 20-Year Strategy,
that it would be better abandoned if not fully implemented efficiently and speedily. Having been appointed by the President
in March 2004, his first 6-year term ended in 2010. He was unanimously accepted by resolution of the Oireachtas on the
recommendation of the Government and duly re-appointed by the President for another six years in early 2010. The relevant
Joint Oireachtas Committee debated and endorsed re-appointment on 17 February 2010.
Complaints
New Complaints from the Public 2008-2010

Year
Number
Gaeltacht
Outside Gaeltacht
Dublin region
2008
600
32%
68%
majority
2009
687
24%
76%
incl. 38%
2010
700
18%
82%
incl. 41%
All complaints may not necessarily be completed in the year in which they are made. 18 from 2008 were added to the 687
new complaints of 2009. Of this 705 total, advice was given in the case of 409 complaints and 255 more were examined
and resolved. At year end 2009, the remaining 41 were brought forward to 2010. Similarly, at year end 2010, 48 complaints
remained open.
The focus of complaints over the period dealt in general with lack of service in Irish. They ranged from replies in English
only to correspondence in Irish with officialdom; from lack of official documentation to lack of personal service (especially in
the Gaeltacht); lack of inspection services to lacks in health services in Irish; from websites to removing length marks on names
in Irish before inputting to computers. Problems with road and directional signs also featured.
In relation to lack of either information or personal health services, An Coimisinir pointed to the Ipsos Mori survey
commissioned by the Health Service Executive (HSE) itself in 2007 which revealed that 84% of the community in the main
Gaeltacht areas would choose to obtain services in Irish, if on equal terms and of similar standard as services in English.
An indication of the sources of complaints made by the public were given in the 2008 report.
Sources of Complaints
Year/Body
2006
2007
2008
Government departments/offices
27%
23%
26%
Local authorities
28%
27%
19%
Health authorities
6%
9%
7%
Other State organisations
39%
41%
48%
By 2009 and 2010, local authorities were the source of the largest number of complaints reported: 2009: 36%; 2010: 46.5%.
Compliance Monitoring and Audits

From 2006 to 2010, 148 audits covering 256 bodies were completed. 42 formal audits of the operation of schemes at different
stages were undertaken in 2008. In the final audit of fifteen schemes which were three years in operation, all commitments
made were implemented in six; time scales for improved implementation were agreed with seven; agreement was not reached
with the remaining two and statutory investigations ensued. In 2009, 39 schemes were audited: 21 at the end of the first year of
their scheme and 18 at the end of their third year, that is at the end of their first scheme. Only 22% had properly implemented
the commitments they had promised and agreement had to found with the remaining high number of 78%. During 2010
audits took place of 33 schemes: 9 at the end of the first year of the initial scheme and 24 at the end of 3rd year. Of the latter
24, 17 had problems of implementation; with 15 of these a satisfactory outcome was reached but the remaining 2 went the
route of formal investigation. In the case of 3 others, the Office could not verify if they were fully operational.
Several other examples of specific compliance monitoring took place during 2009 and 2010 as detailed below.
Monitoring of telephone service

Based on commitments in schemes agreed in 2005 and 2006 with some thirty public bodies, testing of their basic telephone
service to the public took place during November/December 2010. Basic service means the company name and greeting and
transfer to an Irish speaker to deal with customer or client queries. While the bodies were informed of impending tests, timing
of the tests was not disclosed. Full compliance was found in 43% of cases; 29% were in partial compliance while 28% were in
breach of their own commitments. These results were hardly satisfactory, given that the schemes were in place for at least four
years. Proposals were made for improvement during 2011.
Monitoring of recommendations of investigations

Recommendations made by An Coimisinir are an integral part of the findings of formal investigations. These cannot be
ignored. In any case, without implementation of recommendations, the original problem is likely to continue. Investigations
relate to a specific issue, not to the general approach of bodies to their linguistic obligations.
As part of the business plan for the Office for 2009, the process of monitoring the implementation of recommendations in the case
of investigations from 2007 and 2008 was begun. All proved satisfactory but two, both from 2008: Iarnrd ireann in relation to a rail
ticket under Transport Act 1950, Section 57 (2) which led to ongoing discussion; Department of Education and Science in the matter of
the issue of Guidelines for Teachers, in accordance with the Education Act 1998, Section 7 (2) (d), which also led to ongoing discussion.
Monitoring took place during 2010 of recommendations made on investigations conducted during the previous year,
2009. Again the results were, in general, satisfactory. One public body, however, continued to prove non-compliant with regard
to two reports made: the Health Service Executive both in the case of their Language Scheme for the Western Region and also
in the public information campaign conducted for the swine flu. In this instance, An Coimisinir considered that he had no
choice but to act on section 26 (5) of the Official Languages Act and to present a report to each of the Houses of the Oireachtas
on the case. This was the first time such a step was required.
Monitoring of compliance with the regulations issued on stationery

These regulations, Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 391 of 2008 under section 9 of the Official Languages Act, although signed
by the Minister on 1 October 2008, did not come into effect until 1 March 2009. An audit was conducted in the same year
of 25 Government Departments and Offices. By year end, 21 had replied. Of these, 17 had new stationery after 1 March
but no more than 7 of these were in complete compliance although attention had been paid to the regulations by the other
respondents. This monitoring was continued in 2010.
Monitoring of the draft development plans and development plans of local authorities
The obligations of local authorities in respect of development plans are governed by two Acts: the Planning and Development
Act 2000, Section 9 (1 & 2) which requires authorities to prepare plans every 6 years; the Official Languages Act 2003, Section
10 (a), and accompanying Commencement Order SI No. 32 of 2004, which requires simultaneous publication in both
languages of policy documents of public interest.
Of all 33 authorities audited by means of a letter, 27 replies were received by end 2009: 6 had published no draft plans; 7
did have development plans but the draft plans were exempt as having been published before the Commencement Order of 1
May 2004. Of those publishing plans, the results were as follows: 90% had published their development plan in both languages
but less than 50% had done so in the case of the draft plan; however, simultaneous publishing in both languages (as statutorily
required) was present in barely 50% of cases, whether of the draft plan or of the development plan. In those authorities with
Gaeltacht regions, 50% had published their draft plans simultaneously; this went up to 80% in the case of the development
plans.
When this process is complete, it is intended to issue a note on best practice.
Monitoring of annual reports and audited accounts/financial statements of bodies

For those public bodies listed in the schedules attached to the Official Languages Act 2003, simultaneous publication in both
languages of any annual reports or financial accounts issued is an obligation. By means of a questionnaire the Office audited
in 2009 the 31 third level institutions listed in relation to this requirement. By year end, 23 replies had been received. Of
these, 6 had issued no annual report and 7 no financial statement in the period since 2003; 16 had issued bilingual reports
simultaneously and 15 financial statements similarly.
Investigations
Formal investigations refer to very specific instances and not to the overall conduct of public bodies in their linguistic
obligations.
In 2008, the Office undertook an increased list of formal investigations: seventeen which included two brought forward.
Breaches of statutory obligations were found in fifteen examples.
Nineteen formal investigations were in hand during 2009, two from the previous year; eleven had arisen from complaints
and the remainder from compliance monitoring by the Office. Of sixteen completed by year end, thirteen were in breach but
three were not; two more were discounted and one was brought forward to 2010.
Eleven new investigations were conducted during 2010 and one brought forward. All were concluded except one.
Language Schemes
Since some 600 public bodies are on the schedule accompanying the Act, it is possible to understand the concern of An
Coimisinir that both momentum and confidence might be lost as a consequence of any delay by the relevant department, the
Department of the Gaeltacht, in confirming schemes submitted or in requesting first schemes from designated bodies (Annual
Report 2008). Nevertheless, in the years under review here, staff shortages were prevalent and personnel in the said department
were much engaged with the preparation of the 20-Year Strategy and with publicising the provisions of the Act. Departmental
overview on some 80 schemes (both first and second schemes) was still outstanding in mid-2012.
The table shows the number of all schemes in operation at the end of the year 2010. The Minister with responsibility for
the language directs a public body to prepare a draft scheme for examination by his department. Confirmation follows once
the scheme is satisfactorily agreed. The role of An Coimisinir Teanga then comes into play. There are two significant aspects
of publicisation with schemes: public notices requesting submissions at the point of preparation; once the scheme has been
confirmed, actively publicising its existence and content both internally and externally. For example, a public notice requesting
submissions on the proposed scheme appeared for Seirbhs Thithe an Oireachtais in April 2010. The voluntary Comhdhil
Nisinta na Gaeilge provides a useful coordination service for submissions based on a template of requirements under the Act.
Language Schemes
Year
Schemes
Number of Public Bodies
2004
01
01
2005
22
35
2006
18
36
2007
29
55
2008
15
28
2009
15
26
2010
05
10
Total
105
191
Speaking at Tstal 2012 (14 January), An Coimisinir provided information for 2011: one new scheme and zero second
schemes had been ratified by the Minister during the year with the result that 66 schemes had not been renewed, these being 22
months on average non-functional. While commitments made in a first scheme continue to hold, the aim of the consecutive
schemes process was to build gradually on the previous scheme rather than to allow matters slow down and revert to little
of significance being achieved. The year 2011 was, of course, a year of no small change for the Government department in
question as detailed below. It was then towards the end of 2011 that the process of drafting its own first scheme (as a new
department with varying functions) was set in train.
The First Scheme of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under the Official Languages Act 2003
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is in the process of drafting its first Irish language Scheme in
accordance with Section 11 of the Official Languages Act 2003. The primary objective of the Act is to ensure better
availability and a higher standard of public services through Irish.
The Department has invited submissions in relation to the preparation of the Scheme from interested parties. The
closing date for the receipt of these was 19 January 2012.
Reports to the Houses of the Oireachtas

Ensuring compliance by public bodies with relevant legislation and with language schemes is one of the chief functions of
An Coimisinir Teanga. This is conducted through advice, support, audits and investigations. Recommendations are issued
in reports and the implementation of recommendations audited after a reasonable period. Otherwise no progress would be
achieved in providing public services through Irish. In general, whether issued in informal or formal manner, public bodies
endeavour to implement the recommendations issued. Public bodies may appeal any recommendations made on foot of an
investigation to the High Court if they so wish. Once all the processes available have been followed, but implementation has
still not taken place, and An Coimisinir cannot take any additional measures, he may lay a report on the case before the Houses
of the Oireachtas to take whichever measures deemed appropriate by them. Such a step is considered of high import and, over
the years, An Coimisinir had not found it necessary to take such a step until July 2011.
Monitoring took place during 2010 of recommendations made on investigations conducted during the previous year,
2009. While the results were, in general, satisfactory, one public body continued to prove non-compliant with regard to two
reports made. This concerned the Health Service Executive both in the case of their Language Scheme for the Western Region
and also in the public information campaign conducted in the case of the swine flu. In this instance, An Coimisinir considered
that he had no choice but to act on section 26 (5) of the Official Languages Act and to present a report to each of the Houses
of the Oireachtas on the case. He noted that this was the first time such a step was required. The report was so laid in July 2011
accompanied by a second on another public body.
The National Museum of Ireland is required under the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997 to have sufficient staff
to provide services in Irish. On foot of a complaint received in November 2008 in the case of a calendar of events available
solely in English, An Coimisinir initially began an informal investigation. This having failed, a formal investigation followed
and a report issued in May 2009. Despite repeated contacts and correspondence in the interim, an English only version was
published once again in January 2011. The recommendations of the report having not been implemented, and the body being
in breach of its obligations under subsections 30 (1) and 11 (2) l of the 1997 Act, An Coimisinir laid a report, the second of
his tenure, on this case before the Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2011.
In the case of the National Museum, he noted that since the coming into effect of the Official Languages Act in May 2004, the
Museum had advertised 103 vacancies. Knowledge of Irish was not sought. In only 17 was knowledge of Irish deemed desirable.
In neither case did these two public bodies make recourse to the High Court.
Annual Report 2011

An Coimisinir addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Investigations, Oversight and Petitions on 2 May 2012 in the
wake of the publication of his report for 2011 in late April. Much had occurred over the previous year and An Coimisinir
took the opportunity to refer to those events. The overall picture presented would inspire little confidence in political or
Government intentions towards language promotion. The tone of what was to follow was set from the beginning.
Context
As part of the context of his address on the Annual Report of his Office for 2011, An Coimisinir alluded to the positive signs
in relation to the use of Irish: increases of 7% on the numbers who know Irish and among those who use Irish on a daily basis
outside education (increase of 3% in the Gaeltacht). However, in his view:
The statistics would be even better if the state delivered on its promise in providing support for the languagethere is a
considerable gap between the wishes of the public in relation to the language and the efforts of the state on the issue.
The status of the language is confirmed in the constitution and in the law but there is a failure to acknowledge that status
appropriately when words arent matched by deeds. The status of Irish as a community language in the Gaeltacht was never as
vulnerable as it is now; on the other hand, the last native speaker of the language in the Gaeltacht has not yet been born.
It is an accepted fact that Irish will not survive as the community language of choice in the Gaeltacht if the language lacks
status or usage and is not used in every aspect of the life of the country, for example, here in the Houses of the Oireachtas, in
the courts, in the daily work of the public service, in business, religion and sport. And the language will not survive in those
spheres if it doesnt remain as a living community language in the Gaeltacht. These two issues are inseparably intertwined and
one is dependent on the other.
While education as a means to acquire fluency, opportunities to use that fluency, and protection for Irish in the Gaeltacht were
essential requirements, in the view of An Coimisinir so was:
To provide leadership and set the example.
Investigations
On the issue of investigations, he spoke of the two previous examples of non-compliance (Health Service Executive Western
Region and National Museum) laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in July 2011. To these he added a third based on two
investigations during 2011 concerning the Department of Social Protection and non-compliance with awarding bonus marks
for language proficiency in internal promotion competitions. An Coimisinir remarked that:
If bonus marks are not awarded for proficiency in the two official languages in internal promotion competitions at a
time when little recruitment is taking place in the Public Service and at a time when the work of Gaeleagras, the Irish
language training body for the Public Service has been all but terminated, it is very difficult to see how the quantity
and quality of state services through Irish could be improved.
He also addressed the seriousness of a situation where three public bodies, which did not appeal his findings to the High Court,
chose instead to ignore what were statutory obligations. These three exceptions to the more usual system of good cooperation
appeared to An Coimisinir:
To challenge the rights of members of the Houses of the Oireachtas to enact legislation, if state bodies can simply
disregard or ignore provisions.
Complaints
The number of complaints in relation to citizen access to services from public bodies had risen to 734, the highest annual
number since the establishment of the Office and a rise of 5% on the previous year.
During 2011, the number of formal statutory investigations commenced was 15 and one carried on from 2010. One
concerned lack of Garda (Police) service through Irish in a Gaeltacht area, leading An Coimisinir to remark:
Only one out of nine Garda assigned to Gaoth Dobhair had Irish. The State can hardly expect the Irish language
to survive as a community language in the Gaeltacht if it continues to force people in those areas to carry out their
business with the State through English. This does not apply to An Garda Sochna alone but to every state institution
and organisation which provides services to Gaeltacht communities.
Language Schemes
The gravity of the fact that three public bodies chose to ignore statutory obligations in relation to Irish was surpassed by what
An Coimisinir described as the crisis arising out of delay by the department involved in confirming language schemes. At that
date (2 May 2012), that department itself (established 1 June 2011) had no confirmed scheme. He is led to conclude:
The statistics paint a stark picture. There can be but one conclusion: this important element of the language legislation
has been set adrift and is now, for all intents and purposes, in crisis. The fault lies not with the language schemes
themselves and many have been proven successful. The system of confirming language schemes has failed and I
regret to say that it is practically impossible now to recreate confidence in it. It is a systematic failure and gives rise to
questions concerning the institutional infrastructure which allows that statutory provisions are not implemented as
envisaged by the authors of the legislation, the members of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Merger
An Coimisinir alluded briefly to the merger proposed in November 2011:
During 2011 the Government announced that, as part of its programme of Public Service reform, it had decided to
merge the functions of our Office with the Ombudsmans Office and that this arrangement would be implemented
during 2012 in the context of the review of the [Official Languages] Act. I was not consulted on the matter in advance
of the decision nor have I been since and I have no further information on the Governments intentions in this regard.
PROGRESS OR NOT?
An Coimisinir supplied a list of possible causes for the rather disappointing findings in 2009 that 78% of public bodies were
not fully implementing the schemes they had themselves prepared. The list included:
lack of initial analysis of all factors and implications;
lack of ownership by senior management;
lack of an implementation and report structure;
lack of an implementation plan and associated resources;
lack of an appropriate monitoring system;
lack of context, scheme not embedded in the public bodys structure and provision of services.

In other comments, it was clear that not only was information on the existence of the scheme lacking within the
organisational structure but that, as a result, responsibility for implementation was either unclear, diluted or diffused. The
lack of bilingual staff he understandably considers alarming particularly in view of the minuscule 1.5% of administrative staff
available to deliver services in Irish in the Department of Education and Skills.
Nevertheless, An Coimisinir is of the view (Annual Report 2010), as are some commentators, that gradual progress is
being made in the provision of State services through Irish and that the level of awareness especially is on the rise, both among
public bodies and in public perception and increasing confidence. While stating that:
There may be those who believe that too much focus is placed on those instances where public bodies have failed to
properly fulfil their statutory duties, with too little recognition or credit given in the many instances where public
bodies excel in providing services through Irish,

An Coimisinir also cites several examples of voluntary good practice. Ensuring compliance with, or investigating, seemingly
minor infringements are not seen as unimportant by the Irish language community. Since many public bodies are beginning
from a relatively low base of service in Irish, every small step is a step forward and every deviation is a retrograde step, leading
inevitably to lack of service.
Normalisation is, apparently, albeit slowly, becoming a more accepted feature of what he has described (Report 2010) as
creating a new space for the language in the public administration system of the countryas one element of the States language
policy which complements the language in education, in the arts, in Gaeltacht life and in Irish life generally. Nevertheless,
problems occur. In May 2010, in the Supreme Court, the Central Applications Office (CAO) Limited finally won its legal
challenge against the Ministers designation of it as public body falling within the meaning of the Official Languages Act. The
High Court had dismissed its challenge but the Supreme Court allowed the appeal of the CAO against that ruling. While the
CAO acts on behalf of over 40 third level institutions, it is itself constituted as a limited company. On the other hand, the
National Transport Authority (dars Nisinta Iompair), through a company, in January 2012 replaced, with monolingual
English cards, bilingual information cards for passengers previously issued to taxis on the argument that such information
cards did not fall within the rubric of stationery and signs, a rubric to which the Authority adhered. The advice that an Irishlanguage version could be downloaded by any taxi user seeking same was also provided. During 2011, electronic timetables
were supplied at some bus stops in Dublin city which gave expected arrival times for certain buses. These were erected by
Dublin City Council on behalf of the National Transport Company. A campaign was mounted seeking that the signs (giving
placeneames) be bilingual as were the signs on the buses. This was finally achieved in December 2011.While quibbling over
what may appear minor infringements is not perhaps regarded as helpful, what is really at issue is the political will and
institutional attitude towards the active and willing provision of an enhancing environment for Irish and its speakers.
During the period 2007-2011, it was not the role of An Coimisinir, but rather the role of the Department of the Gaeltacht
which appears to have been lacking particularly in the later years since it is the Minister who directs public bodies to prepare
schemes (first or following schemes) and then ratifies them for implementation after any required amendments. Unfortunately,
this process had more or less ground to a halt in recent years to the point where it may prove impossible to renew the
original impetus or confidence. However, the consultation process on the Act may result in an improved approach and several
recommendations are already available. In addition, the Department is examining the current ratification process, a process
which is probably a time-consuming exercise. Weaknesses had already been identified in a previous assessment conducted by
the Department in 2008.
For all these reasons, the actions of the current Fine Gael/Labour Party Government will have huge significance for the
future, whether in relation to the review of the Official Languages Act, to the active operation of the 20-Year Strategy, to Irish
in education or in the arts. A financial recession gives pause for thought: to ascertain the possible impact of any actions and to
lay the correct foundation for the future without losing the impetus as is now apparent. So far, from March to December 2011,
the omens have not been encouraging to the Irish language lobby. Two amendments were sanctioned to the Official Languages
Act even before public consultation took place on the review signalled in the Programme for Government. Consultation was
eventually announced on 3 November; two weeks later on 17 November, the (new) Department of Public Expenditure and
Reform announced as part of its Public Service Reform Plan a merger of the functions of Language Commissioner with the
Ombudsmans Office and this to be processed in the context of the ongoing review of the Official Languages Act 2003.
Joined-up strategic intent appeared lacking, in the view of commentators.

The address of An Coimisinir to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on 2 May 2012 was uncompromising: political leadership
and example is required in a totally avoidable situation where three public bodies, including a government department, can
choose to ignore statutory obligations; where the responsible department has allowed, through delay, a situation to develop
where confidence has ebbed in the system of language schemes, the heart of the Official Languages Act; where public bodies
as close to the community as An Garda Sochna cannot serve the Gaeltacht through Irish; where his own Office is threatened
without the courtesy of consultation.
The year 2013, however, witnessed even worse news. The public event known as Tstal na Gaeilge, hosted by Comhdhil
Nisinta na Gaeilge, was held on 16 February and attended by An Coimisinir. The effects of continued State inaction were
demonstrated in a range of addresses given by academics, journalists, activists and ordinary citizens, from all regions of the
country. A conference on language rights on the theme of sharing best practice was jointly organized by the Office of An
Coimisinir, Fiontar at DCU and the Language Policy, Planning and Research Unit at the University of Cardiff and held in
Dublin on 23-24 May 2013. It was well attended by Language Commissioners from around the world and it was agreed to
set up an International Association of Language Commissioners. The address given by An Coimisinir pointed once more to
the crisis in the official implementation of the core element of the Official Languages Act, the system of languages schemes
across official bodies. On 13 September, An Coimisinir marked the inauguration of Coliste na hireann (formerly the training
agency, Gaelchultr) with another trenchant address, which traced the history of State failure to ensure bilingual competence
in those serving the public, especially in the Gaeltacht.
On 4 December 2013, in his address to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions,
An Coimisinir announced that he would be resigning on 23 February 2014 on the completion of 10 years in the post of
Coimisinir, citing official failure to implement language legislation designed to ensure the rights of citizens to use Irish with
organs of State. He pointed to the fact that three-quarters of statutory language schemes had expired without renewal by the
end of 2012 leading to what he described as a situation of compulsory English. The second editorial of The Irish Times of
9December 2013 on the matter was headed Fudge, farce, falsehood. He gave his final address to the Oireachtas Sub-Committee
on the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language on 23 January 2014. In reference to his decision to step down from his role, he
had this to say:
The choice I had was to stand aside from my appointment as Coimisinir Teanga on principle to draw attention to these
matters or to continue in my role and, consequently, to participate in a pretence.
On his resignation, expression of interest in the post were duly sought by the Department in January with an early closing
date of 30 January 2014. It was reported that 21 replies were received. On 11 February 2014, the Minister of State announced
that Rnn Domhnaill (38) from An Cheathr Rua, had accepted the nomination from the Government. He was well known
to Irish speakers in his post as political correspondent with Nuacht RTE/TG4. He will have much to do to ensure some forward
progress on the issues identified by his predecessor.
On 5 March 2014, the President held a reception for the outgoing Coimisinir which was attended by representatives
of the Irish community and voluntary sector. The President took the opportunity to express his personal disappointment
and concern at the difficulties which were proving a barrier to citizens being able to interact with the State through Irish and
commented on the need for careful consideration of them.
THE LEGISLATURE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS AND GOVERNMENT
On 26 May 2011, the Dil had an all-day session of statements on the Irish language. A similar event was held in the Seanad
on 9 June. Both concerned progress on the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. This was a pattern that continued into 2012. Occasional,
and sometimes more extended, use of Irish in both the 30th and 31st Dil appear to occur more frequently and spontaneously
than previously. This may be due to several causes: more competence among deputies; more visibility and easier acceptance
of such occasional natural use of Irish in the community in general; the effects of the Official Languages Act 2003; language
classes organised by Gaeleagras, the State agency, or by other providers, and undertaken by politicians; example given from the
top down in some cases; and, perhaps, taking advantage of political opportunity. Such debates on language are often bilingual.
It is traditional to hold parliamentary debate in Irish around St. Patricks Day, during the annual Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish
Week now much longer than a week of Irish events but retaining the traditional title).
In relation to classes for politicians, Gaeleagras na Seirbise Poibl (below) had been involved in this work until it was
wound down. As part of its campaign, Is leor beirt (Twos Enough), Conradh na Gaeilge began the academic year 2011-2012
by offering breakfast sessions to politicians and a panel of volunteers willing to work one-to-one with any politician wishing to
re-activate their skills in Irish. Perhaps, however, the over-riding reason for increased use of Irish in parliament lay in ongoing
developments during the period 2008-2012 concerning the language, both positive and negative. On one hand, the 20-Year
Strategy, the Gaeltacht and dars na Gaeltachta; on the other changes in broadcasting, in Irish syllabuses and in funding for
Irish language organisations as well as possible absorption of COGG into the Department of Education. Indeed, the number
of interventions through Irish in both Houses (some arising from parliamentary questions), and of meetings of deputations
with Oireachtas Committees through Irish was notable in particular during 2010 and 2011.Nevertheless, one columnist,
writing in Irish, gave a list of the recurring clichs used by deputies during such debates. They included: welcome for debate on
Irish language affairs accompanied by regret that it does not occur more frequently; learning Irish in school as a disagreeable
experience; reference to whichever personality has recently mastered the language as having done more for it than anybody
else; condemnation of compulsory Irish and fanatics on behalf of the language; praise for Irish-medium radio, television and
education.
An article in Irish, of January 2011, based on official documents released under the 30-year rule, gave an interesting insight
on attitudes to Irish in the Houses of the Oireachtas at the end of the 1970s. The State board, Bord na Gaeilge, put forward
to Government a proposal on furthering the use of Irish at political level, to encourage more use of the language in other
public domains. It was intended to launch the approach at a media event during Easter week. A cross-party committee was
established. Tensions arose, however, particularly in relation to answers to parliamentary questions being given in Irish only
from the Minister with responsibility for the language and on the issue of the proposed press event. Agreement could not be
reached between the Fianna Fil Government stance and the objections of Fine Gael in opposition. The matter gradually lost
impetus.
The independent body, the Referendum Commission, was set up by the Referendum Act 1998. It issues impartial
information together with the wording of any proposed addition to the Constitution, or change to an existing provision. As is
usual, such a booklet was issued to every household, in bilingual format, in advance of the vote on two proposals for change to
be voted on 27 October 2011 and on the childrens referendum of 10 November 2012.
GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR LANGUAGE AFFAIRS
Context
No change occurred in the title of the independent department established in 1956, Roinn na Gaeltachta, and little in the main
functions of that department, until the 1990s. It had from time to time been under the aegis of the Department of Finance
or the Department of the Taoiseach. In 1993, new functions were added and the entity was renamed the Department of Arts,
Culture and the Gaeltacht; given the range of functions this department had both a Minister and a Minister of State were
appointed, a state which is still current (2011-2012). In 1997, the new title was Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and
the Islands, again with two ministers. By 2002, it was the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
During the latter part of the life of the 30th Dil, the departmental title changed once more in March 2010, following
a Cabinet reshuffle of ministerial responsibilities arising out of the resignation of two ministers, for differing reasons. In the
pre-shuffle media commentary and post-Bord Snip (McCarthy Report on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes)
suggestion that the ministry with responsibility for language affairs be abolished, various fates were proposed for the department.
During this period, the main opposition party (Fine Gael) promised a senior minister for language affairs if they were in power.
In the event, very little change occurred to the language ministry at the time but the former department of community, rural
and Gaeltacht affairs, which had responsibility for the language, became the renamed Department of Community, Equality and
Gaeltacht Affairs. A new minister and minister for state were appointed. This department was intended to have responsibility
also for two further policy areas: social inclusion and family policy which moved from the former department of social and
family affairs; equality, disability, integration and human rights which moved from the Department of Justice, [Equality] and
Law Reform. The additional policy areas were under the aegis of a minister for State (a member of the Green Party).
When the 30th Dil met on the morning 20 January 2011, aware of the resignations of five ministers, neither the Green
Party nor the Taoiseach were present. Given the uproar that ensued, the House was suspended until the Taoiseach arrived.
Instead of another reshuffle, he announced the reassignment of the five ministries now vacant to existing ministers: Transport
was then added to Community, Equality and Gaeltacht. On Monday 24 January 2011, the Green Party left the Coalition
(as had been intimated in December 2010) citing lack of communication on important political matters. This left two other
ministries vacant. These too were reassigned: Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to Community, Equality and
Gaeltacht Affairs plus Transport. This lasted until the new 31st Dil convened on 9 March 2011. With regard to language
matters, the former Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport was renamed as the Department of Arts, Heritage and the
Gaeltacht. The new department was formally allocated responsibility, inter alia, for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and
the Islands, the National Famine Commemoration, Waterways Ireland (cross border body). This newest configuration of
functions, entitled Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, had a senior minister (Fine Gael), as formerly promised by Fine Gael
when in opposition. A Fine Gael Minister of State, from the Gaeltacht, was also appointed to Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Heritage functions were transferred with effect from 1 May 2011. In all, this department now includes: built and natural
heritage; arts, film, music, cultural institutions; Irish language, Gaeltacht schemes and offshore islands. The department works
then with the various agencies under its aegis: e.g. dars na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeilge, the Arts Council, the Irish Film
Board, the Council of National Cultural Institutions.
DEPARTMENT OF ARTS, HERITAGE AND THE GAELTACHT (2011)
Functions
In the light of changes and amendments to the Official Languages Act 2003 (above), the self-description of this new current
Department which includes language is of interest.
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht was established on the 1st of June 2011 on foot of the reorganisation of Government Departments announced by the Taoiseach in March 2011, bringing together functions
from the former Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and
Local Government and the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs.
The Department oversees the conservation, preservation, protection and presentation of Irelands heritage and cultural
assets. The Department also seeks to promote the Irish language and to support the Gaeltacht. The key functions
under its remit include:
Arts, Culture, Film and Music, as well as oversight of Irelands cultural institutions
Irelands Built and Natural Heritage;
The Irish language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands; and
North/South Co-operation insofar as it relates to Waterways Ireland, An Foras Teanga and the wider functions of
the Department.
Given the range of functions of the re-organised Department, a large number of other agencies are listed which are funded
from within the Departments Vote Group. The Department works with these bodies and agencies to ensure a co-ordinated
approach to fulfilling the Departments mandate. In addition to the cross border implementation agencies An Foras Teanga
(Foras na Gaeilge plus Tha Boord o Ulstr Scotch) and Waterways Ireland, which are co-sponsored by the Department (along
with the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland) in accordance with the terms of the British-Irish
Agreement Act 1999, the other clearly language-related bodies under the aegis of the Department are An Coimisinir Teanga
and dars na Gaeltachta. The list of agencies also includes the:
Arts Council
National Archives
Irish Manuscripts Commission
National Museum of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland; Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA); Crawford Gallery
National Concert Hall
National Library of Ireland; Chester Beatty Library; Governors & Guardians of Marshs Library
Culture Ireland
Heritage Council
Irish Film Board
Language, schemes and funding

The following statement is made on the Irish language. Policy is expressed as a core task followed by what may be described
as four illustrative forms of support in pursuing this task.
The Irish Language
The Irish language is a vital part of the living heritage of the State and an important natural resource in the Gaeltacht.
A core task of the Department is to promote
- the cultural, economic and social welfare of the Gaeltacht as the main source of the living language;
- the reversal of the decline of Irish as the principal means of communication in the Gaeltacht; and
- the extension of its use in the rest of the country, both North and South.
The Department supports and works closely with other agencies, particularly An Foras Teanga and dars na
Gaeltachta, in pursuing its objectives.
The Irish Language Support Schemes fund various Irish language organisations and initiatives.
The Official Languages Act 2003 provides a statutory framework for the delivery of State services through the Irish
Language.
The Placenames Branch researches the placenames of Ireland and provides authoritative Irish language forms of those
placenames.
The Irish Language Support Schemes comprised the following (in 2011). It is of note that they are partially dependent on
National Lottery funding. The organisations funded include traditional music, the Irish-language National Theatre, community
initiatives and business in the community. Other areas funded relate to third-level digitally-based initiatives.
Irish Language Support Schemes (Current)
The Irish Language Support Schemes are part-financed with receipts from the National Lottery. The objective of this
programme of funding is to provide financial assistance to a range of organisations and activities that support the
promotion of the Irish language outside the Gaeltacht. Organisations that receive annual funding include Comhaltas
Ceoltir ireann; Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe; Gaillimh le Gaeilge, Galway; Gn Mhaigh Eo, Mayo; and Gael Taca, Cork.
The Irish Language Support Schemes also funds initiatives that assist public bodies in implementing the Official
Languages Act and that support the status of Irish as an official and working language of the European Union. These
initiatives include, for example, the development by Fiontar, Dublin City University, of a database of EU terminology
in the Irish language, which includes terminology required for translation of statutory instrument, and an online
database for placenames.
Recent funding for these organisations and initiatives (2011) is shown as follows under Current and Capital.
Current Funding (sanctioned 2011)
Gael-Taca, Cork
59,616
Gaillimh le Gaeige, Galway
132,000
Gn Mhaigh Eo, Co. Mayo
120,000
Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, Galway
323,920
Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann Core Funding
475,000
Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann Development Fund
1,500.000
Fiontar EU Terminology
301,348
Fiontar Internship Programme for graduates of Irish
154,599
Fiontar Placenames
189,067
Irish Language Dictionary Project Royal Irish Academy, Dublin
135,597
Cumann Scoildrmaochta, Dublin
40,000
DVD for Irish-German textbook
640
Glr na nGael, Rth Cairn, Co Meath
40,000
Raidi R-R, Dublin
32,000
Spleodar, Galway
33,120
NUI, Maynooth (Internation Conference on Celtic Studies)
37,000
Network for Promoting Linguistic Diversity (NPLD)
30,000
Welsh Language Board

TOTAL
3,563,267
A full account is given of the 2011 funding to the organisation which promotes traditional music at home and abroad.
Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann
Funding is provided to Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann under the following headings:
Core-Funding
Core-Funding is provided to enable Comhaltas to promote the use of Irish within the organisation and to assist with
administrative costs.
In 2011 core-funding of 475,000 has been allocated by the Department.
Development Programme
Since 2006 funding has been provided to the organisation to support a development programme that is being
implemented on a regional basis.
In 2011, funding of 1,500,000 has been allocated by the Department for the Development Programme.
Capital expenditure on language support schemes in 2010 assisted two centres run by Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League) and
one by the youth organisation, Coliste na bhFiann. Such centres are a feature of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. For 2011, the
Irish-language Theatre received a grant.
Irish Language Support Schemes (Capital)
In recent years funding under this subhead has been provided to facilitate the establishment of Irish language social
and cultural centres in the main urban areas. In 2010 funding was provided to 3 projects, namely:
- Ceannras, Conradh na Gaeilge, Harcourt Street, Dublin;
- Dn Mhuire, Conradh na Gaeilge, Nenagh , Co Tipperary;
- Coliste na bhFiann, Monkstown, Co. Dublin.
Funding for the refurbishment of Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe has been approved in 2011.
Gaeltacht
The 20-Year Strategy is cited as the context for support for the Gaeltacht. Existing schemes are also cited.
The Gaeltacht
The Departments objectives with regard to the Gaeltacht
With regard to the Gaeltacht, it is a primary objective of the Department to support the implementation of the 20
Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 and, within that context, to promote Irish as the main language of
the Gaeltacht.
The approach which the Department is taking to support these objectives can be divided as follows:
language-centred schemes
running assistance for language-centred organisations and projects

capital assistance for language-centred projects
Mention is also mde of dars na Gaeltachta and the various schemes supported by the Department in the Gaeltacht. These
include:
- the Language Assistants Scheme, the Summer Camps Scheme, the Sports Training Scheme, running and capital
assistance; and
- the Irish Language Learners Scheme and the Irish Language Colleges.
Some of these schemes are treated elsewhere in this work, Learners Scheme (Scim na bhFoghlaimeoir, Chapter 2) and
Colleges (Colist Samhraidh, Chapter 4). The objective of these schemes is to reinforce Irish as the spoken language among
young people in the Gaeltacht. The Language Assistants Scheme is described thus:
With regard to the Language Assistants Scheme, the two organisations, Muintearas Teo and Oidhreacht Chorca
Dhuibhne Teo, manage the scheme on behalf of the Department. This service is delivered for the most part through
the network of Gaeltacht primary schools.
From the list of schools, it appears that several post-primary schools benefit from the scheme also. Overall, the number of
participating schools is given as follows:
Language Assistants Scheme

Gaeltacht
Number of participating schools
Cork
Donegal
31
Galway
27
Kerry
15
Mayo
12
Meath
Waterford
Total
98
Grant-aid to third-level institutions

Grant-aid to third-level institutions falls under two headings: at home and abroad. In addition, a system of bursaries was in
operation. The Department describes the grant-aid to domestic institutions under the rubric of advanced language skills to
ensure necessary personnel.
Third Level Education in Ireland
Advanced Irish Language Skills Initiative
The objective of the Advanced Irish Language Skills Initiative is to ensure the availability of qualified persons with
Irish language skills to meet recruitment needs in Ireland and the EU. Under this scheme the Department provides
funding for a range of specialised third level Irish language courses in areas such as translation, interpretation, IT and
law. The scheme is administered by the Department in conjunction with the Higher Education Authority (HEA). In
addition, the fund covered some other costs, for example, the salaries of 2 translators based in Brussels.
There are 8 full-time courses and 2 intensive short-term courses in operation in 2011.
The total funding for this scheme in 2011 amounted to 1.73million.
These ten courses were as follows:
List of full-time courses in operation in 2011

Course
Third-Level Institution
MA in Ateangaireacht Chomhdhla
National University of Ireland Galway
BA sa Riarachn Gn
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
MA sa Ghaeilge Fheidhmeach
Dublin Institute of Technology
Ard Dioplma san Aistrichn/Dioplma
National University of Ireland
Iarchime san Aistrichn agus Eagarthireacht
Maynooth
Dioplma Iarchime/MA Scrobh & Cumarsid na

Gaeilge (Aistrichin)
University College Dublin
BCL (Dl agus Gaeilge)
University College Cork
Modl sa Ghaeilge
Waterford Institute of Technology
MA Reachtaocht agus Dl
National University of Ireland Galway
List of part-time courses in operation in 2011

Title of course
Body that provides the course
(i) Ardchrsa sa Dltheangeoaocht agus san Aistrichn

Dlthiil
Kings Inns
(ii) Ardchrsa san Aistrichn Dlthiil

(iii)Ardchrsa sa Dl-Chleachtadh tr Ghaeilge
Aistrichn Cipis Dl agus Cipis Stit eile
Europus Teo., Galway
The Department also operates a valuable postgraduate Bursaries Scheme which enables research into Placenames. In
addition, funding is provided for a fellowship to enable an established scholar assist in expediting the making of official
placenames orders. Assessment of applications is conducted by two members of An Coimisin Logainmneacha and the Chief
Officer. Theses must be undertaken in Irish.
Two bursaries are awarded each year for a period of two years, which may be extended to a third year on request.
The bursaries, which are in line with the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS)
scheme, are worth 16,000 each per year and tuition fees are also paid.
Some examples of grant-funding 2012

Departmental funding during 2012 followed the same general pattern as in previous years but with some reductions and with
definite emphasis on aspects of Government policy, e.g. the 20-Year Strategy, youth, the Family Support Scheme, and the
language planning process as laid down in the Gaeltacht Act 20122. Examples, some granted towards the end of the year and
intended for 2013, included:
Eleven Colist Samhraidh (Irish Summer Colleges)
61,634
Rugby Training Scheme (Corca Dhuibhne)
5,000
Scouts Club (Gaoth Dobhair)
6,965
Gym classes in Connemara primary schools
75,000
Language Assistants and support in Gaeltacht schools
762,378
Scoil Cheoil Shliabh Liag (music school for youth)
4,475
Crann g Arts (Na Doir Beaga)
8,000
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (Compilation of RnaG broadcast material)
74,738
Trinity College Dublin (voice synthesis project)
470,000
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (language planning courses and support in the Gaeltacht)
1m
Budget 2013
Several departmental budgets suffered change and reduction for 2013. Since the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
(D/AHG) underwent a reduction of 5.4% (and 10% on the capital allocation), it was clear that some services for the Irish
language and the Gaeltacht would also undergo change. In addition, departments had to make allowance for the EU Presidency
held by Ireland during the first half of 2013. The published estimates under programme expenditure showed the following figures:
D/AHG: Estimates Programme Expenditure 2013

Programme
Estimate
Current
Estimate
Capital
Total
Change over
2012 %
Arts, Culture & Film
107,240,000
18,188,000
125,428,000
-5%
Heritage
37,577,000
6,757,000
*44,334,000
-9%
Irish Language, Gaeltacht & Islands
34,290,000
8,077,000
42,367,000
-5%
North-South Co-operation
(Foras na Gaeilge & Waterways Ireland)
36,178,000
4,073,000
40,251,000
-6%
*In addition, it was intended to apply to the Heritage Programme a sum of 1,200,000 from unspent capital supply services in 2012.
Information from Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge pointed out that the Irish Support Schemes, which are part-funded
by the National Lottery, have been reduced for 2013 by 25%, from 200,000 to 150,000. dars na Gaeltachta capital
funding remains more or less as in the reductions of recent years. An additional sum for language planning responsibilities
has also been granted to the agency. As already forecast, some reduction has occurred for the N/S bodies (to be confirmed by
the N/S Ministerial Council). Specifically Irish language and Gaeltacht programmes were allocated 57 million. Government
statements were also made in support of the Gaeltacht and the development of employment there as well as in support of the
20-Year Strategy and the provision of achievable targets.
LOCATION OF BROADCASTING AND OTHER CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
In the cabinet of the 30th and 31st Dil, broadcasting was part of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural
Resources. The cultural institutions were all formally allocated to the newly named Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht
Affairs on 9 March 2011, in the distribution of functions within the new Coalition cabinet (above).
The September 2011 CRE submission from the D/AHG explains that there are nine National Cultural Institutions under
the aegis of the Department as currently constituted. Under legislation there are the National Gallery, National Museum,
National Library, National Archives. Four others are limited companies (without share capital): Irish Museum of Modern Art
(IMMA), National Concert Hall, Abbey Theatre, Crawford Art Gallery Cork. The Chester Beatty Library is a charitable trust.
The document considers the option of a single board for all but opts instead for other possibilities towards rationalisation. For
discussion and possible legislative change, the following were raised (page 25):
- Subsume Irish Manuscripts Commission and move its functions to the National Library.
- Amalgamate the National Archives [1702] with the National Library [1877] [this amalgamation had been
mooted in the 2008 Budget] and abolish the National Archives Advisory Council.
- Abolish the boards of the National Museum and National Library and revert to the situation, which pertained
prior to 2005, where the two organisations were effectively divisions of the Department.
- Assimilate the Irish Museum of Modern Art [Dublin] and the Crawford Gallery [Cork] into the National
Gallery of Ireland and abolish the boards of both institutions.
While not all proposals suggested in the Departmental submission to the CRE towards reduction, streamlining or amalgamation
appeared in the final budgetary allocation, they nevertheless still remained for possible future consideration.
In addition to those listed in the CRE document, the Department also funds other bodies which were listed in the
Public Service Reform Plan: An Coimisinir Teanga (Office of ); An Coimisin Logainmneacha (Placenames Commission); Irish
Manuscripts Commission; Culture Ireland; the Heritage Council. While the Arts Council, the Abbey Theatre and the National
Concert Hall through the Arts Council are also funded ultimately by the Department, they were not among those earmarked
for reform although funding cuts might occur.
By 18 November 2011, the media were carrying news of what was described as the quango cull or critical review intended
by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform by end June 2012. With regard to the D/AHG, Culture Ireland and the
Placenames Commission (An Coimisin Logainmneacha) together with the Heritage Council were marked for absorption
of their functions into the Department. The Office of the Ombudsman would absorb Data Protection and the Office of An
Coimisinir Teanga.
The potential for the Chester Beatty Library to share services with other cultural institutions was also put forward.
The entire November 2011 list was of very disparate institutions, from old to new, from statutorily established to those of
fairly recent quango status. From small to large, from background-type bodies to those in much greater interaction with citizens.
The savings as a result of the cull were estimated at some 20m per annum but increasing over time. The incongruity of some
of the proposed mergers drew much media comment, together with the lack of rationale and, in some cases, very little saving of
public moneys. From the perspective of those involved in language and culture, it appeared that the supportive official structure,
fragile though it might seem, was now being systematically taken apart without impact analysis or any new edifice being proposed.
A year later, on 31 October 2012, as Budget 2013 beckoned, an announcement from the Department of Arts, Heritage
and the Gaeltacht provided the rationale for the fate of the cultural institutions in the following terms: streamlining; shared
services; support services (through the Department); recovery agenda (aligning with Government agenda of driving investment
in Ireland and rebuilding reputation abroad); philanthropy; independence (of Directors of institutions with regard to
programming, curatorial and operational functions). In practical terms:
National Gallery of Ireland, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Crawford Gallery (Cork)
- reduction of all three boards to 9 persons each including Chair operating on pro bono basis;
- formal service level agreement on agreed range of shared services, support and operational;
- Update of legislation for National Gallery.
Chester Beatty Library
- continuation of outsourcing of administrative and other services;
- continuation of collaboration and shared services with other National Cultural Institutions.
Culture Ireland
- functions merged fully into Department;
- retention of brand and Cultural Ambassador role;
- work aligned with inward investment and tourist bodies.
Heritage Council
- reduction of size of board and members on pro bono basis;
- elimination of statutory standing committees;
- updating of Heritage Act 1995.
National Archives of Ireland, National Library of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, Irish Manuscripts
Commission
- support services provided by the Department (legal, finance, HR, IT and procurement);
- National Archives to continue to operate as currently within Department having statutorily independent
Director, but now with reduced Advisory Council on pro bono basis;
- Existing boards of the National Library and Museum to be replaced by new single body, National Museum and
Library Advisory Council (on governance model of National Archives) serving pro bono to focus on fundraising
and philanthropic opportunities.
- Irish Manuscripts Commission not specifically mentioned.
In addition, An Coimisin Logainmneacha (Placenames Commission) would also be replaced by a small expert committee on
a pro bono basis, working online and meeting quarterly on complex issues, while the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga would be
merged with the Ombudsmans Office although through delegation of functions An Coimisinir would operate with statutory
independence. Amendment of the Official Languages Act 2003 will be required. Since the Heritage Council had been mooted
for abolition, the new arrangements may be considered an improvement of sorts.
Savings of 1 million per annum were indicated as was increased efficiency through new governance and management
models. Three pieces of legislation will be required to put the proposals into full effect and more work for officials of the
Department with regard to absorbed entities and provision of certain services. Questions were raised on future lack of autonomy
and increased departmental control over aspects of culture and heritage.
In an interview (The Irish Times 3 January 2013), the responsible Minister referred to the proposed merger and new
direction within his department of the boards of the National Library and the National Museum and appealed for people to
give this a chance and to see how it will work. He also averred that he was very supportive of continuing State funding for
cultural institutions and the arts.
Funding of the Cultural Institutions receives mention below under Funding.
STRUCTURAL PROPOSALS 2009-2011

DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY, RURAL AND GAELTACHT AFFAIRS TO DEPARTMENT OF ARTS,
HERITAGE AND THE GAELTACHT VIA SPORT, TOURISM
To the relief of many language organisations, there was no change in either the title of the department with responsibility for
the language or in the minister who held the portfolio in the Government that took office in June 2007, following general
elections in May. However, the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (popularly known as
the McCarthy report, from the chair of the Group, or in bilingual fashion as An Bord Snip Nua) saw matters differently. In its
report of July 2009 (see Funding for Irish Language and Culture towards the end of this Chapter), this department was listed
as one that could be disbanded in any cost cutting exercise which included a reduction in the number of departments and State
agencies, and its various functions distributed across other departments. The language sector was appalled and lobbied against
the proposal, seeking at least a senior minister to represent the language at cabinet. They found totally unacceptable the notion
that the language functions of the department could be transferred to Education, arguing that while education was a crucial
aspect language matters were wider than education, and that a department where only 3% of staff (later reduced to 1.5%)
were competent to conduct business through Irish (as self-reported to An Coimisinir Teanga) could hardly provide a conducive
context for the language. In the event, no such change occurred at that point, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) signalling this
when interviewed on TG4 (Irish language television). The McCarthy report also proposed a similar disbanding and subsequent
distribution of functions for the (then) Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. No change occurred (early 2010), however,
until March 2010.
In that month, following the resignation of two ministers, for differing reasons, a Cabinet reshuffle occurred which
had repercussions for five government departments in particular and for some existing ministers as well as for other new
appointments. In the pre-shuffle media commentary, and the post Bord Snip suggestion that the ministries with responsibility
for language affairs and culture be abolished, various fates were proposed for those departments. During this period, the main
change occurred as a result of the re-shuffle.
The former department of community, rural and Gaeltacht affairs, which had responsibility for the language, became the
Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs and a new minister appointed. This department was intended
to have responsibility also for two further policy areas: social inclusion and family policy which moved from the former
department of social and family affairs; equality, disability, integration and human rights which moved from the Department
of Justice, [Equality] and Law Reform. The additional policy areas of equality, integration and human rights were under the
aegis of a Minister of State (a member of the Green Party). A second Minister of State also was added to the new department.
While the restructuring was announced on 23 March 2010, formal establishment of the department did not take effect until
2 June 2010. Instead of being abolished as recommended in the McCarthy report, the department actually doubled in size.
The longstanding minister with responsibility for the language was moved to the newly named Department of Social Protection
(largely the former department of social and family affairs with some additional areas of responsibility) in March. The implications for
language policy implementation probably meant that at least one other member of Cabinet (the previous minister with responsibility
for the language) understood better than most the arguments of the current new incumbent of the department which included
language affairs whenever language issues came to the table, particularly those relating to the 20-Year Strategy for Irish.
Less than a year later, when the Dil convened on the morning of 20 January 2011, subsequent to the resignation of
several cabinet members, neither the Green Party nor the Taoiseach were present. Given the uproar that ensued, the House was
suspended until the Taoiseach arrived. Instead of the expected reshuffle, he announced the reassignment of the five ministries
now vacant to existing ministers, among them Transport to Community, Equality and Gaeltacht. He also announced a General
Election for 11 March (a date later changed to 25 February).
On Monday 24 January, the Green Party left the Coalition (as had been intimated in December 2010) citing
lack of communication on important political matters. This left two other ministries vacant. These too were reassigned;
Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs plus Transport. The cabinet
was now at the Constitutional minimum of seven.
On 9 March 2011, the new Coalition Taoiseach (Fine Gael) announced his Cabinet. With regard to language matters, the
Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport was renamed as the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The new
department was formally allocated responsibility, inter alia, for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, the National
Famine Commemoration, Waterways Ireland (cross border body). It continued to have a Minister as well as a Minister of State
with responsibility for the Gaeltacht. Heritage functions were transferred with effect from 1 May 2011 and the department formally
established on 1 June. In all, this department now includes: built and natural heritage; arts, film, music, cultural institutions; Irish
language, Gaeltacht schemes and offshore islands. The department works then with the various agencies under its aegis.
Among the advisers appointed by ministers were, for a time, a former journalist and director of public affairs with the Arts
Council in the new Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Departmental arrangements having implications for Irish language affairs

Other top level appointments made by the previous Coalition, some of which remained with the renamed department with
responsibility for language affairs, included the Secretary General (advertised November 2009), translators in the newly
created Lr-Aonad Aistrichin (Translation Unit, advertised November 2009) and Stirthir na Gaeilge (appointed November
2010). The latter post was new to the department and was permitted, despite an embargo, on the basis of the Governments
commitment to the 20-Year Strategy. The responsibilities of the incumbent include the Irish language and Gaeltacht policy of
the department to include the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. The rank of Stirthir comes just below that of Assistant Secretary in
the department. The other position of Stirthir was held by the head of the Translation Unit (a section which was also tasked
with the review of An Caighden Oifigiil, below). These translation posts were later re-assigned. The functions of the Unit,
while it existed, were to provide translation services for government departments, in particular in the case of SIs or statutory
instruments arising out of legislation.
Funding of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

The table of Expenditure Allocations 2012-2014 in the Report of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure shows the following:
Departmental Ceilings for Expenditure 2012 2014

Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
2012
2013
2014
232m
218m
205m
DARS NA GAELTACHTA TO DARS NA GAEILGE (TO DARS NA GAEILGE/NA GAELTACHTA TO

DARS NA GAELTACHTA)
Context
Four possible scenarios were recommended for the main implementation agency of the 20-Year Strategy by the Fiontar
team in their report for the Department. Of these, the first iteration of the Strategy by the previous administration
amalgamated two by proposing the establishment of dars na Gaeilge (Authority for the Irish Language) with a nationwide remit through restructuring the existing dars na Gaeltachta (Authority for the Gaeltacht regions). In addition,
the Department while retaining responsibility might devolve certain of its own Gaeltacht functions to this new
body. The new structure would have its headquarters in the Gaeltacht and would be run by a board similar to that of the
existing dars na Gaeltachta, that is elected representatives and appointed members. Legislation would be required to
give statutory status to the new body. Since the proposed agency would operate nation-wide, it would appear that new
election arrangements would be required to represent all sectors of pobail na Gaeilge (Irish language communities). Clear
delineation of functions between the new Authority and Foras na Gaeilge would also be of some consequence. Perhaps in
order to offset somewhat the subsuming of dars na Gaeltachta an agency dedicated solely to Gaeltacht affairs as well
as to assuage political sensitivities among Gaeltacht public representatives, the Draft Strategy proposed a parallel Gaeltacht
Advisory Committee. This structure would comprise elected dars na Gaeilge and local authority members with the
function of advising on Gaeltacht matters. It was doubtful if an advisory function would rank in importance with policy
functions in the minds of those most concerned.
The McCarthy report (July 2009), Funding for Irish Language and Culture below, in seeking funding cuts, had proposed
the transfer of the enterprise and employment development functions of the Gaeltacht Authority to the general enterprise
agency tasked with the same general enterprise functions for the State. The Irish language lobby pointed out the delicate
linguistic context in which such development operates in Gaeltacht regions, an aspect not in the brief of the enterprise agency.
No change occurred at that point as a result of the McCarthy report proposal. However, other changes were later proposed by
the Minister with responsibility for the language in the 20-Year Draft Strategy as outlined also under Structural Proposals
below. In a possible oblique reference to the McCarthy proposal, the Strategy affirms that as many non-language services as is
practicable will be delivered in the Gaeltacht by the (then) Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs together
with the new implementation agency, dars na Gaeilge, described below, given their proven ability to deliver services
through Irish. No transfer of existing schemes was then envisaged but rather a possible increase in the number of schemes
delivered. One such possibility was mentioned in the Strategy under Family Transmission as an area for action the functions
of current county childcare committees for Irish language provision to be discharged in future through the new dars na
Gaeilge. Another comes under proposals in relation to physical planning in Gaeltacht regions Gaeltacht plans are to have the
same status as town plans and will be approved by the new dars na Gaeilge. In addition, the possibility is to be examined of
the new entity carrying out functions through Irish for other public bodies, throughout the State. This would be done on an
agency basis.

Further significant changes to the title and functions of dars na Gaeltachta occurred in the two further iterations of the
20-Year Strategy, in December 2010 (former Coalition) and in June 2011 (new Coalition). These are treated just below and
also in the section on the 20-Year Strategy: Changes (Definitive 3 June 2011).
Tumultuous times: 2009-2011

However, in advance of official announcement on these changes, much else was occurring including sustained lobbying. On
18 August 2009, the then Chief Executive of dars na Gaeltachta had given an address entitled Todhcha na Gaeltachta G
le Cur Chuige Nua Radacach (The Future of the Gaeltacht Need for a Radical New Departure). Information sessions for
Deputies and Senators had been jointly organised by Conradh na Gaeilge and Guth na Gaeltachta on issues relating to the Irish
language and the Gaeltacht (1 December 2009; 6 October 2010; 30 May 2011). At official level, the future of the Gaeltacht
Authority was tied up with ongoing progress on the 20-Year Strategy and debate within the relevant Oireachtas Committee.
On 15 April 2010, the then Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs re-appointed three members of the Authority, including the Chair,
saying that this would provide stability and continuity for dars na Gaeltachta at this crucial time. However, in June and July
2010, the Minister had to defend in the Seanad and in the Dil , on grounds of its being anti-democratic, the amendment he
proposed to the dars Act of Establishment (1979), an amendment which extended the maximum interval between elections
to the dars from five and a half years to seven and a half years, thus allowing time and space for any changes. The legislation
was passed in early July. In the meantime, in accordance with official will, the body had sold some of its assets; it was hoping
to raise 5.5 million in this manner to offset reduced grants from Government.
The urgency of this assets sale was clearly indicated in the Governments Capital Spending Plan issued in late July (treated
in Funding below) in which the cuts were of such a nature for the funding department of the Authority that the Chief
Executive was forthright in his comments that this could mean the end of the dars as a functioning body. Still, at the 14
September 2010 meeting of the Coiste Riginach an Deiscirt (Regional Committee, South) of the body, satisfaction was
expressed at the level of community and employment initiatives in operation in the region despite cutbacks. Towards the end
of that month (24 September 2010), however, the Board of the body issued a statement to the effect that a meeting was being
sought with the Minister on three specific issues: progress on the Strategy (still in draft form) this really meant clarity on the
rle of An tdars; permission to begin the process of recruiting a Chief Executive; provision of sufficient funding for 2011 to
enable the body to continue its development work.
In the same week, Comhlachas na gComharchumann Gaeltachta (Affiliation of Gaeltacht Co-operatives) had passed a
resolution that the Department for Gaeltacht Affairs be granted at least the same level of funding for 2011 as for 2010, despite
the cutbacks in the Capital Programme of July. On 5 October 2010, representatives of the dars executive gave evidence
before the Joint Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation as a result of which that Committee passed unanimously
a resolution supporting the enterprise and employment role of the dars in the Gaeltacht; in addition, this resolution was
to be passed to the relevant Minister. In support of their position, the dars representatives pointed to the national benefits
of commercial activity in the Gaeltacht through exports. The annual report for 2009 referred to the results of the annual
business survey of economic impact which showed the impact of dars operations: sales in client companies equalled 834m
of which 47.6% in exports showed an increase of over 9% on the previous year. It was reported that language activists had
earlier (September) complained publicly about the lack of invitation to and representation of dars as an enterprise body at
a meeting of such bodies convened by the Taoiseach on a strategy for job creation.
Against this background, the 2009 Report and Accounts for dars were published and a press statement issued on 11
November 2010. On employment, while 710 new jobs were created in companies assisted by dars, 721 were lost (8.8%, less
than in the economy in general at 11.8%), giving a total employment of 7,472 for the year 2009. Answering questions in the
Dil on 1 July 2010, the Minister gave the following information on dars funding: 2010 30 million; 37.6 plus an extra
2 million at year end for 2009. In the 2009 report, under Irish Language, the body reported a review of its language policy in
State-assisted companies in the Gaeltacht in order to align it with the guidelines for public bodies under the Official Languages
Act 2003. Research in collaboration with the Department was also conducted in 28 Gaeltacht communities with the intention
of producing language planning initiatives by those communities.

The post of Chief Executive, a post under embargo, was still under urgent discussion at the Board meeting of 19 November
2010 as the retirement of the incumbent at the end of the year grew ever closer and it seemed imperative to appoint an Acting
CE pending Government decision. After the dars board meeting of 10 December 2010, a press release was issued urging all
language organisations to highlight the future of the body to all candidates in the upcoming 2011 general election. This was
in response to dismay at the allocation for the 2011 capital budget at only 6 million (2010: 15 million). By 18/19 January
2011, the then Minister was meeting the Chair of the Board and, in speaking with the Irish media, was affirming that the board
envisaged for the dars as restructured in the 20-Year Strategy, and in the legislation under preparation, would comprise
both elected and appointed members. This had not been specifically included in the published Strategy of December 2010.
The end of year Review for 2010 was issued on 24 January 2011 by the Acting CE and the Chair of the dars. It showed the
creation of 704 new fulltime jobs to give a total of 7,074 for the year 2010, a drop from the 7,472 of 2009. All other schemes of
employment and language development were maintained. The proposed national rle for a restructured entity was welcomed
although experts saw it more as radical change rather than mere restructuring and possible loss of a dedicated structure for the
Gaeltacht. Well into the new year of 2011, the Chair and Executive of dars were reporting to the Board at their meeting of
8 April 2011 on the presentation they had made to the new Minister of State of the new administration. The arguments were
the same: the necessity to retain the entrepreneurial and employment role; the significance of Gaeltacht activity to the economy
as a whole based on the Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact (ABSEI) conducted in Gaeltacht companies by Forfs in
2010 and on two later Indecon economic impact surveys commissioned by dars itself. The results in general showed: over
7,000 fulltime posts; 734 million to the economy; 197.6 million in payroll; 42.2 million annually to the State in taxes.
Given the decision to maintain the existing role of the dars in the announcement of June 2011 on the Strategy by the
new Coalition, it is of note that the Minister of State had earlier intimated in answer to parliamentary questions on 12 April
2011 that the agency might still be assuming the proposed new national role outlined in the Draft Strategy for Irish. The final
statement on this long running uncertainty on the future role of dars na Gaeltachta finally came in June 2011 as detailed
just below and under 20-Year Strategy: Changes (Definitive 3 June 2011).
On 3 June 2011, then, under a new Coalition, following Government decisions taken on 31 May, some further changes
took place, particularly for An tdars and implementation structures. The future of dars na Gaeltachta is set down in the
following section of the official statement of that date.
dars na Gaeltachta
The status quo will be maintained regarding the current functions of dars na Gaeltachta, including its enterprise
(a) statutory provision to enable the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to direct dars na Gaeltachta to
focus its limited resources towards specific enterprise sectors; and
Provision will be made under the Gaeltacht Bill to significantly reduce the Board of dars na Gaeltachta and to end
While this decision was generally welcomed as dispelling existing uncertainty, the type of mechanism for cooperation with
other State enterprise agencies (as signalled several years previously) was significant and required discussion.
dars na Gaeltachta will be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy within the Gaeltacht.
Interestingly, there is is no precise distinction of rles made in relation to the possible future operation of dars na Gaeltachta
in new urban-type Gaeltacht settings (network Gaeltachta). However, this distinction acquired new meaning in the definition
of Gaeltacht made on linguistic rather than on territorial grounds in the Gaeltacht Bill which followed, although some physical
boundaries might still have to be set in Gaeltacht Areas.
Current status (end 2012)

Legislatively, while the June 2011 statement clarified to some extent the rle and future composition of the board of An tdars,
full implementation awaited the passage of the Gaeltacht Act. The heads of the Gaeltacht Bill were announced on 7 February
2012 and it was enacted in July 2012. However, the final membership of the board as set out in the Gaeltacht Act did not occur
until late November 2012. The Authority now has a female chair for the first time, a native speaker and an applied linguist from
NUIM. She is, however, among the few. The Minister of State with responsibility for the Gaeltacht met the new board at its first
meeting on 7 December 2012. Concern at government plans to merge COGG with the NCCA were expressed at this meeting.
The board was also briefed on budgetary matters: 18.6m for both revenue and capital funding for 2013 with the possibility
of further funding through links with other semi-state bodies. An additional 3.4 m was earmarked for language development
initiatives given the new responsibilities arising out of the 20-Year Strategy and the Gaeltacht Act 2012. These events followed
a period of uncertainty as outlined below.

A press release from the meeting of 21 September 2011 of the previous Board reveals that permission had not yet been
granted to advertise the position of Chief Executive and that the continued embargo on recruitment was hindering progress
on programmes for Gaeltacht development. From answers to Dil questions, it appears that a meeting took place of both the
Minister and the Minister of State with the Chair and senior executives of An tdars on 29 September 2011 to discuss the
future strategy of the agency. While these issues have now reached resolution (below), they are nevertheless bound up with
the content of the Gaeltacht Act and with the Gaeltacht rle of An tdars within a new definition of Gaeltacht, and provided
a period of uncertainty for the agency not unlike that undergone by the Voluntary Sector funded by Foras na Gaeilge. Overall,
Government did not appear to fully comprehend the possible consequences of the programme it was following in relation to
the language.
On funding, the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs provided the following figures in the Dil on 18 October 2011 in
response to questions during a session through Irish:
Total grant for 2011 was 19.6 million of which 6 million was for capital development. In addition, from other
sources (sale of assets; grant paybacks) 7 million would also be available for capital expenditure.
Employment in client companies of the agency stood at 7,074 full-time posts at the end of 2010. Despite a decrease
on 2009, this represented the creation of 704 new jobs.
Latest figures are given below but the issue remains of both enterprise and language-centred funding for Gaeltacht
communities within a new definition of Gaeltacht community.
Appointment of Chief Executive

After its meeting of 24 September 2010, the Board of dars na Gaeltachta issued a statement to the effect that a meeting was
being sought with the Minister on three specific issues, one of which was permission to begin the process of recruiting a Chief
Executive, a post under embargo. The post was still under urgent discussion at the Board meeting of 19 November 2010 as the
retirement of the incumbent at the end of the year grew ever closer and it seemed imperative to appoint an Acting CE pending
Government decision. A year later, a press release from the Board meeting of 21 September 2011 reveals that permission
had not yet been granted to advertise the position of Chief Executive and that the continued embargo on recruitment was
hindering progress on programmes for Gaeltacht development. The uncertainty of the situation had been causing continuing
concern with regard to the future of the body. Departmental agreement to finally appoint a Chief Executive to An tdars
was then welcomed. This announcement was made simultaneously with the changes to the 20-Year Strategy on 3 June 2011.
However, it was 27 January 2012 before the actual recruitment process was announced by the Board to begin shortly. The post
was eventually advertised at the beginning of March 2012.
Grants and employment

dars na Gaeltachta currently has several sources of income as well as Government annual grants. The additional income
comes from sale of assets, payback of grants, grants from a large variety of sources Government, EU and international,
on whose behalf the agency administers a wide range of programmes. The information in the table refers solely to those
grants provided by the Oireachtas under the Acts governing the operation of the agency. These grants cover administration,
development programmes, capital expenditure and grants to industry. It is of note that the staff complement of dars na
Gaeltachta fell from 112 in 2007 to 95 in 2011 (Annual Report 2011). It is reported to have also decreased since.
dars na Gaeltachta Grants 2009-2012
Year
Grant m
2009
37,635
Published accounts 2010
2010
32,915
Published accounts 2010

(Including 15m for capital development)
Source of information
2011
19.6
2012
18.809
2013
18.6 + 3.4
Including 6m for capital development

Dil statement, 18 October, 2011
5.938m capital, 3m current, 9.871 admin
Website, Dept of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
Press release 7 December 2012
On employment in the Gaeltacht, the following information is provided in publications and press releases from dars na
Gaeltachta or in Dil reports. The information pertains to companies assisted by dars.
Year
Total employment
Note
2009
7,472
710 new jobs created; 721 lost or 8.8%

(in economy in general 11.8%)
2010
7,074
704 new jobs
2011
7,500
7,000 full-time and 500 part-time; 734 new jobs;

slowdown in job losses
Community and language

The importance of the conservation and development of the language in the Gaeltacht community is on a par with the more
economy-based activities of dars na Gaeltachta. To this end, it supports a range of activities, reported as follows for 2011:
- 82 preschool and crche facilities (950 attendees)
- 62 youth clubs and drop-in centres (2,000 members)
- 34 learning centres (600 attendees at Irish classes)
The agency also grant-aids co-operatives and community organisations; co-grants the arts (with the Arts Council); funds thirdlevel courses (e.g. film, translation) and provides a range of scholarships and apprenticeships.
In 2010, the agency granted support to 72 arts initiatives across the Gaeltacht, ranging from 28 arts projects, 13 arts
festivals, and bursaries for 16 artists. Three regional arts facilitators implement the agencys arts programme.
Interestingly, an independent study on the programme for 2009 reported on the economic return on the 866,000 arts
investment through Ealan na Gaeltachta (the company set up by An tdars to implement the arts programme. The direct
economic impact on the Irish economy was 15.6m and a total impact of some 20m. On the jobs front, 247 depended
directly on the investment and 149 jobs indirectly.
As recounted in Chapter 2 above, both the Priseas Pleanla Teanga (of the Department) and in particular the Gaeltacht
Act of 2012 have ensured a statutory language planning role in the Gaeltacht for An tdars. The mechanism for engaging with
other agencies on its enterprise function as a requisite part of language planning is less clear.
Reaction to the changes in the rle of dars na Gaeltachta

Objections to the policy announcement on the definitive fate of dars na Gaeltachta finally made on 3 June 2011 came from
both the former minister and the Irish lobby. They centred on the following areas:
- diminution of the democratic element with the ending of elections to dars na Gaeltachta and the possibility
of unsuitable appointments out of touch with local communities;
- continued involvement of a possibly unsympathetic administration in Northern Ireland in policy and in funding
- the possibility of dars na Gaeltachta becoming swamped in the proposed new arrangement with larger State
enterprise agencies.
FORAS NA GAEILGE
Context
The McCarthy report (July 2009) made many recommendations which could directly or indirectly affect State support for Irish
and the Gaeltacht. Within the reallocation proposed for political decision was that the North/South body, Foras na Gaeilge, go
to the (then) Department of Education and Science (D/E&S), on the basis that many of its functions had in fact come from
that department. This was also a corollary of the recommendation that the department with responsibility for the language,
including Foras na Gaeilge, should itself be abolished. On cost cutting measures, however, Foras na Gaeilge was left untouched
in the McCarthy report (see Funding for Irish Language and Culture towards the end of this chapter). In the Draft Strategy
for the Irish Language 2010-2030, it is quoted as a key element of the support structure for the language in both parts of the
island and its functions are stated as: supportive projects and grant-aiding bodies and groups; terminologies and dictionaries;
supporting Irish-medium education and the teaching of Irish on the island; facilitating and encouraging the use of the language
in public and private life. This would appear to offer little change to the existing functions of the body were it not for the initial
proposal of the creation of a new implementation body, dars na Gaeilge. To date, dars na Gaeltachta had functioned
largely in the Gaeltacht and Foras na Gaeilge in an all-island context, which meant mainly outside the Gaeltacht in the Republic.
Now, since the proposed new body had a State-wide remit in the Republic, both bodies would be functioning in the same
general arena in the south. The legislation required to establish the new body would need to state its functions very precisely
to avoid unnecessary duplication and overlapping of operations. In the event, further possible change to the functions of Foras
na Gaeilge was signalled in the 3 June 2011 iteration of the 20-Year Strategy (new Coalition). See below the section on the
20-Year Strategy: Changes (Final, 3 June 2011). In brief, these comprised the following.
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will retain primary responsibility for matters concerning the Irish
language, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht.
Foras na Gaeilge will continue to fulfil its responsibilities on an all-island basis as an agency of the North South
The Department, in partnership with relevant State bodies, will be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy
outside the Gaeltacht. The potential for Foras na Gaeilge to deliver certain elements of the Strategy, on an agreed basis,
will be explored.
While precise functions were still to be clarified, a slightly more defined role is now envisaged for Foras na Gaeilge. The
Department, however, in all cases, retains primary responsibility, although implementation in partnership with relevant State
bodies appears to apply to outside the Gaeltacht. It was the view of the Minister of State that: These Government decisions
will ensure that existing structures will be used to deliver the Strategy and that the functions of the key stakeholders with
responsibility for implementing the Strategy, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht, will be clearly defined. There was no
specific reference to the rle of the Voluntary Sector in delivery, unless the sector is included under funding bodies, either
dars na Gaeltachta or Foras na Gaeilge. Interestingly, neither was precise distinction of rles made at this time in relation to
the possible future operation of dars na Gaeltachta in new urban-type Gaeltacht settings. However, if the proposed legislation
defined Gaeltacht in terms other than territorial, that particular difficulty might, or might not, be obviated.
From responses to Dil questions (18 October 2011), it was clarified that the Department for the Gaeltacht, dars na
Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge were all three engaged in discussions on apportioning appropriate areas of responsibility for
implementation of the 20-Year Strategy.
Foras na Gaeilge operated with four offices (Annual Report 2009), in Dublin, in Belfast, and two in the Gaeltacht: Gaoth
Dobhair in County Donegal and Rth Cairn in County Meath.
An Foras Teanga and the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC)

The overarching body, An Foras Teanga, which comprises Foras na Gaeilge and Tha Boord o Ulstr-Scotch (The Ulster-Scots
Agency), is accountable to the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) and to the Ministers in the Sponsoring Departments, the
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (D/CAL) in Northern Ireland.
There are 16 members on the board of Foras na Gaeilge and 8 on the board of Tha Boord o Ulstr-Scotch. The NSMC
makes those appointments arising from nominations made on a 50:50 basis by both jurisdictions. The 24 member board of An
Foras Teanga comprises the boards of both Agencies.
Arising out of the suspension of political institutions in Northern Ireland, no sectoral meetings (Language) of the NSMC
took place between 14 June 2002 and 26 October 2007 although an agreed mechanism existed for decision-making. The
Executive and Assembly were restored in May 2007. Meetings then took place as follows:
NSMC Meetings in sectoral format (Language) 2007 onward

Year
Number of Meetings
2007
1 (October)
2008
1 (July)
2009
3 (January, July, December)
2010
2 (May, November)
2011
2 (July, October)
2012
3 (February, July, November)
A new board, with some re-appointments including the Chair, was appointed to Foras na Gaeilge in December 2011.
Language matters, generally reporting of NSMC meetings, may also occur at plenary meetings of the NI Executive and
the Dublin Government. The following was reported, inter alia, at the plenary held in Dublin in June 2012:
Completion by Foras na Gaeilge of public consultation on the introduction of new funding arrangements for core-funded
bodies with interim funding arrangements extended to 30 June 2013
Funding and Foras na Gaeilge

This section considers two aspects of funding in relation to Foras na Gaeilge: the official funding the body receives and the
ways in which that funding is disbursed by it. Precise figures are not easy to come by since the latest annual report dates from
2009 (published 12 December 2012) and constant adjustments to expenditure are part of the current economic climate. It
is reported that the overdue publication issue arises from the amalgamation of Foras na Gaeilge accounts into those of the
overarching body, An Foras Teanga (one of the six Cross-Border Implementation Bodies established under the British-Irish
Agreement Act, December 1999), to delays in processing the accounts of the other agency, Tha Boord o Ulstr-Scotch (The
Ulster-Scots Agency), within An Foras Teanga, and therefore to time lag in the clearance of the consolidated accounts. Both sets
of accounts go the Comptroller Auditor General in the respective jurisdictions.
Funding of Foras na Gaeilge (FNG)

The information in the table below comes from several official sources. Funding for An Foras Teanga (the overall body for Irish
and Ulster-Scots) is to be distinguished from funding for Foras na Gaeilge (Irish language only). The Department in Dublin
with responsibility for Irish (currently D/AHG) provides 75% of total funding for Foras na Gaeilge. Foras na Gaeilge also
receives additional ringfenced funding, in recent years, for Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge and for the Colmcille project. The body also
receives income through the book distribution agency it maintains, IS.
Foras na Gaeilge: Total Annual Budget Allocation from both Jurisdictions

Year
Allocation m
Source of Information
2002
17.87
D/CAL (FAQ section on site)
Foras na Gaeilge: Total Annual Budget Allocation from both Jurisdictions

2003
17.87
ditto
2004
18.694
ditto
2005
19.356
ditto
2006
19.862
ditto
2007
20,198,030
An Foras Teanga, Annual Report
2008
18,128
D/AHG (An Foras Teanga submission CRE)
22,276,678
FNG Annual Report 2009
20,300,540
NSMC Annual Report
20,089,580
FNG Annual Report 2009
2010
20,643,340
D/AHG
2011
16.6m
D/AHG (An Foras Teanga)
2012
21m circa
CEO/FnaG/on TG4 programme
20,797,942
Published Minutes, Foras na Gaeilge, 14
175,000 (Colmcille)
December 2012
19,550,066
as announced 6% reduction on 2012
2009
2013
The sources used in the table are referenced below in more detail. In relation to funding for Foras na Gaeilge for 2009, the
following comment appears in the NSMC annual report for that year.
The Council noted that the North/South Language Body [An Foras Teanga] had applied efficiency savings to its 2009
Budget in accordance with guidance issued by the two Finance Departments. The 2009 Business Plan was approved
and the Council recommended the 2009 budget provision of 3,433,800 (4,401,860) for the Ulster-Scots agency
and 20,300,540 (15,834,421) for Foras na Gaeilge.
The following information is from the Departmental website.
- Funding is provided to both Agencies from this Department and DCAL (Department of Culture, Arts and
Leisure) in Northern Ireland in accordance with budgets approved by the NSMC (North South Ministerial
Council).
- Foras na Gaeilge is co-funded on the basis of 75% from this Department and 25% from DCAL an overall
budget provision of 20,643,340 was approved by the NSMC for 2010.
- Tha Boord o Ulstr-Scotch is co-funded on the basis of 25% from this Department and 75% from DCAL an
overall budget provision of 3,327,600 was approved by the NSMC for 2010.
- Funding is provided through Subhead E.1 of the Vote of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
and an overall provision of 16.6m is included in the 2011 Estimates.
- In addition, this Department provides further funding to Foras na Gaeilge in respect of ringfenced activities
relating to Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge, Colmcille and capital projects.
This funding, additional to that approved by the NSMC, is further explained:
- Arising from an NSMC decision in 2007, the functions of the former Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge were transferred
to Foras na Gaeilge and it was agreed that future funding would be provided by this Department solely in
order to implement the work of Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge [new nomenclature under Foras]. The rle of Clr na
Leabhar Gaeilge is to provide support for reading, writing and publishing initiatives in the Irish language.
- Colmcille consists of a tripartite initiative to promote the Irish and Scots Gaelic languages. Arising from an
NSMC decision in July 2008, it was agreed that the functions of Colmcille on the island of Ireland would be
transferred to Foras na Gaeilge and that a partnership would be established between Foras and Brd na Gidhlig
[the two language boards] to bring forward the objectives of Colmcille.
Some factual information on both of these additional sources of income (and management) to Foras na Gaeilge is found in the
September 2011 submission of the D/AHG to the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure requested by the (new) Department
of Public Expenditure and Reform (15% cuts requested):
- The allocation for Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge in 2011 was 1.35m, a reduction of 10% on its 2010 budget. Foras
na Gaeilge received income of 1.3m in 2010 from the distribution and sale of books under Clr na Leabhar
Gaeilge; an argument for retention of funding, even if reduced.
- Total funding for the tripartite programme Colmcille not exceeding 486,000 sterling was to be provided for
2011, the allocation from the D/AHG to be 197,561 or a 10% reduction on 2010. Evaluation was envisaged.
It was recommended that the Colmcille programme be retained, even with possibly reduced funding.
- Savings of 0.990m were identified for the period 2012-2014 in the reduction in the monies for An Foras
Teanga (the overall body), in line with budget guidance agreed by the Departments of Finance in both
jurisdictions.
- Core funding to the 19 Irish language organisations consisted of 37% of the total approved NSMC budget for
Foras na Gaeilge in 2010 or a total of 7.638m, comprising 55% salary costs, 17% on administrative costs and
28% on programme costs.
In a press release of 7 December 2011, in relation to the 2012 Budget, the Minister made the following comment.
With regard to the ongoing development of North-South Co-operation within the broader arts, heritage and commemorative
activities a provision of 42.718m has been allocated in 2012 to support the two North-South implementation bodies, An
Foras Teanga (comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency) and Waterways Ireland. These budgets will be subject
to the approval of the North/South Ministerial Council in due course.
In his own press release, the Minister of State refers to more than 15.4m [for 2012] to the N/S Language Body (subject
to NSMC approval). Speaking on television (TG4, programme 7 L 7 Days) on 7 February 2012, the Chief Executive of
Foras na Gaeilge referred to a budget in the region of 21m for the agency in 2012. Whether this included the ringfenced
additional funding, or income from the sale of books through the distribution agency IS, or additional grant income from
the Department for the historic commemorative activities, was not clear.
The overall budget for the Department itself announced in December 2011 was 266.997m. However, the table of
allocations 2012-2014 in the Report of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure shows the expenditure side as follows for 2012
and subsequent years.
Departmental Ceilings for Expenditure 2012 2014
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
2012
2013
2014
232m
218m
205m

Among the activities for which Foras na Gaeilge is responsible are the publishing agency, An Gm, and dictionary provision for
Irish. It organises a training service for the accreditation of translators and editors. There is currently a panel of 158 accredited
translators available and 8 editors were accredited after examination in November 2011. The agency receives additional ringfenced funding from the responsible Department in the South for general publishing in Irish and for the Colmcille programme.
Its book distribution service, IS, is currently under review and implementation of the review recommendations planned with
the two Sponsor Departments, North and South (NSMC Joint Communiqu, 14 February 2012). The additional annual
income generated by IS is generally in the region of 1m-1.5m.
It also operates a varied range of schemes and may support occasional ventures. In November 2011, for example, the
agency advertised for applications across seven schemes. They comprised:
- Irish in the Community
- Bilingual/Irish only materials
- Bilingual/Irish only signage (business-oriented)
- Summer Camps (outside the Gaeltacht)
- Youth Activities
- Festivals
- Drama Companies
Finally, it currently (2012) still core funds the activities of 19 voluntary organisations.
The breakdown of this funding is given below, Funding, and funding for other schemes under other appropriate headings
throughout the text.
New Funding Model and Schemes

This aspect of funding by Foras na Gaeilge and the change in its existing policy is fully discussed further below, Funding.
STRUCTURES AS PROPOSED IN THE FIONTAR (DCU) REPORT ON 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE
IRISH LANGUAGE
The planning, evaluation and implementation framework described in the Fiontar report for the proposed Strategy for the
language envisaged a multi-layered structure which would be set up in the pre-operational, or operational planning, first year
of the Strategy. At the highest level, this would comprise (i) a permanent cabinet committee at the level of Government and (ii)
a programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister); this office to be tasked with strategic planning and
monitoring, led by an assistant secretary and staffed by a specialist team, seconded if required, whose expertise would include
public administration, management, language planning and education. This office would be further supported in two ways: by
an Irish language advisory committee of staff, senior civil servants, international experts, stakeholders and through the ongoing
independent evaluation of implementation to be carried out by Oifig Choimisinir na dTeangacha Oifigila (Office of the
Commissioner for Official Languages) or similar body. The advisory committee would meet at least twice a year. The evaluation
reports could be discussed through high level deliberation conferences in order to ensure full engagement of all concerned.
At departmental level, the Fiontar report advised reconstitution of the existing department into a Department of the
Gaeltacht and Irish Language Affairs with responsibility for policy. Implementation was then to be through the relevant sectors
of the state apparatus (to include a new structure to be established) together with the social partners. Ad hoc working groups
were also envisaged on an occasional basis, whether to draft operational plans for the programme office or to assist the newly
reconstituted department in implementing operational plans. The proposed National Language Resource Centre was seen as a
central resource repository of advice and information.
The Fiontar report provided four possible scenarios for the proposed new implementation structure: a new independent
structure entitled dars na Gaeilge; a new office within the new Department of the Gaeltacht and Language Affairs; a new
remit with ringfenced funding to be assigned to Foras na Gaeilge; a new remit extended beyond the Gaeltacht, with ringfenced
funding, to be assigned to a restructured dars na Gaeltachta.
STRUCTURES AS PROPOSED IN THE DRAFT 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030
The overall structure proposed in the Draft Strategy differs, in several respects, from that of the Fiontar report, while incorporating
some of its proposals, albeit in different reconfigurations. Where the latter refers to a permanent cabinet committee at the
highest level, the Strategy refers to the cabinet committee on Irish and the Gaeltacht, chaired by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister).
While an existing interdepartmental committee had been set up in the aftermath of the Report on the Linguistic Study of the Use
of Irish in the the Gaeltacht (2007), under the chairmanship of the Taoiseach, it had been understood that any recommendations
of this committee would have been integrated into the Draft Strategy. The committee now put forward may be a restructuring
of the existing one. There is no mention of a programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach nor of a widely representative
advisory committee for this office. However, a senior officials group is envisaged to support the cabinet committee. There is also
a proposal at the end of the Draft Strategy, under Cross-Cutting Initiatives, on setting up a high-level think tank to develop
new approaches to language maintenance and promotion utilising development in the ICT sector. However, such groups
would be established only on an ad hoc basis from time.
In place of the proposed restructured department, the Draft Strategy clearly states:
There will continue to be a senior Minister and a Government Department (the Department of Community, Rural
and Gaeltacht Affairs) with central responsibility for Irish language affairs.
It is in this department that both planning and implementation functions will reside, in a designated Strategy unit with
dedicated staff. Specialist staff, having the types of expertise outlined by Fiontar for the programme office in the Department
of the Taoiseach, may be seconded as required for specific tasks. The responsibilities of the unit include general oversight of the
planning process, monitoring the development of resources and assigning duties and implementation roles to implementation
agencies. Evaluations may be commissioned by the unit from existing agencies or from the private sector (which does not rule
out the possibilities advised by Fiontar).
Of the four scenarios recommended by the Fiontar team for the main implementation agency, the Draft Strategy
amalgamates two by proposing the establishment of dars na Gaeilge (Authority for the Irish Language) with a nationwide remit through restructuring the existing dars na Gaeltachta (Authority for the Gaeltacht regions). In addition, the
Department while retaining responsibility might devolve certain of its own Gaeltacht functions to this new body. The new
structure would have its headquarters in the Gaeltacht and would be run by a board similar to that of the existing dars na
Gaeltachta, that is elected representatives and appointed members. Legislation would be required to give statutory status to the
new body. Since the proposed agency would operate nation-wide, it would appear that new election arrangements would be
required to represent all sectors of pobail na Gaeilge (Irish language communities). Clear delineation of functions between the
new Authority and Foras na Gaeilge would also be of some consequence. Perhaps in order to offset somewhat the subsuming
of dars na Gaeltachta an agency dedicated solely to Gaeltacht affairs as well as to assuage political sensitivities among
Gaeltacht public representatives, the Strategy proposes a parallel Gaeltacht Advisory Committee. This structure would comprise
elected dars na Gaeilge and local authority members with the function of advising on Gaeltacht matters. It is doubtful if an
advisory function would rank in importance with policy functions in the minds of those most concerned.
Foras na Gaeilge is quoted as a key element of the support structure for the language in both parts of the island and its
functions are stated as: supportive projects and grant-aiding bodies and groups; terminologies and dictionaries; supporting
Irish-medium education and the teaching of Irish on the island; facilitating and encouraging the use of the language in public
and private life.
Four areas in particular drew argument with regard to these proposed structural arrangements:
- the siting of the programme office versus the strategy unit;
- the removal of and change in dars na Gaeltachta and the subsequent lack of a specific support structure for
the Gaeltacht itself;
- the lack of more precise delineation of functions, particularly with regard to the operations and funding of the
voluntary sector, between the proposed dars na Gaeilge with a nation-wide remit and the existing Foras na
Gaeilge with an all-island remit;
- what was perceived as non-separation of planning, implementation and evaluation in the proposed departmental
unit, as opposed to the independence of the evaluation proposals in the Fiontar report.
STRUCTURES AS PROPOSED IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030
(FINAL, DECEMBER 2010)
On foot of the public consultation process on the Draft Strategy (published on 29 November 2009) and the report issued by
the relevant Oireachtas Committee (July 2010), some changes appeared in the final version of the Strategy document approved
by Cabinet and launched by the then Taoiseach in December 2010. Among these were:
- while the phases of the Strategy over its lifespan remain, they are no longer quoted in years;
- more emphasis throughout on the fragile state of the language in its heartland (The Vision; Policy Context;
Specific Objectives increase of 25% daily speakers; Curriculum for Teaching of Irish; Higher-Level Education;
Education in the Gaeltacht promotion of immersion as national policy);
- the renaming of the originally proposed dars na Gaeilge as dars na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta;
- clear statement that the body will retain its current enterprise function and omission therefore of sentence in
Draft precluding transfer of any existing functions to other agencies;
- omission now of the Gaeltacht Advisory Committee proposed for the previous dars na Gaeilge;
- a key role in implementation for COGG (Council for Irish-medium and Gaeltacht education) together with the
- *establishment of a high-level group for education representative of the various stakeholders including An
tdars;
- classes, activities, atmosphere of promotion of Irish in higher-level education; responding to the increased
demand for Irish-medium schooling at both primary and postprimary levels across the country;
- reference to information and support in language transmission for parents;
- in reference to increasing the cohort of functional bilingual public servants, the Department of Finance (under
whose remit had been the training agency Gaeleagras) is tasked with devising appropriate arrangements in place
of the Department of Education and Science;
- 2011 is cited for the completion of the ongoing review of the Official Standard for Irish.
*Under the succeeding Coalition, in reply to a parliamentary question from a Sinn Fin deputy on 22 June 2011, the Minister
for Education and Skills pointed out that his department was in constant contact with the parties which would form the
high-level group. The group would be convened when the overall outline of the implementation timetable for the Strategy was
available. A similar reply was made by the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs in the Dil on 18 October 2011.
STRUCTURES AS DECIDED IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030:
CHANGES (FINAL, 3 JUNE 2011)
On 3 June 2011, under a new Coalition and following on Government decisions of 31 May, some further changes took place,
particularly for An tdars and implementation structures. The future of dars na Gaeltachta is set down in the following
section of the official statement of 3 June 2011.
dars na Gaeltachta
The status quo will be maintained regarding the current functions of dars na Gaeltachta, including its enterprise
(a) statutory provision to enable the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to direct dars na Gaeltachta to
focus its limited resources towards specific enterprise sectors; and
Provision will be made under the Gaeltacht Bill to significantly reduce the Board of dars na Gaeltachta and to end
While this decision was generally welcomed as dispelling existing uncertainty, the type of mechanism for cooperation with
other State enterprise agencies (as signalled several years previously) is significant and will require discussion.
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will retain primary responsibility for matters concerning the
Irish language, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht.
Foras na Gaeilge will continue to fulfil its responsibilities on an all-island basis as an agency of the North South
The Department, in partnership with relevant State bodies, will be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy
outside the Gaeltacht. The potential for Foras na Gaeilge to deliver certain elements of the Strategy, on an agreed basis,
will be explored.
to the rest of the country either as dars na Gaeilge (Draft Strategy, November 2009) or as dars na Gaeilge agus na
Gaeltachta (Final version launched by the Taoiseach, December 2010), or indeed as dars na Gaeltachta/na Gaeilge, with the
two elements in reverse order, as desired by some Irish speakers, and as envisaged in the Report on the Draft Strategy from
the Joint Oireachtas Committee (July, 2010). While precise functions are still to be clarified, a slightly more defined rle
may now be envisaged for Foras na Gaeilge. The Department, however, in all cases, retains primary responsibility, although
implementation in partnership with relevant State bodies appears to apply to outside the Gaeltacht. It was the view of the
Minister of State that:
These Government decisions will ensure that existing structures will be used to deliver the Strategy and that the
functions of the key stakeholders with responsibility for implementing the Strategy, both within and outside of the
Gaeltacht, will be clearly defined.
There was no specific reference to the role of the Voluntary Sector in delivery, as had occurred in other sectors, unless the sector
is included under funding bodies, either dars na Gaeltachta or Foras na Gaeilge. Interestingly, neither is precise distinction of
rles made in relation to the possible future operation of dars na Gaeltachta in new urban-type Gaeltacht settings.
Reaction to the June 2011 changes

Objections to the June announcement from the incoming Coalition both from the former minister and the Irish lobby centred
on the following areas:
- diminution of the democratic element with the ending of elections to dars na Gaeltachta and the possibility
of unsuitable appointments out of touch with local communities;
- continued involvement of a possibly unsympathetic administration in Northern Ireland in policy and in funding
- the possibility of dars na Gaeltachta becoming swamped in the new arrangement with larger State enterprise
agencies.
However, departmental agreement to finally appoint a chief executive to An tdars was welcomed. This announcement was
made simultaneously with the changes to the Strategy. The post had not been filled for some time, a situation which had caused
concern with regard to the future of the body.
Further developments October 2011

In response to Dil questions on 18 October 2011, the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs referred to developments to date:
- arising out of Government decisions of 31 May 2011 (announced 3 June), the heads of a new Gaeltacht Bill to
give effect to those decisions had been drafted by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (D/AHG)
to be put before the Government soon and for publication in 2012;
- a 3-year overarching implementation plan for the Strategy was currently being drafted by the Strategy Unit in
the Department; a consultation process was ongoing with the many interested parties which comprise part of
that implementation plan and early publication of the plan was intended;
- three high-level groups had been established to assist in the formation of this plan: one between the D/AHG
and the DES; another between the D/AHG, dars na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge on the differing areas
of implementation responsibility in the different agencies; the third between the D/AHG, the Department of
Public Expenditure and Reform (D/PER) and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (D/JEI) on
methods of enterprise investment in the Gaeltacht;
- decisions on the resources available for implementation of the Strategy awaited the outcome of the expenditure
review and the departmental estimates process; however, the Government hoped to implement as much as
possible of the Strategy;
- the Cabinet Committee chaired by the Taoiseach had been re-instituted; it had already held two meetings and a
third was planned.
Nevertheless, in response to repeated questioning, a recognised active rle for the Irish-language Voluntary Sector in the
implementation of the Strategy was not made immediately clear (Chapter 7).
STRUCTURES AND ACTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY (2 NOVEMBER 2011)
The Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht issued a press release on 2 November 2011
announcing the publication of his Departments implementation plan for the 20-Year Strategy. This had two aspects: the
main priorities for the year 2011; the preparation of a draft 3-year implementation plan 2012-2014 to be published after
consultation with other key stakeholders.
This was followed by implementation plans from other departments: Education & Skills; Foreign Affairs & Trade; Health;
Children & Youth Affairs; Communications, Energy & Natural Resources; Environment, Community & Local Government;
Justice & Equality; Defence; Public Expenditure & Reform; Department of the Taoiseach.
These are all accessible on departmental websites. They were not met with great enthusiasm from Irish speakers.
OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE MEETINGS ON THE STRATEGY AND RELATED MATTERS (MARCH 2014)
More than 2 years after this announcement from the Minister of State, the concern of Irish speakers was confirmed following
the appearance of the Minister before the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the Strategy and Related Matters. The promised
Strategic Unit within the department had not yet been established, for example. Nevertheless, the Minister considered that
satisfactory progress had been made in a difficult economic climate.
On the previous day, the Minister of State had spoken before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and
Petitions on issues raised by the retiring Coimisinir Teanga, particularly delay with language schemes among public bodies, a
matter for which the department holds legal responsibility.
SUMMARY ON LEGISLATIVE AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION (2007 ONWARD)

Probably the most salient factors arising from the foregoing chapters are firstly, the attempt to provide some inclusive overarching approach, through what was termed a Strategy rather than a Plan, towards reaching a critical mass of daily speakers by
2030 of a kind that would ensure the future of Irish. Secondly, there is an underlying implicit if unstated belief that this critical
mass, if reached, would most likely comprise networks of speakers even in Gaeltacht areas, rather than communities.
The third point to be noted is what appeared to current speakers and to the Irish lobby to be the lack of urgency in
embarking on the task. Instead, in 2011-2012, a period of inaction interspersed with various announcements on changes to
the Strategy ensued, accompanied by delays which caused uncertainty (e.g. future of An tdars, appointment of CEO to
the agency, decision on board members) and funding decisions by Foras na Gaeilge in relation to the Voluntary Sector which
appeared to curtail the independence and breadth of activity on the ground of organisations whose work at that level would be
crucial to the success of the official Strategy.
Lack of momentum and even of information as well as lack of follow-up appeared to many to arise from political
disagreement on the way forward rather than from the evident lack of financial resources. Enthusiasm waned on all sides. It
will not be easily retrieved given the atmosphere engendered by uncertainty and ambivalence. Absence of commitment to the
language, or understanding of its rle in society, on the part of the Government as a whole was feared by the Irish lobby, despite
the evident zeal of some. This was further reinforced by three legislative changes to the Official Languages Act 2003 which were
considered to have weakened its import and reduced the status of the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga. More significant still was
the delay of the Department responsible in seeking or confirming language schemes so vital to the functioning of the Act and
to the authority of the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga, as was put before the relevant Oireachtas Committee by An Coimisinir.
Fourthly, while a degree of legislative legitimacy was given to the concept of local language planning through the Gaeltacht
Act 2012, it was almost simultaneously negated by the bestowing of chief responsibility for this onto local voluntary groups,
whether in the Gaeltacht, in Gaeltacht towns or in places outside the Gaeltacht. The same Act appeared to place the obligation
for language maintenance squarely on speakers and community with no more than an authoritative inspection rle with
regard to their efforts by the Department and an assistive rle for the State agencies, An tdars and Foras na Gaeilge, three
entities whose task is, in fact, inter alia, language maintenance and development. It is not clear whether these bodies also will
participate in the language planning courses proposed for the voluntary planning groups in the Gaeltacht Areas.
Fifthly, while the Strategy was top-down and the local plans bottom-up, the rle of State agencies (including Education) in
providing services to citizens is lacking in the criteria accompanying the Priseas Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Process).
Finally, in place of collaborative planning and effort by State and community, a new more dictatorial official policy appears
to have been fostered by the cost cutting demands of the new fiscal reality, a policy that may to its cost be ignoring not
only the insights of those more intimately engaged with language in society but the benefits of equal collaborative democratic
structures.
A quite elaborate structure (committees, unit, staff) has been put in place to ensure delivery of the Strategy. Unfortunately,
their deliberations have not been made available to the various actors on the ground.
LEGAL SYSTEM, POLICE AND DEFENCE

LEGAL SYSTEM: COMPETENCE AND SERVICE IN IRISH
Training and translation

The long-established Honorable (spelling sic) Society of Kings Inns offered several new courses with some funding from the
Department with responsibility for the language, to help cater for vacancies and opportunities at home and in the EU. In July
2010, Kings Inns advertised for, and later appointed a Course Coordinator for these new part-time courses which included:
Ardchrsa sa Dltheangeoaocht agus san Aistrichn Dlthiil (advanced Lawyer-Linguist and Legal Translation Course)
The EU has a dearth of lawyer-linguists for Irish.
Ardchrsa san Aistrichn Dlthiil (Advanced Legal Translation Course)
Ardchrsa sa Dl-Chleachtadh tr Ghaeilge (Advanced Course in Legal Practice through Irish)
This third course arises out of changes in the law governing the qualifications system for both solicitors and barristers in
the Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Act 2008.
The courses were first advertised for the period from January to July 2011 preceded by a qualifying examination for
prospective candidates in December 2010. A preparatory course was also advertised for intending applicants. They continue on
a yearly basis as competent Irish language lawyers continue to be required in legal matters at home and in the EU as translators.
As an education institution for law practitioners (barristers-at-law) established in Ireland by Henry the Eighth in 1541
(some 50 years before TCD in 1592), the Honorable Society of Kings Inns and its Benchers had their own rules regarding
that education. An Irish-language version of those rules is now available having been presented to the Society by a graduate of
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG).
Two intensive 6-week courses, free of fees, in the translation of legal and other state documents, were organised during
2010 by the Gaeltacht-based translation company, Europus, in conjunction with Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. It was
funded by the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs.
The branch of Conradh na Gaeilge representing legal practitioners, Craobh na gCeithre Cirteanna (Four Courts Branch)
has extended its free legal advice from Dublin to Galway and Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal.
A review of court services in Irish saw the end of some local rural court sittings, the closure of some courthouses and an
end to certain services. In the west, in mid 2013 the district court area of Spiddal was amalgamated with that of Derrynea.
In addition, services through Irish (licences etc) at Derrynea were transferred to Galway City and some court cases had to be
postponed until services through Irish were made available.
Development of the use of Irish in the Garda Sochna and the Defence Forces had been one of the 13 objectives of the 2006
Government Statement. The Strategy points to the symbolic importance of both in the life of the nation and to the services
they are required to provide, in the case of garda particularly in the Gaeltacht. Since both come within the Official Languages
Act, current language schemes will continue to be further developed in the context of the Gaeltacht and Irish-speaking units.
The Language Schemes of both An Garda and glaigh na hireann are desribed in the next sections as examples of the
importance of such schemes in retaining and developing the use of Irish and the risks associated with allowing such an integral
part of the Official Languages Act be in any way affected by departmental delay.
AN GARDA SOCHNA (POLICE)

The bilingual leaflet, An Ghaeilge sa Chirt (Irish in Court), issued by the office of An Coimisinir, sets out clearly the rights of
those who wish to use Irish in court, as set out in the Official Languages Act 2003. It also refers to the Irish language rights of
the citizen if arrested. It is stated in the language scheme of An Garda Sochna that the person has a legal entitlement to have
their business conducted in Irish.
Additionally, under the provisions of the Garda Schna Act 2005, in Section 33 (2), the Garda Commissioner must
ensure, as far as possible, that members of the force in Gaeltacht areas should be competent to carry out their duties in Irish.
This has not always occurred, but a caveat to cover it has been included in the provision to the extent practicable.
The Garda Commissioner shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that members of the Garda Sochna stationed in a
District that includes a Gaeltacht area are sufficiently competent in the Irish language to enable them to use it with
facility in carrying out their duties.
Lmhleabhar Gaeilge an Gharda Sochna is a useful handbook of appropriate terminology for the sector.
There is, however, a decrease in the number of Garda for various reasons: retirement and suspension of recruitment;
those proposing to take early retirement; the possibility that up to 200 small Garda stations (some with a single part-time
officer) could be closed. By September 2011, numbers had fallen by some 500 to in the region of 14,000 overall. The Garda
Commissioner, anticipating future retirements at the top, was already planning ahead.
An Garda embarked on its second Irish Language Scheme in October 2012 when it sought public input into its preparation.
The Scheme for 2009-2012 took cognisance of Article 8 of the Irish Constitution, the Official Languages Act 2003 and,
interestingly, the Supreme Court ruling in the Beolin case, (above). Also mentioned is Coiste Gaeilge an Gharda Sochna,
a voluntary Garda committee, which promotes the use of Irish in An Garda Sochna. Reference is made to the fact that An
Garda Sochna, since its inception in 1922, has endeavoured to provide a quality service in Irish, as required, to the public
we serve and to the existing policy, A Strategy for the Irish Language in An Garda Sochna (1998). This latter policy covered
personnel, telephone calls and correspondence, particularly in Gaeltacht stations (for which service a special allowance was
available) and a more informal service outside the Gaeltacht. An enhanced policy in these areas was envisaged in the Scheme:
- All personnel being allocated to Stations in the Gaeltacht will have the necessary qualifications in Irish.

Timeframe for completion: From the commencement of this Scheme.
Persons already based in these areas will be offered an opportunity to obtain the necessary qualifications in Irish.
Timeframe for completion: End of this Scheme

In compliance with Section 13 (2) (e) of the Official Languages Act 2003, arrangements will be put in place to
ensure the Irish language becomes the working language of every Garda Station in a Gaeltacht area.
Timeframe for completion: End of second Scheme.
An Garda has the services of Ranng na Gaeilge (Irish Language Section) in the Garda College which provides assistance to the
organisation in dealing with Irish language matters. These may include:
research and translation services for statements, reports, legal charges and other various documents requiring
translation into the Irish language.
- An English/Irish dictionary of specialist and legal terminology used by Garda has been issued for the organisation.
Computer generated official forms are translated into the Irish language.
An externally contracted Irish translation service is also available to the Garda organisation.
On training, the Irish language is retained as part of the core programme for Garda Student/Probationer training and the
Oral Irish Proficiency Test moved to Phase I of the Student Probationer training programme to facilitate the proportionate
allocation of Irish speaking Probationer Garda throughout the country.
Implementation and monitoring remains the responsibility of the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Strategy and Change
Management, who will chair the Irish Language Policy Implementation Committee. The membership of this high powered
Committee includes
- Deputy Commissioner, Strategy & Change Management Chairperson
- Assistant Commissioner, Human Resource Management
- Assistant Commissioner, Strategy & Training

- Assistant Principal, Human Resource Management
- Representative from Foras na Gaeilge.
The chain of responsibility for implementation is clear:
- Each Assistant Commissioner will be responsible for implementation of the Scheme in their respective areas.
- Each Regional Inspector will act as the Irish Language Liaison Officer for Their respective Region or Section.
- Each Divisional Officer will nominate an Inspector to co-ordinate the implementation at Divisional level, and
to monitor achievements against the specific commitments set down in this scheme, and report to the Regional
Irish Language Liaison Officer.
- The function of the Liaison Officers is to assist with the structured implementation of this Scheme as directed
by the Irish Language Policy Implementation Committee.
- The Irish Language Policy Implementation Committee will ensure through briefings and newsletters that all staff
within the organisation are aware of the commitments contained in the agreed scheme.
An annual review of progress is the task of Human Resource Management for presentation to the Irish Language Policy
Implementation Committee while the Garda Commissioner will report in the Garda Annual Report on performance against
commitments in the scheme.
The real importance of Schemes lies, of course, in their communication, active acceptance and implementation. Motivation
could be affected by current official policy on removing traditional allowances, including that for service by garda in Gaeltacht areas.
In March 2013, it was announced that a certain number of places would be reserved in the Garda Training College for recruits with
fluent Irish. A fairly similar quota approach for the Civil Service was later announced to replace the bonus scheme.
GLAIGH NA HIREANN (DEFENCE FORCES)
Restructuring and reduction policies also affected the Defence Forces, particularly Army Brigades and Barracks. By June 2012,
following several closures, official plans were to have two Brigades, the Eastern and the Southern, and to disband the Western
Brigade. All such changes could affect the use of the Irish language. Nevertheless, the second Language Scheme of the Forces
was prepared for the period 2010-2013 and commitments there have not been rescinded. Comhairle na Gaeilge (Irish Council),
representative of the various sections of the Forces, is responsible for Irish within the Forces.
The Defence Forces Language Council (Comhairle na Gaeilge glaigh na hireann) was established under Para 202
of Administrative Instruction A8 Chapter 5. It is responsible for all matters pertaining to the Irish language and Irish
culture and must advise the Chief of Staff accordingly. The Comhairle comprises representative from each Brigade,
the Defence Forces Training Centre, the Air Corps and the Naval Service. The senior Irish Language Officer acts as
Chairman.
The long tradition of engagement with the language in the Defence Forces is described thus:
The visible signs of this tradition can be seen in the practice of delivering words of command through Irish, the
existence of a designated Irish speaking unit, the First Infantry Battalion in Galway, the availability of an English-Irish
dictionary of military terms as well as strong support for the language amongst the forces generally.
With regard to the first Scheme (2007-2010), it is considered that:
A broad range of objectives was establishedto serve the members of the organisation itself and the public in general. The
majority of the undertakings were fulfilled and a system was established whereby basic services through Irish were offered.
The main services provided in the first scheme were:
- A bilingual website.
- An Irish language version of application forms for internal use.
- The publication of advertisements, signs, press releases, recruitment booklets and other documents in bilingual form.
- The appointment of officers with Irish language capabilities to the areas involved in contact with the public.
Among the commitments of the second Scheme (2010-2013) are the following:
- The 1st Infantry Battalion will continue to be supported and preserved as an Irish speaking unit. Each
commander of the battalion places an emphasis on the language and Irish is used as the working language of
the barracks on a daily basis in as far as is possible.
- Personnel will be selected to undertake Irish language courses in recognised colleges. At present three are
attending an intensive grammar course in preparation for a third level course in the coming year. These will be
appointed as Irish Language officers in the future.
- An Irish summer camp is organised each year in Dn U Mhaoilosa, Galway. Over fifty personnel normally
attend. The programme is based on language classes in ras U Chadhain in Carraroe under the direction of
Acadamh na hOllscoilaochta Gaeilge, NUIG as well as cultural activities in the surrounding Gaeltacht area.
- Personnel interested in the language will be encouraged to attend Irish language courses.
- Members of the Defence Forces who wish to improve their capability in Irish will be supported by the provision
of Irish grammar books and dictionaries and the provision of advice on the facilities available online.
Interestingly, all career courses will include lectures on Irish and language awareness. Reorganisation receives mention in
relation to the Gaeltacht:
Due to the reorganisation of the Reserve Defence Forces there is only one unit of the Reserve located in the Gaeltacht,
that is, An Cheathr Rua. The process of ensuring that Irish will be the working language in this unit by 2012 will
continue.
In addition, An Chomhairle Gaeilge will continually review the workings of the scheme. A report on the results of this
monitoring will be sent to the Chief of Staff at the end of each year.
Nevertheless, letters appeared in the press in January 2014 pointing to the gradual erosion of traditional uses of Irish in the
Defence Forces. These included non-use of glaigh na hireann and its replacement by Army; use of Navy in other instances;
the FCA (Frsa Cosanta itiil) renamed Army Reserve and An Slua Muir as Naval Reserve.
PLANNING FOR A BILINGUAL PUBLIC SERVICE

Clearly, a bilingual public service is dependent on the language facility of civil service and public sector staff, as An Coimisinir
Teanga keeps reiterating. This language competence includes both languages. It means recruitment, language training, language
awareness policies and a planned consistent systematic approach to overcoming problems. There is general agreement that,
whatever the perceived faults in the then existing language policy for civil service personnel, the changes proficiency in either
Irish or English on recruitment; bonus marks based on oral and written examination in Irish for promotion introduced by
the Fine Gael government in 1975 did not result in any improvements with regard to ensuring a functionally bilingual public
service. Neither did the changes agreed in 1990 between the Public Service Executive Union and the then Inter-Departmental
Committee on the Use of Irish within the Civil Service: 10% existing bonus for an indefinite term reduced to 6% and
thereafter to 3% for defined periods accompanied by retesting, although without these bonuses the situation would probably
have been much worse. The basic problem may have been the emphasis on a sole aspect, competence among personnel, when
a more comprehensive and active policy was required to engender public confidence in the use of services through Irish. As
detailed below and in other sections, this is now the approach advocated, both in the schemes under the Official Languages
Act 2003 and in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish.
Nevertheless, pending active operation of the 20-Year Strategy, some problems remain. A legal challenge was brought in
the High Court in late 2010 by a civil servant on the basis that she did not receive the 6% bonus marks for Irish when applying
for a post in Brussels. Her case was upheld and she was awarded over 28,000. The State was apparently planning an appeal to
the Supreme Court on the judgment.
In his Annual Report for 2008, An Coimisinir Teanga advocated a rebalancing action for civil service and public service
staffing in order to ensure a quota of staff competent to deliver services in Irish to the public. This had been the approach
to positive discrimination advocated by the Patten Report to ensure cross-community participation in the Police Service of
Northern Ireland (PSNI). In an address at Tralee Institute of Technology (late November 2010), An Coimisinir referred to
the scandal of lack of personnel to deliver public services through Irish. A (then) recent survey within the Department of
Education and Skills had found that the 3% of staff competent to deal with the public through Irish in 2005 had fallen to
1.5%, leaving 98.5% unable to do so.
As detailed above, up to his stepping down in February 2014 due to lack of State action on this essential aspect of
interaction between State and citizens, An Coimisinir Teanga continued his trenchant analyses of the dire situation. On
3 September 2013, at the launch of Coliste na hireann, he had used research to show what could be described as the
pretence behind this State language policy. He saw no progress in the October 2013 announcement by the Minister for Public
Expenditure and Reform on the acceptance by Government of that Ministers proposal to discontinue the bonus points system
on the grounds that (i) it was an anomaly and (ii) it had not worked and (iii) there were better means of ensuring public
servants with sufficient proficiency to serve the Gaeltacht or to work in areas where a good standard of Irish was necessary.
These better means were not made available beyond the new proposed system to set aside a quota of 6% of recruitment
panels in the Civil Service for new employees with Irish, a system considered inadequate by language organisations particularly
in relation to the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. An Coimisinir commented that the former system did not
work as it was never implemented and that this too would fail and lead to compulsory English. He asked for a review of the
new proposal when amendments to An tAcht Teanga were being debated as an aspect basic to the working of the Act.
In a section headed Measures for Irish in Public Service, the Strategy refers to the need (highlighted on several occasions by An
Coimisinir Teanga) for a higher proportion of public service personnel to be functional in Irish to the degree that they can
offer services bilingually. Three measures are proposed to try to reach this level:
- the Department of Finance and the Public Appointments Service, over time given present constraints on
recruitment, will devise appropriate arrangements to increase the cohort who are functional bilinguals;
- an accredited qualification will be designed a National Diploma in Bilingualism and Language Practice;
- in future, language schemes prepared under the requirements of the Official Languages Act will specify the posts
for which Irish language competence is necessary.
So far (late 2012), these remain proposals.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ON A BILINGUAL PUBLIC SERVICE IN THE FIONTAR REPORT
Strategic policy requirement

The Fiontar approach to specifying posts is stronger; it recommends a policy requirement in favour of competent bilinguals in
those departments and agencies where routine demand exists for bilingual services. Such an approach would, probably, require
negotiation with the relevant trade unions.

The Fiontar report also recommended a system of language advocates or mentors, trained professionals working as capacity
and confidence builders within organisations, whether at local, county or specific sector level.
GAELEAGRAS NA SEIRBHSE POIBL
Another possible threat to services in Irish arose from the planned re-organisation of some national and local bodies, see below
under Funding. However, a more immediate threat to ensuring ongoing competence in the public service was the unexpected
planned closure of the internal support structure, Gaeleagras na Seirbhse Poibl (1972) announced in late 2010. In reply to a
parliamentary question on the matter in November 2010, the Minister for Finance gave the following information. The Civil
Service Training and Development Centre is located in the Department of Finance. Language training within the Centre is
offered by two bodies: Gaeleagras for Irish and the Language Centre for other languages. The Language Centre offers courses
to civil servants, including members of An Garda Sochana and the Defence Forces, in a range of languages: French. German,
Italian, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Standard Mandarin and Irish Sign Language. A translation service is also provided. Total
expenditure on teaching costs (administrative and incidental costs excluded), including staff seconded from the Department
of Education and Skills, was as follows:
Civil Service Language Centre Teaching Costs 2005 02 November 2010

Year
Expenditure
Year
Secondments
2005
204,597.99
2004/05
145,570.30
2006
236,446.41
2005/06
154,477.90
2007
233.812.83
2006/07
75,007.00
2008
287,619.21
2009
262,498.07
2010 (to date)
213,314.17
For Gaeleagras, expenditure costs were as follows:
Gaeleagras, Costas Teaching & Provision of Services 2005 02 November 2010

Year
Expenditure
2005
428,895
2006
444,691
2007
464,349
2008
424,865
2009
413,430
2010 (to date)
206,829
The Minister described the function and services in these terms:

Gaeleagras delivers training in the Irish Language to civil servants to enable Departments to meet their obligations
under the Official Languages Act, 2003. It provides accredited Irish Language coursesand specialised in-house
training to Departments and Offices. In addition, Gaeleagras organises a number of scholarship programmes each
year in Gaeltacht areas; it provides a confidential translation service for this Department [Finance] and a translation
service for official publications. It is also responsible for the Irish Proficiency Test throughout the wider civil service.
The decrease in expenditure in 2010 is apparently attributable to a lesser number of the scholarship Gaeltacht programmes
being organised, in line with Government requests on reductions across all areas.
The remit of Gaeleagras was very wide. While there exist other external providers of similar type services, scholarships
excepted, the Irish community were concerned that the State was now apparently removing an internal comprehensive Statewide support structure and asked for the full reinstatement of Gaeleagras-type State-supported training for civil servants.
While teaching classes were suspended and the retiring Stirthir (Director) was not replaced, some examinations had to be
conducted to ensure equity. The entity appeared to be still in limbo in September 2011. However, in late 2011, a document
from the new Department of Public Expenditure and Reform carried the information that Gaeleagras was in orderly wind
down. No mention was made of any alternative arrangement. Perhaps this awaited implementation of the 20-Year Strategy
or the results of the review on the Official Languages Act. Another support structure appeared to be in, at the least, abeyance.
However, Foras na Gaeilge stepped into the breach and awarded a three-year contract to provide specialist Irish language
courses to the public sector for the 2011-2014 period, (North South Ministerial Council Joint Communiqu, 14 February
2012). In fact, at its board meeting of 14 April 2011, An Foras had accepted the recommendation of its Grants Committee and
agreed a sum not more than 200,000 over three years for a new scheme titled scheme for providers of specialist Irish courses
to the public sector. Media reports in April 2012 on members and staff of the Oireachtas taking language classes revealed the
following, inter alia. Up to 31 staff members and 16 Deputies were taking the Irish classes provided; cost was under 3,000.
More Deputies took Irish than took French classes.
Official information on language proficiency for civil service candidates and personnel was available at
www.codpearsanra.gov.ie. There were three possibilities to establish bilingual proficiency: By passing:
For prospective candidates Recruitment.
The Optional Language Test run by the Public Appointments Service (if successful, 6% extra marks of total acquired
on recruitment).
For existing civil servants Promotion.
Gaeleagras Triail Innilachta (Proficiency Test).
Attending a Gaeleagras couse leading to a certificate of competence.
In the latter two cases concerning internal promotional competitions, civil servants who acquired proficiency in the 5 years prior
to the date of the competition are entitled to the 6% extra marks; if acquired between 5 and 10 years previously, it falls to 3%.
Here, as elsewhere, the issue of competence versus actual use arises. Acquiring competence is one matter, being given
opportunities to use (and so increase) that competence professionally within the work sphere on a planned basis is quite
another matter. A more comprehensive policy appeared to be required.
In offering a positive solution to the dearth of people in the Civil Service able to offer service in Irish, An Coimisinir
suggested, in the context of the 20-Year Strategy, that a system of positive discrimination apply for a number of years in an
effort to reach some equilibrium. A similar system was suggested (Patten Report) with regard to the Police Service of Northern
Ireland (PSNI), to ensure candidates from both the unionist and nationalist communities. The following quote from an
address given by An Coimisinir at the Tralee Institute of Technology in late November 2010, perhaps gives the reason for the
necessity of such a policy:
I am not in any way making a case for a return to compulsory Irish for employees of the State, but neither do I believe
it is acceptable [that] compulsory English is forced on the public in their dealings with the State.
On 20 February 2013, the Minister of State at the D/AHG announced the signing of a Service Level Agreement on the issue
between the D/AHG and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This agreement was for:
the provision of Irish language training and proficiency testing for the civil service and certain public service
organisations.
Under the agreement, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will be responsible for ensuring the provision
of Irish language training programmes and proficiency testing are sufficient to meet organisational requirements.
The Minister of State explained the purpose and importance of the agreement as being:
to support staff in developing their proficiency in the Irish language and to enhance the capacity of the civil service
and other bodies to provide services to the public through Irish[and as being] particularly important in the context
of the Official Languages Act 2003 and the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030.
In the event, a new proposal (as detailed above) on a 6% quota of new entrants with Irish to replace the existing system
was accepted by Government in October 2013.
TECHNOLOGY AND PUBLIC SERVICE
Postcodes
On the subject of national postcodes, no less than five reports were issued from 2005 onwards, the first from the communications
regulator, ComReg. Irish speakers were wary of the idea, fearing that the heritage of national placenames would eventually be
replaced. In September 2009, the then Minister for Communications announced that a national postcode system was to be
introduced in 2010, based on numbers and letters (the ABC-123 system). Plans were, however, shelved and tendering did not
take place, although discussion continued at political level. In April 2010, an Oireachtas report advised in favour of the digital
location system. In July 2010, a private company produced such a system in advance of the liberalisation of the postal market
planned to come into operation in 2012. It was funded by private investment and also by the official agency, Enterprise Ireland.
The mapping technology used was from Ordnance Survey Ireland and Land & Property Services Northern Ireland.
In early January 2011, the previous Cabinet agreed to a tendering process to procure contracts. The project costs were
estimated at up to 15 million. At the time, the project envisaged had elements of both systems under discussion, being
primarily the ABC-123 system but refined by a location model based on a defined number of post towns which would
pinpoint exact locations in the locality of these post towns.
The concerns of Irish speakers that the letters to be used should be based on the Irish language version of post towns
were addressed to some extent. The then Minister recommended that the use of Irish versions take precedence certainly in
the Gaeltacht, and elsewhere also except in the case of major differences between the two language versions. How this might
actually work out was not entirely clear. In the event, political upheavals caused the matter to be put into abeyance at the time.
No decision had been taken by late September 2011.
In fact, numerical postal codes are currently in use only in the capital, added by area to the full address after Dublin.
Apparently, the Republic of Ireland is the sole EU or OECD state that does not have a national postcode system. An Post,
the national postal system, was not entirely convinced that more changes were required given the system updating that it had
already put in place.
Computer software nowadays is generally regarded as being capable of handling any language, including diacritical marks.
However, in his Annual Report for 2008, An Coimisinir Teanga gave details of an investigation conducted into a specific issue
with the Department of Social and Family Affairs, which had a language scheme in effect since 1st June 2007. Complaints were
made that the length mark (sneadh fada) was being removed on the names and surnames in Irish of newly registered children.
While the particular system in use was Irish-capable, the department explained that difficulties arose when information was
being shared with other internal systems. These difficulties would be resolved as phasing out of the incompatible systems went
ahead. Nevertheless, the findings were, inter alia, that contravention had occurred, that the cited problem should be rectified
and the complainants so informed.
The Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act of August 2011 did not deal with the issue of postcodes.
Eventually, on 8 October 2013 the Government approved the award of a 16m tender for the development of a unique
7-digit postcode for every premises in the State by 2015. Existing postal codes for Dublin city will remain. Use of the new
postcodes need not necessarily preclude simultaneous use of the full Irish form of addresses. However, in the examples given,
it appeared that the letters used in the postodes would reflect the English form of city or town names.
IRISH LANGUAGE OFFICERS, SCHEMES AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE

The number of posts as Irish Language Officers tends to change and will probably change more in the future with cutbacks and
amalgamations and particularly with reduction in the number of local authorities.
Local authorities and the health service are reported separately below.
Government Departments
Approximately half of the fifteen Government Departments had a designated Irish Language Officer: Department of the
Taoiseach, Education, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Communications, Transport and Agriculture. By end 2010, of all Schemes
confirmed, An Coimisinir reported the (then) 15 departments (and the Office of the President) as having schemes in place.
However, review was required in view of changed functions in some instances on foot of changes introduced by the Coalition
Government of March 2011.
Public Bodies
Of the large number of public bodies, twelve have designated Irish Language Officers: RT, An Post, Office of Public Works,
Bord Solthair Leictreachais (ESB, Electricity Supply Board), Bus tha Cliath (Dublin Bus), Bus ireann (national bus service),
An Bord Pleanla (Planning), Na Coimisinir Ioncaim (Revenue Commissioners), glaigh na hireann (Defence Forces),
Promh-Oifig Staidrimh (Central Statistics Office), and two Vocational Education Committees (counties of Dublin and
Galway). There exists a wide range of public bodies. The Official Languages Act covers some 650, including Government
departments and third-level institutions. Schemes are present in many as directed by the Minister. Some, however, have
lapsed and require new ministerial direction. In these instances, the obligations of existing plans remain without development.
Among the bodies having schemes are An Garda Sochana.
Third-level institutions
Of the seven universities, five have designated Officers. Of the other two, University College Cork (UCC) has a very active
Bord na Gaeilge (Irish Language Board) and Dublin City University (DCU) has a business, finance and technology section
functioning entirely through Irish, Fiontar. The colleges of education had numbered five, two large and three smaller
institutions. One of the latter, Froebel College, has now been incorporated into the School of Education in the National
University of Ireland at Maynooth (which has an Officer); one of the large colleges (in Limerick) has its own Officer.
Eleven third-level institutions had confirmed Schemes in place at end 2010: five universities; five institutes of technology, one
of the smaller colleges of education, and also the Higher Education Authority (HEA)..
Local authorities
Up to 20 local authorities (including six of the seven containing Gaeltacht regions) have (2011) a designated Irish Officer,
whether full-time, on contract, part-time, or as additional duties for an existing member of staff.
The Department of the Environment lists 27 county councils (Tipperary having two, north and south ridings); 5 city
councils; 5 borough councils and 75 town councils. Reduction measures planned by the previous administration were
continued and some were published in late June 2011. Limerick City and County Councils will be merged and become a
single authority after the 2014 local elections. This had been the main recommendation of the Brosnan report for the Limerick
Local Government Committee. The Minister with responsibility for local government affairs intended to publish further
proposals for reform in Autumn 2011. Ongoing reform will result, inter alia, in amalgamation of county and city councils
in Limerick and Waterford and in amalgamation of the two ridings in Tipperary. In October 2011, the Minister for the
Environment, speaking at a discussion organised by the Political Studies Association of Ireland, announced that he would be
making a statement in January 2012 on a major reform of local government, part of which would concern the ongoing issue of
local authorities raising and spending money in their own local area. The eventual result of this reform is found further below.
Irish Language Schemes may cover several connected public bodies. In the case of a local authority, the various authorities
within a county may (or may not) be included. From the 2010 annual report of An Coimisinir, it appears that some 33 local
authorities now have a Scheme (whether first or second) in place, 23 encompassing all local authorities within counties. All
seven local authorities with Gaeltacht areas have a scheme in place. Two Boards serving local authorities (IT, Management) also
had Schemes in place.
Some positive examples of Schemes include the following. The second 3-year scheme (in bilingual format) from Kerry
County Council, in effect from 20 October 2010, is a case in point. It takes an articulated approach to its linguistic obligations,
from signage to counter service, from forms and press statements to nominated officers in each department, from staff training
to delivery of services in Irish in the Gaeltacht. This Council also issued its road signage policy bilingually; it includes a
commitment to correct any non-compliant examples of road signage within six months of notification. In Dublin county, the
8-page newsletter of Fingal County Council usually contains one page in Irish. Both Kerry and Fingal have an Irish Language
Officer.
Nevertheless, the overall picture remains patchy as revealed in the annual reports and various audits of the Office of An
Coimisinir Teanga, as outlined above. His recommendations on the review of the Official Languages Act (in the Programme
for a National Government, Introduction, above) also treat these matters.
Answering questions in the Dil on 18 October 2011, the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht made clear that he would be
happy to meet with councillors in local authorities covering Gaeltacht regions.
Health Services
Overall, there are currently (2011) Irish Officers in five areas of the Health Service Executive. The Health Service Executive
comprises four Health Regions to cover the country; these have further subdivisions. Irish is included in the list of the various
languages in use to provide information in brochure and poster form on a range of public health issues. However, changes are
in train for the HSE overall structure. These will have an effect on staff numbers and designation.

In the public health area, general letters on the swine flu vaccine were eventually issued bilingually by the Health Protection
section of the HSE and the (then) Department of Health and Children. Nevertheless, the reports on some issues from An
Coimisinir Teanga (above) reveal problems also. These may be considered acute when put in the context of the size of the
health services. At Tstal 2012, An Coimisinir reported that approximately one of every three in the public service work in the
health services.
Training for Irish Language Officers

Irish Officers receive no specific training. However, the Office of An Coimisinir offers a support and information network
while Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge and Foras na Gaeilge may provide useful seminars. As a group, the Officers made a
submission with regard to the review of the Official Languages Act.
CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
The cultural institutions were all formally allocated to the newly named Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs on
9 March 2011, in the distribution of functions within the new Coalition cabinet.
In April 2010, at a conference in Trinity College Dublin, the participants were informed by a speaker from the National
Archives that, due to lack of space and staff, as well as unsuitable accommodation, the facility was unable to fulfil its statutory
obligations to accept the transfer of archives from all government departments and make them available under the 30-year
rule. At the same conference, disquiet was made clear on the possibility of merging the National Archives with the National
Library, as mooted earlier. Two months later, by mid-2010, the then Taoiseach was announcing that legislation was being
prepared to merge the National Archives, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and the National Library of Ireland in order to
create a new National Library and Archives of Ireland. The then Fine Gael Leader of the Opposition expressed concern that
so many valuable manuscripts were in different locations, some disintegrating. He requested that the holders of such valuable
materials be contacted. The Labour Leader concurred that retention of such documents was essential. By November 2011, the
Fine Gael/Labour Party Coalition included the amalgamation of the National Archives and the National Library in their cull
of existing agencies, a move which led to no small media comment. On 31 October 2012, final decisions on amalgamations
and mergers affecting the cultural institutions were announced. These have been treated above, Location of broadcasting and
other cultural institutions.
The Irish Folklore Commission was established in 1935. It is housed in University College Dublin (UCD). The 75th
anniversary of that event was celebrated in a series of events between April 2010 and April 2011 and the issue of a publication.
Historical comparisons were inevitable given the advances in the technology now available both to record and preserve material,
not only since 1935 but even since 1985 when the Commission commemorated 50 years of invaluable work.
STATE LANGUAGE PLANNING IN THE NEW MILLENIUM

Background
The 20-Year Strategy was first heralded in the Government Statement on the Irish Language of December 2006 and later
incorporated into the National Development Plan 2007 onward published in January 2007. Following a process of public
tender, advertised in Iris Oifigiil (Official Journal), the task of advising the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht
Affairs (DCRGA) in the preparation of the proposed Strategy was awarded in February 2008 to an international expert team
co-ordinated by Fiontar, Dublin City University (DCU). The team consisted of experts in different disciplines from Fiontar
(DCU) and the universities of Cardiff, Geneva and Melbourne, assisted by a project manager/researcher. The policy remit
given to the team was quite specific. It comprised three distinct but related areas on which the Department was to be advised
in the context of the preparation of the 20-Year Strategy: initiatives and proposals that would:
(i) increase the number of daily speakers outside the education system from the current (Census 2006) 72,000 to
250,000 (the critical mass decided by the Minister);
(ii) increase the number of daily speakers in the Gaeltacht since the Gaeltacht was crucial to the overall Strategy;
(iii) increase the numbers using State services through the medium of Irish as well as the numbers who could access
television, radio and print sources through Irish.
Given the importance of public involvement in the process of devising a national language strategy for which community
support is crucial, the Department initiated public consultation. This took the form of a questionnaire (available on a dedicated
website) devised with the collaboration of the Fiontar team, a series of public meetings in various locations throughout the
State, acceptance of individual submissions and meetings of the expert team with key stakeholders. The report of the expert
team was issued by the D/CRGA in November 2009 after the publication of the Government Draft Strategy. It is dated
February 2009. As an advisory document, it would have informed the subsequent planning work of the Department towards
the Draft Strategy which came at the end of 2009. Since the Draft Strategy is a Government document and involves different
departments, the draft prepared by the D/CRGA would have had to be examined and agreed by these departments. While the
Strategy was originally intended to run for the period 2008-2028, delays inevitably occurred with the result that 2030 is now
envisaged as the end point.
Comparison
The Fiontar (DCU) Report
Comparison of the Fiontar report and the Draft Strategy reveal the extent of agreement between the two documents albeit
with some significant differences. It is these points of difference which have attracted most public attention particularly at
the hearing of the Oireachtas (legislature) Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
which took place on 20 January 2010. These issues relating to the possible future structural framework to support the language
have been discussed above in the section on Structural Proposals 2009-2011. Representatives of Irish language bodies,
statutory and voluntary, one from Northern Ireland, were invited to speak and be questioned before the Oireachtas Committee.
The entire proceedings (2.5 hours) were transmitted live by TG4 (one of the participants). A decision was taken at this hearing
to convene another such meeting in the Gaeltacht with Gaeltacht bodies. This was scheduled for 26 February 2010.

The results of the questionnaire prepared by the Fiontar team for the public consultation process fed into their deliberations.
Apart from the two usual sections which begin and end such questionnaires that is general (and often anonymous)
information on the respondent and any other information or comments or, in this case, recommendations there were 8
sections in the Fiontar questionnaire. These included the following topics: education, Irish in the community, youth, the arts,
business and technology, the media, reading, status. The Fiontar report is also structured around the 13 principles outlined in
the Government Statement on the Irish Language of December 2006 and acknowledges the recommendations of the 2007
Report on the Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht and the (then) ongoing consideration of that study by an
interdepartmental committee chaired by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister). The initiatives which the Fiontar report eventually
proposed by domain are grouped under seven headings: education; administration, services and community; media and
technology; official standing; economic life; cross-cutting initiatives and corpus resource planning.
The Fiontar report refers to the systemic approach taken by the team: linkage between the twin aspects of language protection
and language promotion together with the embedding of language processes in the broader context political, economic, social,
and educational. The tool around which the analytic framework is organised centres on the dynamic interrelationship between
the usual trio of ability, use, and attitudes to use accompanied by an attempt to identify the deficiencies in current approaches
with regard to all three aspects. The emphasis not on general attitudes to the language but attitudes to its use is significant. The
Mac Gril and Rhatigan survey (Section 2, Attitudes: Republic of Ireland) also provides a perspective on this aspect.
The 13 principles of the 2006 Government Statement are examined in order to propose both primary and derived
secondary measures to achieve the aims of the Statement; an approach which, the authors forewarn, may lead to listing
deficiencies in current measures or the need for radically changed measures. It is intended that integration of both theory and
proposals should provide a coherent Strategy towards attainment of the required 250,000 daily speakers over the 20-year time
span. While advising that Government policy for the Gaeltacht should be closely aligned to the Strategy proposals, and stating
its own position on the significance of the Gaeltacht to the future of Irish, the Fiontar report does not treat with the Gaeltacht
as a separate issue although clearly many of its proposals are applicable to it.
Interestingly, the Fiontar report also refers to the desirability of the Strategy being complementary to wider language
planning for the development of the communicative resources of the Irish people in a multilingual and globalising world.
The conclusion to the report refers to the rapid and profound change of the present age. It goes on to situate Ireland in an
international focus on languages.
the preservation and promotion of linguistic and cultural diversity is a concern for human societies at all levels,
including that of the European Union where strategies for multilingualism are actively being developed.
Irish is a fully fledged partner in this shared endeavour, in addition to its specific role in the historical context of
Ireland. A future Ireland in which the Irish language is vibrant, widely used and appreciated is one of the greatest
investments that could be made to secure a just, autonomous, distinctive and permanent role for Irish civilisation in
a world experiencing such profound change.
The Government (Draft) Strategy

The policy context for the initial Draft Strategy derives naturally from existing policy, the Constitution and the Government
Statement of 2006 as well as from the national and international significance of the Irish language, historic and current, and
the value now attaching to linguistic diversity especially through the global work of UNESCO, in particular the nine criteria
of linguistic vitality drawn up by that body. These criteria comprise: the absolute number of speakers and their proportion
in the total population; intergenerational transmission; attitudes of the language community towards their own language;
materials for language education and literacy; shifts in domains of use and response to new domains, including media; official
attitudes and policies, comprising official status and use; and type and quality of documentation. The Draft Strategy also draws
extensively on the Fiontar analysis, on the Report on the Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht (2007), and on
the Mac Gril and Rhatigan survey (under Chapter 2, Republic of Ireland: Attitudes, above). It also mentions the relevant
experience of other countries as Wales and the Basque Country in sections of the Strategy.
The objective of Government policy is unequivocally stated under Vision.
The objective of Government policy in relation to Irish is to increase on an incremental basis the use and knowledge of Irish
as a community language. Specifically, the Government aim is to ensure that as many citizens as possible are bilingual in
both Irish and English.
Four other aims are also stated in further refinement of this general statement: increasing family transmission of the
language; supporting the Gaeltacht as a linguistic community; ensuring linguistic choice for the citizen in public service and
discourse (although with the proviso as far as practical) and that more people avail of the services as a result; ensuring the
visibility of Irish in society. The creation of a supportive framework is the overall approach. That people will make a positive
choice to avail of the opportunities to be created is the aspiration.

Interestingly, although the Strategy applies only to the Republic, the governmental position in relation to Irish in Northern
Ireland is clearly stated under Vision: promotion and protection of the language there is also a priority for the Government
and again under Policy Context, where support for the cross-border body, Foras na Gaeilge, is reiterated and the intention to
press for the introduction of a Language Act, inter alia.
Accepting that ability, opportunity and positive attitudes tend to favour use of the language, the Strategy is seen as the
long-term commitment of the Government to a comprehensive and coherent approach to ensuring the future of the language
as a vibrant medium in the education system, in the Gaeltacht, in the political system and in public administration.
The successive phases by which the Strategy is to be implemented follow those proposed by the Fiontar team: establishment
in the first year (2010) through setting up the required structures, including processes of evaluation, identifying resources and
communicating the Strategy itself; followed by three successive phases of increasingly intensive implementation laying the
foundations (2011-12), expanding and deepening (2013-25), consolidating (2026-30). All initiatives would hopefully be
mainstreamed in this final phase. The importance of independent rolling research had been emphasised in the Fiontar report.

As already adverted to, both documents differ in respect of the official supportive framework envisaged for the Strategy and
the location of the evaluation process (Structural Proposals 2009-2011, above and Criticism of the Draft Strategy, below).
They also differ slightly in the current base number of daily speakers outside the education system: Fiontar using the 72,148
figure of Census 2006 and the Strategy quoting approximately 83,000. While the census does distinguish in-school and extraschool speakers, there is also a group of in-school speakers who also use Irish outside the education context. Projections quoted
by Fiontar of possible future incremental growth from the 72,148 baseline, without any intervention or change in current
approaches, are not very encouraging, (Fiontar were working from the original timetable, 2008-2028). The figures serve to
emphasise the urgent need for focussed effective interventions to be commenced as soon as possible.
Year
2006
2010
2016
2022
2028
Speakers
72,148
74,978
80,014
84,428
87,279
The Strategy outlines nine areas for action: education, including education in the Gaeltacht; the Gaeltacht; family transmission;
administration, services and the community; media and technology; dictionaries; legislation and status; economic life and
cross-cutting issues. Apart from a specific emphasis on the Gaeltacht, these broadly mirror the domains outlined in the Fiontar
report. Many of the Fiontar recommendations also appear. At first sight, however, the initiatives proposed in both the Fiontar
report and the Strategy are not new. At the same time, two factors do distinguish the current approach from previous attempts
at language revitalisation: (i) an emphasis on articulated co-ordinated policies across all domains based on rolling research; (ii)
the definitive nature of the language used in the Draft Strategy and the assigning of responsibility for the actions put forward.
This is shown in wording such as:
The Government acknowledgesis awarehas decided; [initiative] will be introducedwill be delivered;
[department/unit responsible] will preparewill be responsible for
Despite such certainty, the Strategy was a Draft Strategy until such time as it had gone through the various processes of official
and public consultation, underwent revision in the process, and was finally accepted by Government for implementation. It
is of note that the proposals of neither the Fiontar report nor the Draft Strategy were minutely costed; costing was not asked
of the Fiontar team. Nevertheless, the identification and allocation of the requisite resources, of all kinds, are envisaged for
the first year of the Strategy, the year of planning and of establishment of the structural and operational framework. Both
documents support the concept of normalisation as a prerequisite for increasing use.
The initial response of political parties, as observed at the first Oireachtas Joint Committee hearing on 20 January 2010,
appeared largely supportive with some reservations particularly in relation to possible structural changes that could leave the
Gaeltacht without a specific authority. A hearing of the Joint Committee in the Gaeltacht was arranged for 26 February 2010,
in Indreabhn (Inverin). The agenda included responses from each specific Gaeltacht area and from general Gaeltacht-wide
organisations. Public hearings, unfortunately, can tend to lend themselves more to set pieces. The eventual report from this
Oireachtas Committee in July 2010 in general supported the views expressed on the strategic and community significance of
the Gaeltacht.
Criticism of the Draft Strategy

Initial criticism focussed on the difference between the structural changes and site of evaluation proposed in the Fiontar report
and those in the Strategy. Four areas in particular drew argument with regard to these proposed structural arrangements:
- the siting of the programme office (Fiontar: Department of the Taoiseach) versus the strategy unit (Strategy:
Department with responsibility for the language);
- the removal of and change in dars na Gaeltachta and the subsequent lack of a specific support structure for
the Gaeltacht itself;
- the lack of more precise delineation of functions, particularly with regard to the operations and funding of the
voluntary sector, between the proposed dars na Gaeilge with a nation-wide remit and the existing Foras na
Gaeilge with an all-island remit;
- what was perceived as non-separation of planning, implementation and evaluation in the proposed departmental
unit, as opposed to the independence of the evaluation proposals in the Fiontar report;
- the lack of a defined rle for the Irish language voluntary sector.
When Foras na Gaeilge subsumed the existing Bord na Gaeilge as a result of the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999 (the
Good Friday Agreement), many in the Irish language sector outside the Gaeltacht (where dars na Gaeltachta protected
Gaeltacht interests) were of the view that a vital part of the support structure in the Republic had been removed. Foras na
Gaeilge became acceptable only in the context of ensuring official support for the language and its speakers in NI. Some degree
of tension still seems to remain between, on the one hand, language promotion on the part of the voluntary sector on an allisland basis where no serious divisions occur and, on the other hand, protective structures on a political basis in two different
jurisdictions. Now however, when the Draft Strategy proposed a new structure for the Republic on an inclusive State basis, it
was the Gaeltacht sector which was of the view that it was losing in the re-arrangement.
In media articles in English and in Irish, the perceived emphasis of the Strategy on bilingualism, on learners of Irish as
second language, and on institutional support for that, drew unfavourable comment in the context of the Gaeltacht from
Gaeltacht researchers. They rightly sought a strategy more actively and dynamically centred on the home-school-community
nexus in the language heartland now under such severe threat. These arguments were further elaborated in the publication, An
Chonair Chaoch: An Mionteangachas sa Dtheangachas (The Blind Path: Minority language in Bilingualism), published during
Seachtain na Gaeilge (reported 8 March 2012).
Planned legislation arising out of the Draft Strategy

Domestic
Legislation would be required on several fronts to realise some of the structural proposals in the Draft Strategy. Initially, this
included two Acts, both of which had been expected for some time if not in the form proposed, once the Strategy moved
beyond draft form:
- an Act to restructure dars na Gaeltachta into a new entity, dars na Gaeilge this would require repeal of the
existing dars na Gaeltachta Act;
- an Act to delineate the linguistic criteria through which Gaeltacht status will in future be given to communities;
this will include not only the A, B, C categories recognised in the Report on the Linguistic Study of Language
Use in the Gaeltacht but an additional category D that will give recognition to communities and networks
outside the Gaeltacht which fulfil the required linguistic criteria.

In the event, the decision of 31 May (announced in June 2011) to leave dars na Gaeltachta solely as a Gaeltacht agency
permitted the use of one piece of legislation to cover all matters arising out of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language. A
Government decision of 7 February 2012 followed: to have a Bill in respect of the Gaeltacht drafted as a matter of priority. The
objectives of this Bill comprised:
- a new definition for the Gaeltacht on linguistic rather than geographic criteria, based on community language
planning and which may include areas outside the traditional Gaeltacht;
- a statutory role for dars na Gaeltachta in the implementation of the Strategy in the Gaeltacht;
- changes to the board of An tdars: reduced membership and no elections.
The latter received criticism on the basis of severing the link with local democracy. Of the previous 20 members, 17 had been
elected and 3 (including the chair) appointed by the Minister. The proposed board of some 10 to 17 members will have some
appointed members and the rest nominated by the seven County Councils which contain Gaeltacht regions. The Bill was
enacted on 25 July 2012 by Government majority, following a walkout by the Opposition, after a stormy passage through the
Houses of the Oireachtas.
This legislation has been discussed above, Chapter 2.
EU legislation
The current status of Irish in the EU (since 1 January, 2007) frees EU institutions through derogation from the obligation to
translate all EU legislation and texts into Irish. This derogation is, however, subject to review from time to time. The Strategy
states that the Government will work to create the circumstances in which a sufficient number of qualified graduates to meet
EU recruitment needs are in place so that this derogation can be ended during the lifetime of this Strategy. Since the Strategy
is of 20-Years duration, the derogation appears to be in for a relatively long life span.
FINE GAEL/LABOUR COALITION AND LANGUAGE POLICY

These are enumerated under various subsections, e.g. Programme for a National Government, Changes to the 20-Year
Strategy, Legislation, Logainmneacha. Unfortunately, to Irish speakers these proposals and subsequent decisions appear
more a weakening than a strengthening of political resolve on behalf of the future of the Irish language if not a gradual erosion
of elements of the existing support structure for the language under the guise of necessary cost cutting measures. The view
is that short-term expediency, particularly if underpinned by no clear vision or commitment, may have irreparable future
long-term consequences. Hope and trust are traits that bring nations through difficult times. On the evidence of surveys and
responses to recent referenda, they are on the wane among citizens in general. The same appears to be true of Irish speakers
with regard to officialdom and the Irish language, an unwelcome development in what had been a much more positive stage
in fairly recent times.
This lack of confidence in official policy towards the Irish language continued to be further eroded by acts of officialdom
both small and large, from ensuring change in an EU directive to use of only one official language for directions on certain
drugs to waning use of Irish in public such as in branches of the Defence Forces or in the title of the new public water utility.
The introduction of small quotas of Irish speakers for entrants to the Civil Service or to the Garda in place of a bilingual
service proved another example of dismantling an existing support system, however fragile, rather than strengthening it. The
resignation of An Coimisinir Teanga in itself encapsulated these gradual steady eroding changes. The delay in providing any
actively visible manifestation of the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy was, however, the most urgent. By early 2014, the
Strategy was considered moribund to all intents and purposes. The Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the Strategy was, in fact,
engaged on considering ways of reviving it.
On reflection, Irish speakers could see only active negativity or inactive passivity towards the language from their
Government. This saw expression in a public march in central Dublin and a list of demands from some 10,000 people who
travelled from all four provinces on Saturday 15 February 2014.
LOGAINMNEACHA (PLACENAMES)
AN DAINGEAN AND RELATED ISSUES
According to the list of quangos for critical review by June 2012, published by the Minister for Public Expenditure and
Reform in November 2011, the function of An Coimisin Logainmneacha (Placenames Commission) was to be absorbed into
the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht. An Coimisin advises the Minister on the forms of placenames in Irish. An
area of concern to Irish speakers then was the tenure of the current membership of An Coimisin which was due to end in early
October 2012. Its future status could lie in any proposals being considered internally arising out of the review of the Official
Languages Act. The departmental review of An Coimisin was with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
On 31 October 2012, an announcement from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht provided the following
information:
- The Placenames Commission, currently operating with a membership of 17, will be replaced with an expert
committee with a membership of between 7 and 10 members operating pro bono.
- The work of this committee will primarily be undertaken online, with quarterly meetings being held to discuss
complex issues.
It was not immediately clear whether this expert committee would still be known as An Coimisin Logainmneacha, a body
established in 1946, hardly a time of wealth after the second world war. Both this body and the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga
(merged with the Office of the Ombudsman in the same announcement of 31 October 2012) were under the remit of the
Minister of State at the relevant department.
Eventually, almost a year after the initial announcement of change, the Minister of State announced, on 19 September
2013, the list of members nominated to the new Placenames Committee which was clearly stated to be in place of the previous
Placenames Commission. A note to the statement added that it was decided to disband the Placenames Commission and to
appoint a committee in its place. The change took place in accordance with a Government decision under the Public Service
Reform Plan.
The Commission, and now the committee, work in conjunction with the Placenames Branch of the department with
responsibility for the language, both bodies on researching authoritative Irish language versions of placenames. The Branch has
had a history of change also. It had been part of Ordnance Survey (Department of Finance) until that service was privatized when
it was moved to the department with responsibility for the language in the late 1990s. The Principal Officer of the Placenames
Branch retired in mid 2013. He was not replaced nor were any additional staff appointed to the Branch. Responsibility for
placenames was added to the duties of a member of staff within the department. Irish speakers consider that this vital service
is being gradually downgraded.
The issue of An Daingean as a placename in the Gaeltacht continued from 2006 to 2011. In October 2006, Kerry County
Council, after conducting a plebiscite, applied to change to Dingle Daingean U Chis the Irish-only name for the Gaeltacht
town, An Daingean, as already set out in a ministerial Placenames Order (2004) under the Official Languages Act. The advice
from the Attorney-General at that time was that such a change was not legally possible. In mid-March 2010, a legislative
solution to this particular issue was proposed by the Green Party Minister of the previous administration as part of the Local
Government Act 2010 through a provision which allowed the English version Dingle and the Irish version Daingean U
Chis both to supersede the provision of the Placenames Order citing An Daingean. However, that legislation lapsed, leaving
the issue still to be resolved. In mid-July 2011, having already signalled the matter before the Seanad (Upper House) in June,
the Fine Gael Minister for the Environment brought forward an amendment to the Environment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill
2011. The amendment proposed was a more general approach instead of response to one particular issue: local government
law (in relation to placenames change) will supersede an order under the Official Languages Act (2003). Under the proposed
legislation, a local authority seeking change is required to specify the desired name in Irish only or in English and in Irish.
While the new amendment would mean the dropping of An Daingean in official terms, it cannot, of course, legislate for
popular usage. The proposed legislation will additionally require both a secret ballot in the case of a plebiscite and adoption of
a resolution by half of the members of the local authority in question. The amendment was approved on 21 July 2011 in the
Dil and the Bill became law on 2 August 2011. However, until that point when the Bill became an Act, road signs leading
to and within the Gaeltacht had to adhere to An Daingean. By October 2011, one of the Kerry County Councillors was
arranging a meeting between local representatives and the Councils Director of Roads and Transportation to discuss the delay
in implementation of the amended section of the Official Languages Act. The Council required a report on the change in signs
for several reasons: the Council and the National Roads Authority (NRA) are responsible for different signs; the name Daingean
Ui Chis is longer than An Daingean and legislation governs lettering size; cost was another factor (one which, apparently, had
not occurred to those involved in the original debate on the placename), approximately 10,000 for the Council; it awaits
funding from the Department of Transport for national secondary and local roads. A gradual implementation is envisaged to
begin in 2012. The NRA made a similar decision on the signs under its responsibility in early 2012.
The provisions on placenames in the final section of this Act 20 of 2011, PART 18, cover eight pages and two sections. Some
regard superseding of orders under the Official Languages Act as a weakening of the language legislation. Placenames orders are
usually put out for public consultation in advance of an order being made when objections or proposals made be made.
The counter-arguments to the sole use of An Daingean had centred largely on tourism issues and possible problems of
understanding of road signs. It is interesting then to compare the approach of Mullingar (County Westmeath) Town Council
of April 2010 when a suggestion was made to upgrade local signage through the use of new bilingual signage in the interests
of business and tourism. Promoting the town through Irish was viewed as important, given the wealth of local and county
folklore heritage as well as the presence of two gaelscoileanna in the town.
In December 2009, Dublin City Council passed a motion to the effect that every new development be given a name
in Irish only, developers to be provided with assistance on aspects of cultural history and topography. The policy met with
opposition from some media. This resolution was to form part of the 2011 development plan for the city Galway City
Council, Shannon Town Council (County Clare) and Navan Town Council (County Meath) have adopted similar policies.
Nevertheless, in parts of the Mayo Gaeltacht, and in other areas of the county, it is reported in the Irish language media (July
2011) that the Irish version of placenames are being defaced.
On the official front, a presentation before the relevant Oireachtas Committee in September 2009 reiterated the many
objections Irish speakers often make to the linguistic mistakes and general design of bilingual road signs. In December 2009,
An Coimisinir Teanga (Commissioner) issued a booklet on the duties of traffic authorities local authorities; An tdars um
Bithre Nisinta (National Roads Authority) in relation to Irish and road traffic signs as set out in the official Traffic Signs
Manual. A complaints form on the matter was also issued to enable citizens to make their concerns formal. An Coimisinir
will investigate any complaints made to him officially. One such complaint was made by a councillor of Castlebar (County
Mayo) Town Council in relation to a Council decision to erect a plaque in English only, on costs grounds, to commemorate
14 steerage passengers from the area who had sailed on the ill-fated Titanic, particularly since 11 were from an area that was
largely Irish-speaking at the time. The decision was reversed.
At the end of 2011, signs paid for by the town council were erected by the localcommittee to celebrate Cill Airne
(Killarney) as the national winner of the 2011 Tidy Towns competition. Due to an editing oversight, and omission of a
preceding phrase, the signs read, wrongly, Chill Airne. The interesting result was what a local official described as tons of calls
from people pointing out the error before the signs were replaced. Similar complaints followed the erection by the tourist
organisation, Filte Ireland, of an unusual rendering into Irish of the well-known historical English Market in Cork City:
Barla sa Mhargadh, literally English in the Market.
In September 2010, An Coimisin Logainmneacha (Placenames Commission) began the process of public consultation,
as is usual, on the draft order concerning the Irish language version of the placenames of County Dublin. Recommendations
were requested before the end of November 2010. The Irish versions were provided by An Brainse Logainmneacha (Placenames
Branch) situated in the (then) Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. After study of all recommendations
received, in cooperation with An Brainse, advice would then be given to the Minister by An Coimisin. To date, eleven
placenames orders have been issued: seven for specific counties and four more general orders (Provinces and Counties 2003;
Gaeltacht areas 2004 and 2008; Centres of population and districts 2005).
An anomaly with regard to the use of Gaeltacht placenames in planning applications to Galway County Council was
highlighted in September 2012. While the language scheme of the Council includes adherence to the Placenames Order of
2004, the Planning Section of the Council apparently were not accepting Irish versions due to internal re organisation and staff
changes.
The task of archiving placenames continues. Up to 97% of placenames on the island of Ireland derive from the Irish
language. An example from County Westmeath might be St. Bigseachs church, Cill Bhigs, Kilbixy; kil being the anglicised
form of the Irish cill (church) and bixy the anglicised possessive form of the saints name, Bigseach/Bigs. Official funding
for Tionscadal Logainmneacha Thuaisceart ireann (NI Place-names Project) was unfortunately ended in 2010 but the archives
remain in the Irish and Celtic School (Modern Languages) at Queens University, Belfast and the results of research to date on
the website, www.placenamesni.org.
In June 2010, 10 years of work led to the launch of 80,000 placenames in 53 volumes for County Kerry. The list covers
even fields, piers, and lakes testament to the social and cultural history of every locality. Both the Irish and English forms and
their history have now been made available; the work continues on minor names. The archive for Cork is in 115 volumes. This
initial archiving of placenames was begun on the islands of West Cork by Dr amon Lankford, while still teaching fulltime,
in the 1970s. In December 2010, a collection of placenames from seven small islands off the coast of Donegal was launched.
These were prepared by the development committees on the islands which are under the aegis of Comharchumann na nOilen
Beag (Small Islands Cooperative). In October 2010, a seminar on the significance of townlands in placenames research was
held in Armagh organised by the Federation for Ulster Local Studies.
The organisation, An Taisce (literally treasure, hoard): The National Trust for Ireland, voluntary organisation founded 1948),
decided in April 2010 to begin using the Irish version of placenames in their submissions to local authorities, An Bord Pleanla
(Planning Board) and Government. It was hoped to increase use from an initial 20% as familiarity with the process grew.
The website Placenames Database of Ireland (www.logainm.ie) grows in popularity and has attracted over four million hits
to its 100,000 placenames since its launch in late 2008. In 2010 it was awarded a European Language Label and was also a
winner in its category at the 2011 Irish eGovernment Awards. Initiated in 2007 by Fiontar, the Irish language section of the
Business School at Dublin City University (DCU), the project operates now in collaboration with the official Placenames
Branch of the relevant Government Department. It was officially launched by the Minister with responsibility on1st October
2008. His successor launched the next phase of development in June 2010. The current Minister of State welcomed its
continuous development not long after his appointment in March 2011. These developments include an ever-improving
mapping interface; sound files in Irish and English; additional historic information; educational resources for schools and third
level; engagement with schools through competitions. The site also has an information section detailing developments by other
bodies such as the Historic Towns Atlas series of the Royal Irish Academy, or historic maps in Trinity College Dublin, or useful
bibliographic lists. It receives support through the National Lottery. A significant international congress on place names and
mapping in the digital age was organised by Fiontar (DCU) in August 2012.
OFFICIAL STATUS OF IRISH IN THE EU: PRACTICAL OUTCOMES

The Strategy and practical outcomes for the Irish State

The current status of Irish in the EU frees EU institutions through derogation from the obligation to translate all EU legislation
into Irish except those arising from co-decision. EU directives are not translated and any orders or SIs arising from them are
the responsibility of the Irish Government which makes them. The terms of the derogation are, however, subject to review
from time to time.
There are still some among MEPs from Ireland, North and South, who question any investment through expenditure on
the Irish language in the EU.
The Strategy states that the Government will work to create the circumstances in which a sufficient number of qualified
graduates to meet EU recruitment needs are in place so that this derogation can be ended during the lifetime of this Strategy.
Since the Strategy is of 20-Years duration, the derogation appears to be in for a relatively long life span.

In a final section of the Strategy headed Cross-Cutting Initiatives, there is a commitment to ensuring that Irish (as an official
language) is included in all research and development programmes, both domestic and in the EU, particularly in areas dealing
with language, whether processing, learning, machine translation or other technologies. In addition, advantage will be taken
of platforms already developed for other languages. No specific agent is designated, however, to ensure implementation and, as
an official language both at home and in the EU, Irish is already fully eligible for all such programmes.
FIONTAR REPORT
In section 6 on Education of the report prepared by the Fiontar team for the Department towards the 20-Year Strategy, a
specific recommendation is made on third level education:
that it be of high quality and delivered in a strategically organised fashion in order to ensure, inter alia, that it provides
an output of highly qualified candidates with the specific skills set to service the national and European Union status
of the Irish language.
SOME CRITICISMS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Application of the derogation

The initial temporary derogation (part of the decision of the Council of Ministers in June 2005) was due for review at the end
of 2010 (five year period). In fact, it was renewed for a further five years.
The group STDAS made a presentation to the (then) Commissioner for Multilingualism at the end of January 2009 on
the unsatisfactory situation then pertaining with regard to the interpretation of derogation by the EU institutions, on the basis
of the existing legal position of Irish in the EU, and on grounds of equality and non-discrimination. Public reference to this
was still necessary in mid-July 2010, particularly to the perceived tendency of the EU institutions to apparently disregard the
fact that derogation concerned solely legislation, apart from co-decision regulations of Parliament and Council which must be
translated; derogation does not extend to any other types of texts (including press releases). Irish should, as of right, be used
on the website of the European Parliament and an Irish version of the Iris Oifigiil (Official Journal of the EU) should be
published. The EU also seemed tardy (at that time) in organising selection processes for Irish-competent personnel. The EU
maintains specific translation and interpretation departments for all official languages (23) except, at that time, Irish (some
arrangements are, of course, available for Irish; it is the Permanent Representation for Ireland whose responsibility it is to seek
budgetary provision for these services). The response of the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs made
two basic points:
- The Lisbon Treaty ensures that a much larger body of legislation will in future be translated by the EU (arising
out of increased significance for the EU institutions).
- The conditions for relaxation of derogation, i.e. a sufficient number of Irish competent translators (in law) and
interpreters being available, had not yet been attained.

However, the accreditation system organised by Foras na Gaeilge had by mid-2010 ensured a cohort of almost 160 translators,
a large percentage of whom would be available full time. The number of these who might be also competent for legal translation
purposes was not clear. At that date, mid-2010, it was reported that the EU institutions had employed 15 translators in the
European Council and 8 in the Commission. It is reported that the total complement had reached 50 at end 2012.
By September 2011, the website of the European Parliament, despite its introductory avowal of multilingualism, was not
yet available in Irish although it is published in all other 22 official languages. This omission led to an official complaint to
the European Ombudsman and to an organised protest from Irish MEPs to the president of the parliament in February 2013.
The Ombudsmans reply in August referenced lacks in administration in that the EU Parliament offered the excuse of lack of
translation staff for Irish instead of ensuring open competition to source them. The reply also referred to proposed gradual
improvement of the website in Irish in accordance with a timetable made publicly available. Nevertheless, there is regular use of
Irish in parliamentary sessions and other meetings and most EU institutions do offer Irish. It is reported that the terminology
base for Irish maintained by Fiontar (DCU) for IATE, the EU overall facility, is in receipt of just under a million searches
monthly.
The current situation with regard to the existing derogation has been well outlined by the expert who advised the group
STDAS. He has made the position in writing also to the relevant authorities. Since the extended derogation expires at the end
of 2016, arrangements must be made well in advance to have appropriate staff in place if the Irish State decides to request an
end to derogation. The EU Council had apparently asked the State for its intentions by end 2013 so that the lengthy process
of recruitment by open competition may be set in train. The issue is primarily for the Department of the Taoiseach but aspects
also involve the Department with responsibility for the language and the Department of Foreign Affairs. By early 2014 no
public statement on the States intentions on derogation had been made.
The domestic aspect would also involve continuation of funding for appropriate education and training for applicants to
the EU recruitment competitions (translators, interpreters, lawyer linguists, administrative personnel) as well as for ongoing
development of the terminology project at Fiontar (DCU). The expert has pointed out that the initial entrance examinations
for these EU posts are broadly based and require specific mentoring of applicants in order to ensure that they do not fall at the
first hurdle.
Job opportunities
With regard to personnel and language competencies, distinction is made between eligibility of Irish speakers as speakers
of an EU official language for general posts and eligibility for posts requiring competencies in specific Irish language skills.
Translation and interpretation are also to be distinguished, the former generally offering more job opportunities.
Aonad na Gaeilge (Irish Language Unit) within the European Commission maintains an information service on upcoming
job opportunities as, for example, in the case of posts as permanent translators in the second half of 2012, www.facebook.com/
aistritheoir.
Towards the end of 2009, the Translation Centre for the Bodies of the EU (established in 1994) advertised a selection
procedure for a panel or reserve list of temporary staff with English as main language, an excellent command of German, and
a very good knowledge of at least one other official language. This latter list included Irish.
In March 2010, the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) began a cycle of graduate recruitment with new
streamlined procedures and open to all 27 states, hoping to strengthen the calibre of EU officials given the numbers retiring in
the coming years. Areas of expertise sought included economics, information technology, law and auditing, as well as European
public administration. Tests could be taken in either English, French or German but mother tongue speakers of either language
would take the test in one of the other languages. No more than 320 posts were available at the time but this would increase
in the near future. However, Irish speakers could put Irish as their mother tongue, take the test in English, and also undergo a
test in Irish proficiency.

The (then) Minister for Foreign Affairs organised an information seminar to publicise these job opportunities. In particular,
the Minister wished to strengthen the numbers of Irish people working in the EU institutions (then approximately 290), some
of whom would be retiring.

From time to time, groups tendering for European Commission contracts, may request the inclusion of an Irish-competent
person in whichever discipline is required.
In 2011 and 2012, the Translations Directorate recruited for Irish translators (permanent posts) from English and another
official language to Irish. Written and oral tests were held in Dublin. Temporary contracts for suitably qualified personnel were
advertised for work in the EU Parliament in October 2011; the examination would consist of translation from English to Irish.
The Directorate General for Legal Services of the EU were recruiting for the position of Irish Lawyer-Linguist at the end of
2011 and for 18 posts as qualified Secretary with English and Irish.

In October 2012, the Secretary-General of EU Interpretation Services visited NUIG, where a course is run for interpreters.
TRAINING COURSES FOR LANGUAGE COMPETENCIES
Given the continuing need for high calibre linguists in the institutions of the EU, the Education Directorate (which now
includes Multilingualism) organised a conference in October 2010 on the recognised qualification, European Masters in
Translation (EMT), introduced by the Commission in 2009. Some 250 institutions currently offer courses in translation across
the EU. Over 30 are members of the EMT network; this entails external expert scrutiny of the courses offered.
In Ireland, the long-established Honorable Society of Kings Inns offered several new courses with some funding from the
Department with responsibility for the language, to help cater for vacancies and opportunities at home and in the EU. In July
2010, Kings Inns advertised for a Course Coordinator for these new part-time courses which included:
- Ardchrsa sa Dltheangeoaocht agus san Aistrichn Dlthiil (advanced Lawyer-Linguist and Legal Translation
Course)
- Ardchrsa san Aistrichn Dlthiil (Advanced Legal Translation Course)
- Ardchrsa sa Dl-Chleachtadh tr Ghaeilge (Advanced Course in Legal Practice through Irish)
This third course arises out of changes in the law governing the qualifications system for both solicitors and barristers in the
Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Act 2008.
The courses were advertised for the period from January to July 2011 preceded by a qualifying examination for prospective
candidates in December 2010. A preparatory course was also advertised for intending applicants.
Two intensive 6-week courses, free of fees, in the translation of legal and other state documents, were organised during
2010 by the Gaeltacht-based translation company, Europus, in conjunction with Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. It was
funded by the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs.
CORPUS PLANNING: DICTIONARY PROVISION

DICTIONARY PROVISION 2008 2011
The Strategy points to the initiatives already under way and pledges continued support for them: dictionary provision no
completion date is given (it is assumed that this refers to work in hand by Foras na Gaeilge); ongoing terminological provision.
The Strategy does, however, surprisingly, give a date of completion for the historic dictionary project in the Royal Irish
Academy as 2037. No commitment is given on the issue of a modern Irish-Irish dictionary.
Foras na Gaeilge: Foclir Barla-Gaeilge (English-Irish Dictionary)

Phase II of this work, collating and writing of entries, is ongoing with some interruptions caused by staff embargos. Nevertheless,
advertisements for support staff appeared as follows:
- September 2009 and April 2010 panel of qualified translators to supply Irish translations of English entries.
- June 2010 Chief terminologist and assistant editors (three full time posts and one on 18 month contract).
- November 2010 Dictionary editors (two posts) to the end of the project.
The end of this dictionary project was envisaged for 31 December 2012, focus being on the provision of an electronic version
before going into print. It is intended to keep access to this version as inexpensive as possible for users. However, as would be
required in such lexicographic work, it is hoped to continue then with a permanent staff to continually update and amend the
new dictionary. The Implementation Plan 2011 of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2 November 2011) for
the 20-Year Strategy also gave this date for completion of the electronic version and 2013 for the hard copy version.
In the event, the project lasted from 2000 to 2012, employed some 70 persons at different stages of the project and cost
6.088m. The entire online version (www.focloir.ie) is reported to include 7,000 headwords, 40,000 sample phrases, sound
files and information on grammar. This online version is compatible with computers and mobile devices. The initial phase
of 30% of the entire content (said to cover up to 80% of general English usage) was launched by the President of Ireland on
24 January 2013. Following regular additions, the entire will be online by end 2014 allowing for the preparation of a printed
version to commence during 2015.
Naturally, this dictionary includes modern terminology and usage. The previous most recent dictionaries (with subsequent
additions) available in print were de Bhaldraithe (English-Irish) in 1959 and Dnaill (Irish-English) dated 1977. The editor
of the Foras na Gaeilge project, Mianin, listed some of the challenges encountered: lack of lexicographic expertise and issues
of dialect and official standard. This dictionary is based on contemporary use of both Irish (in the Gaeltacht) and HibernoEnglish in Ireland.
The dictionary is being augmented by the preparation of an electronic version of Nua-Chorpas na hireann (New Corpus
of Ireland) which will contain 30 million words in Irish and 25 million in Hiberno-English, or the English of Ireland. The
largest English corpus available (1.7 billion words) is also being drawn on in this endeavour.
This phase of the dictionary project is based on the provision of an English-Irish dictionary. Since dictionary provision is
a statutory duty of Foras na Gaeilge, it is hoped that an Irish-English dictionary may follow. Plans for an Irish-Irish dictionary,
however, appear rather further in the future. Nevertheless, the supply of lexicographic skills is increasing.
RIA DICTIONARY INITIATIVES
Dictionary of the Irish Language (1913 1976)

The website associated with eDIL was launched on 28 June 2007, www.dil.ie.
Foclir na Nua-Ghaeilge (FNG, Dictionary of Modern Irish)

In an interview (Irish Times, 27th March 2010), before her retirement in May 2010, the Chief Editor of Foclir na NuaGhaeilge spoke of the painstaking research involved in the preparation of such a work. She noted the distinction between a
standard dictionary, which provides the definition of words, and an historical dictionary which traces the history of a word
back to its earliest written citation. Foclir na Nua-Ghaeilge covers dialect also. At that time (March 2010), a staff of ten was
working full-time on the project, seven in the Donegal Gaeltacht and three in the Dublin offices of the RIA.
The current emphasis is on the provision of corpora representative of the Irish language in the 20th century as a resource
for lexicographers. In practical terms, this means inputting texts across a range of genres to include much more than 20 million
words, perhaps at least 100 million. Given the immensity of the research task involved, and the small staff allocated to it, it
may be years before this preparatory work is completed. Other countries have taken 50 to 100 years with a large staff. The final
result, in digital format, will provide the basis, not alone for more research, but for specialised dictionaries on various subjects.
All the ongoing research work on the bibliographical databases underpinning the work is now being computerised. Given that
the project is long term, interim publications are provided, usually in digital format. Staff is now at seven.
On 15 November 2011, the Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht launched an online
archive of 44 texts published by Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League) from 1882 to 1926. This follows the CD-ROM production
of Corpas na Gaeilge 1600-1882 in 2004. It is intended to continue providing further material in the series.
The current focus is on compiling a wide range of different text types from the period 1882-2000. A corpus of texts will
then be derived from this archive. Both corpora (1600-1882 and 1882-2000) will provide the basis for the next steps on
producing the historical language dictionary. The project is being supported by the Department, dars na Gaeltachta and the
Higher Education Authority.
DEVELOPMENTS IN CORPUS PLANNING

TRANSLATION
Lr-Aonad Aistrichin (Central Translation Unit) and related matters

A High Court judgment in 2004 found it a constitutional duty of Government departments to provide translations of SIs. At
the time, the lack of suitably qualified translators had formed part of the States defence.
In November 2008, a Government policy decision was taken to ensure translation into Irish of the many statutory
instruments and regulations arising out of the various legal acts. No specific policy had existed on the issue of secondary
legislation as was the case with regard to translation of legal acts. In addition, court cases might be taken by legal practitioners
or by citizens on the lack of such translated secondary legislation proving a hindrance to them or of thwarting their rights under
the law. To give effect to this November 2008 policy, a Central Translations Unit was established during 2009, in the (then)
Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to implement a strategy for the translation of Statutory Instruments
[SIs] in line with constitutional requirements. This Unit reported in an affidavit to the court (in an instance requiring such
information) that overall some 60,000 pages remained (from the period 1993-2004) to be translated since the vast majority
of departments did not provide translations of SIs emanating from them. It was 2010, however, before a staff of translators
was employed for the new Unit. Translation then began on the statutory instruments of the host department and of all other
departments on request. Translation for other departments was on a commercial basis. The Minister also gave responsibility at
the time for examining the existing Language Standard (Caighden) to this new Aonad. The existing long established (1922)
Ranng an Aistrichin (Translation Section) was still part of the apparatus of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
In February 2009, the State itself appealed the High Court judgment of 2004 to the Supreme Court. On 6 May 2010, the
Supreme Court decision set aside the High Court judgment and Orders of the High Court. However, a declaration was also
made that there was a constitutional obligation to provide the respondent, in his capacity as solicitor, all Rules of Courtin
an Irish language version of the same, so soon as may be practicable after they are published in English. The lengthy judgment,
which was delivered in Gaeilge (as stated on the Courts website) appeared to make a distinction on the basis of constitutional
obligation on the one hand and, on the other, the issue of any and all legislation rather than those portions directly applicable
to particular instances, including specific SIs.
Changes, both legislative and structural, were made following new arrangements by the incoming administration (March
2011). Firstly, in June 2011, a Bill was introduced entitled An Bille um an Dl Sibhialta (Forlacha Ilghnitheacha), Civil Law
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2011. Part 15 of this Bill, entitled Miscellaneous, contains six sections. The fifth, Section 38 of
the Bill, is an amendment to Section 7 of the Official Languages Act 2003, (which came into effect July 2007), which provided
for simultaneous printing and publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in both official languages. This amendment, described
as technical, in the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum, allows for electronic publication of Acts of the Oireachtas in
advance of official translation which could take weeks or even longer. The professed aim of the amendment is to help avoid
the risk of a constitutional challenge from somebody whose rights are affected by a piece of legislation which is not readily
accessible. The Memorandum goes on to say that the constitutional obligation to publish in both languages is not affected.
The timescale, however, is not clarified.
The immediate results of the amendment to the Official Languages Act were pointed out by An Coimisinir at Tstal na
Gaeilge. From 14 July 2006, when the Act came into effect, until 2 August 2011, all Acts were published simultaneously except
that setting up NAMA (National Assets Management Agency) when a special arrangement was made. From August 2011 to
14 January 2012, despite the passage of legislation, none had been published simultaneously in both languages.
The Implementation Plan 2011 of the D/AHG for the 20-Year Strategy, published on 2 November 2011, states:
The Departmentwill take the relevant steps to draft legislation which will consolidate the States translation services.
This bill will amend the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003 in order to transfer the functions and staff
of the Departments Central Translation Unit to the Translation Section in the Houses of the Oireachtas for the
translation of Statutory Instruments [work the Unit had been set up to do].
Progressing the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill appears among the targets for 2012 in the
Revised Estimates (23 February 2012) of the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht. The Bill also appears in Section A
(Bills expected to be published from the start of the Dil Session to the beginning of the next Session) of the list of intended
legislation for 2012, described thus:

To amend the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts 2003-2009 in relation to the rationalisation of the States translation
services and An Caighden Oifigiil (Official Standard), responsibility for which are to be transferred to the Houses of the
Oireachtas.
This Houses of the Oireachtas Commission was formally established on 1 January 2004 in order to:
To provide for the running of the Houses of the Oireachtas, to act as governing body of the Service, to consider and determine
policy in relation to the Service, and to oversee the implementation of that policy by the Secretary General [also Clerk of the Dil].
The Service currently comprises some 380 staff, civil servants, for the 226 members of the two Houses of the Oireachtas and
their staff (including party staff and advisors); for the media, and for visitors from the public. Among the specific functions of
the Commission listed in the legislation is:
Providing translation services from one official language into the other in respect of Acts of the Oireachtas.
A list of other measures relating to Corpus Planning are also included in the Implementation Plan 2011 of the Department
for the 20-Year Strategy (2 November 2011):
- Director of Translation Services in the Department to participate in the Terminology Committee of Foras na
Gaeilge (transferred from Education in 1999) to ensure co-operation on outputs to support Irish at home
and in the EU. [Given the imminent legislation to transfer the Departments Central Translation Unit to the
Commission of the Houses of the Oireachtas, this may be an arrangement a priori].
- Use of translation technology in collaboration with relevant bodies at home and in the EU to provide high
quality material in a cost-effective manner.
- Ongoing monitoring of EU projects on status of Irish in EU, e.g. the terminology project LEX.
- Through collaboration with relevant bodies, explore the provision of an online collection of existing sources of
folklore.
It is reported that the terminology base for Irish maintained by Fiontar (DCU) for IATE, the EU overall facility, is in
receipt of just under a million searches monthly.

Translation to Irish from legislation initiated in English appears to be almost always the issue. Once legislation is introduced
in English (whether in Dil or Seanad), all debate and amendments are consequently in English also. Until this changes, the
use of Irish in the Houses of the Oireachtas is unlikely to improve.
Two useful publications are available on matters relating to the law. For practitioners, the wide-ranging Sil ar an Dl (An
Eye on the Law), launched by An Coimisinir in March 2010, constitutes an invaluable professional tool. The bilingual leaflet,
An Ghaeilge sa Chirt (Irish in Court), issued by the office of An Coimisinir, sets out clearly the rights of those who wish to
use Irish in court, as in the Official Languages Act 2003. It also refers to the Irish language rights of the citizen if arrested.
In relation to the courts and interpretation/translation in general for those with little or no English, concerns have been
raised both by some judges and by the Irish Translators and Interpreters Association. This body called for auditing of contracts
or some form of quality control. A system of accreditation for court interpreters through tested minimal requirements and
membership of a national register is internationally accepted as a requirement for a reliable service in the case of governments
and public service providers.
There are now up to 158 accredited translators from the scheme initiated by Foras na Gaeilge. Others have emerged from
other courses.
ISSUES OF STANDARD, GRAMMAR, MORPHO-PHONOLOGY AND SIMPLIFICATION
Official standard
Publication of the Official Standard dates back to 1958. On 10 March 2010, at the beginning of Seachtain na Gaeilge, the
Minister with responsibility for language affairs announced in Seanad ireann that the newly established Central Translation
Unit in his department would undertake a review of the Official Standard with the assistance of a Steering Committee drawn
from various fields: lexicography, education, law, translation, terminology, media and academia. The review would be completed
by June 2011. The Minister wished:
this historic initiativeto strike a balance between preserving the status of the language and nurturing its vitality
to consider the needs of the learner..[and] of the competent speaker.

The Steering Committee was promised for late April 2010. By late May, the (then) new Minister was writing in the
Irish Times on the venture, pointing out the distinction between a standard to ensure consistency of terminology for public
documents and one which might provide direction of a kind to speakers. The work was completed within the time frame and
rested with the host department. It was intended for publication before end 2011. The review provided a series of proposals or
recommendations. The official adoption of these recommendations is another issue. As the body responsible for the development
and promulgation of the official standard, the role of Ranng an Aistrichin (Translation Section of the Legislature, 1922) in
this stage would come into play.
As planned, the review work proceeded in stages, with subcommittees as required and through feedback from a public
consultation process on proposals at each stage. The first consultation stage began in mid-May 2010 on identification of
principles and areas needing attention. It was not announced until 9 June 2010, one day after a press release on 8 June
concerning the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs:
Minister Carey has announced the formal establishment of the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht
Affairs with effect from the 2nd June 2010. This change comes as part of the restructuring of Departments and
agencies announced by the Taoiseach in Dil ireann on 23rd March last to ensure greater coherence and produce
more efficient delivery.
The second consultation period was announced on14 July 2010 on the noun: genitive case, plurals, dative case; the third on
6 October 2010 on numbers; the fourth (final) on 1 December 2010 on initial changes: lenition and eclipsis.
There was, apparently, no lack of public input. However, the difference between a written and a spoken standard were
not clear to all commentators. The salient question was asked in one article: the purpose of the new standard. Fears were
also expressed that over-simplification of the language might result, or a levelling of dialectal variation to some standard not
available in any community, or, indeed, to a set of new rules where the list of exceptions would dominate.
The Review was completed within the timescale. The results were not, however, published in their final composite form
as a public document although it is understood that they were accepted as house style for An Gm. It did not go unnoticed
that this review was being conducted by the newly established Central Translation Unit, whose initial remit was translation of
secondary legislation, and not by the long established Ranng an Aistrichin. In announcing (9 June 2010) the membership
of the 22 strong Steering Committee of the review and the then ongoing first consultation period of the process, the (then)
Minister for Language Affairs said:
Particular acknowledgement must be given, of course, to Ranng an Aistrichin for its historical central role regarding An
Caighden Oifigiil. We can be certain that their diligence in this undertaking provides a sold foundation for this review.
In the event, An Ranng Aistrichin made available its own An Caighden Athbhreithnithe dated January 2012. It is
accessible online and in a limited run of hard copy. The foreword states that it incorporates the larger dialects and some recent
changes in the spoken Irish of native speakers. It seeks feedback from the public as another updated version is planned within
three years. Reference is also made to the previous version of 1958. It was noted that 54 years separates the first two editions
while a third is now already being planned.
There are differences and similarities between the process used by the now defunct Unit and the 2012 Standard published
by An Ranng Aistrichin. Both works sought opinions. This situation has led to what some commentators regard as no small
degree of uncertainty, particularly for those working professionally as writers, journalists, translators or editors.
In an ideal world, one official institution would be appropriately resourced to pronounce authoritatively on language
forms as required. The example of An Coimisin Logainmneacha and Brainse na Logainmneacha for placenames might be
appropriate: an expert committee and an operations branch.
TERMINOLOGY
The terminology database, www.focal.ie, maintained by Fiontar at Dublin City University (DCU), has had many millions of
searches since being established in 2006. It now provides links to the 30 million words in Nua-Chorpas na Gaeilge, part of the
Foclir Nua Barla-Gaeilge being developed by Foras na Gaeilge. Translators using recognised translation software now have
the facility to import lists directly through downloading to personal computers (www.focal.ie/Corpas.aspx). Fiontar has also
provided illustrated charts for schools and clubs giving sports terms. In August 2010, it advertised four contract research posts
in the areas of terminology and placenames: two research editors and two assistant research editors.

The database, www.acmhainn.ie, has a very varied collection of material with many useful links, including to the Dictionary
of Duinnn.
The continuing work of the International Academy of Astronautics in the production of a multilingual space dictionary
led to the publication in September 2010 of An English-Irish Lexicon of Scientific and Technical Space-Related Terminology
initiated by Prof. Susan McKenna-Lawlor (Space Technology Ireland). It contains some three and a half thousand terms.
Lmhleabhar Gaeilge an Gharda Sochna (Handbook) is another useful addition to the work of the police force as Tarma
Mleata is to the Defence Forces.
In Autumn 2009, Foras na Gaeilge advertised for suitably qualified persons for a panel of occasional researchers/editors
in terminology, this being one of the statutory duties of An Foras since transfer of this function to it from the Department of
Education.
Digitisation of materials, including manuscripts, whether by Irish Script on Screen or CELT or others, is adding to
accessibility of materials.

LANGUAGE AND THE ECONOMY 2007 ONWARDS
Context and background

This section attempts to put in perspective the actual continuing effects on the State and on those working on behalf of the
Irish language of the wider economic crisis described in the Introduction above.
Clearly, in times of recession when the State is in debt and the effects are community-wide, there are less opportunities for
expenditure in all areas of State policy. The emphasis tends to be on blunt cuts and savings, without any sophisticated impact
analysis of the immediate or long-term consequences in different policy areas. Hard-won gains may be lost and take years to
be recovered or reversed. Language matters may not be exempted from the exercise and may suffer accordingly. More telling,
perhaps, than merely practical considerations of finance or personnel, are the attitudinal obstacles encountered in the case of
expenditure on language promotion when other areas of social need may be perceived to have more urgent and immediate
importance. Such sentiments may then have a boomerang impact not only on political, legislative or financial support but may
change previously held positive or neutral community attitudes to more negative ones.
At the practical level, the reduction in disposable income for households led to clear effects on language matters in some
areas in the period under review. Despite some State subsidy, several of the Irish language Summer Colleges initially suffered
reduced intake leading in some instances to cancellation of courses. This resulted in a proportion of students not receiving the
brief immersion experience which so benefits those in schools where Irish is a subject only. This reduction also affected the local
Gaeltacht economy in certain regions.
Both the language-specific and more general recommendations of recent government action and of governmentcommissioned bodies on reducing State expenditure are recounted below as background and context to recent events in
matters linguistic. The wider context has been given above (Introduction: Economy and Politics).
At a time when the State was struggling, as happened at its inception, Irish speakers were hoping that the determination
which existed in 1922 would ensure that in 2010-2012 the proposed 20-Year Strategy for Irish would not lose either impetus or
enthusiasm; the assumption being that mature politicians rarely allow short-term expediency to take the place of policy, even
if expectations might have to be tempered to accommodate fiscal shortcomings.
Budgets, programmes and plans

The continuing response of government to the economic crisis was of necessity severe: three harsh budgets announced in
2008-2009-2010 (for the following years), a revised Capital Investment Programme, a Recovery Plan and the establishment
of various bodies to identify possible savings in State expenditure. The Pre-Budget Outlook of November 2009 stated that the
adjustment process began in July 2008. Budgets for 2011 and 2012 continued that process.
Budget 2009 (14 October 2008)

The General Election of 24 May, 2007, returned the members of the 30th Dil (Lower House) which met on 14 June, Bertie
Ahern having been elected Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and appointed by the President to that position. In less than a year,
he had resigned from the post and been replaced by the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, who appointed Brian Lenihan
as his successor in Finance. By mid-May 2008, the new Minister for Finance, in an address to the Seanad (Upper House)
was signalling corrective action on the economy and warning of priorities and impending changes. In a change from normal
procedure, the Budget for 2009 was issued, not in December for the following year, but brought forward to the earlier date of
14 October 2008. In ending his presentation of that Budget to the Dil, the Minister spoke as follows.
This Budget serves no vested interest. Rather, it provides an opportunity for us all to pull together and play our part
according to our means so that we can secure the gains which have been the achievement of the men and women of
this country. It is, a Cheann Chomhairle (Speaker of the House), no less than a call to patriotic action.
Some of the consequences of that Budget were recounted above (Introduction: Economy) with regard to instances of public
unrest. However, as time went on, citizens appeared to begin to accept the inevitability of the situation, albeit with a degree
of resentment against those who had appeared to have brought it about or seemed to have unduly profited at others expense.
Among the Appendices to that Budget for 2009 was Appendix D on the rationalisation of State Agencies. It could be called
the bonfire of the quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations). A raft of changes would be introduced across
a range of government departments. In summary, agencies were or would be either deprived of funding, subsumed into their
host department or amalgamated with other agencies (not always compatible), or closed or disbanded. Agencies earmarked
for statutory status were downgraded. This move had been prompted in part by an OECD report which had highlighted the
possibilities for a more strategic approach to the aims and rles of State agencies. The terminology used by politicians referred
to rationalisation, evaluation, multiplicity, duplication, overlapping, similarity and the proper locus for decision making
(departments) as well as the proper source for advice (civil servants). While there was substance to much of this, there was little
discussion of the differences between State-initiated arms-length quangos and civil society organisations nor of the rle of the
latter in a democracy.
Some examples of the practical outcomes of Budget 2009 on State-funded bodies

The random examples given below in this subsection show a sample of the practical results of this Budget 2009 policy in the
areas of both State-initiated bodies and voluntary State-funded organisations. Since several of these examples concern citizens
rights, and there are laws protecting citizens rights, a brief background to this issue of rights is given first.
Citizens rights
Firstly, The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, an international treaty, began in 1950
with the newly formed Council of Europe. This Convention came into force in 1953 in member states of the Council.
States may accept whichever protocals of the Convention they consider appropriate. The European Court of Human Rights
followed in 1959 as a mechanism to enforce the Convention and citizens are entitled to take their case before this court on
issues of human rights if they are of the view that domestic law has proved insufficient. In 2003 Ireland passed the European
Convention on Human Rights Act. In November 2010, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Public Interest Law Alliance
launched an information pack on the European Convention on Human Rights. Interestingly, in referring to the provisions of
the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement on human rights protection being brought into harmonisation North and South, Lord
Lester who launched the pack was of the view that the European Convention on Human Rights Act (2003) in the Republic
was weaker than the Human Rights Act (UK) and the Northern Ireland Act (1998).
Secondly, after the demise of the proposed European Constitution, a Charter of Fundamental Rights, gathered from various
sources, was proclaimed at the Nice European Council meeting of December 2000 and received legislative underpinning when
the Lisbon Treaty [Article 6 (1)] came into operation in December 2009. In May 2010, the College of Commissioners of the
EU included the Charter in their solemn declaration to uphold the Treaties. From October 2010, the EU Commission brought
in measures to ensure that the Charter is effectively implemented in member states in relation to EU law. These measures
include an impact type assessment at all stages of the evolution of EU legislation; an information portal for citizens from 2011;
a monitoring system to ensure compliance which includes an annual report and infringement procedures if required. The
European Court is one of the institutions of the European Union.
It is usually accepted that childrens rights, which were passed by referendum on 10 November 2012 to be inserted into the
Constitution of the Republic, are part of the protection system of both the EU and international rights.
Clearly, the Council of Europe and the European Union, while different institutions, nevertheless both have legal means to
protect the human rights of citizens in their member states. However, unless a citizen has and takes a valid case on human
rights grounds, neither institution may interfere in sovereign states.
Thirdly, the United Nations also keeps a watching brief on human rights issues. By August 2011, more than 60 organisations
had made submissions to the UN Human Rights Council on Irelands progress in human rights issues, in advance of the UNs
universal periodic review in Geneva in October. In mid-September 2011, 130 visiting human rights activists from 85 countries
joined Irish members at an international conference in Dublin.
Interestingly, a bilingual educational resource for second level schools, encompassing language rights and Irish, within
a human rights context, was prepared by the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga and launched, in multi-media format, on 27
September 2011.
Instances of public debate

The instances which follow of cutbacks after the 2009 Budget irked many citizens and led to much public debate.
The Consultative Committee on Racism was changed to another format. A cutback of 43% in the budget of the Equality
Authority led to the resignation of its director in December 2008 and reference to a campaign of misinformation in the
Authoritys report for 2009. A cut of 32% was made in the budget of the Irish Human Rights Commission. The Combat
Poverty Agency was dispensed with as a stand-alone agency. These changes led to ongoing complaints up to late 2010 from
the Equality and Rights Alliance (a coalition of 140 civil society groups and others) to the European Parliament on noncompliance by Ireland with European law in the area of equality. The importance of this stance lay in the upcoming review
(October 2011) by the United Nations of the States record on human rights. A new Minister of State (Junior Minister)
with responsibility for Equality, Integration and Human Rights was appointed at the re-named Department of Community,
Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs in June 2010. She made clear her wish that no further cuts be made in Budget 2011; she also
intended to bring recommendations to Government by the end of 2010 on a review of the Equality Tribunal, the Human
Rights Commission and the Equality Authority.
By August 2011, a possible merger of the latter two agencies was still under discussion; the Chair of the Equality Authority
justified such a merger in a media article. The tenure of the board of the Authority had expired in July 2011 but it had not
been replaced or renewed; the tenure of the 14 members (but not the Chair) of the Commission would expire in September
2011. In the meantime over the years of recession, the Commission had suffered a 40% budget cut since 2008 and its staff
fell by almost 50% (from 21 to 11). It had, however, continued to be an impartial actor, independent of both Government
and NGOs, since its inception. The Attorney-General was of the view that the lack of funding was putting the Commissions
remit at risk. Its incumbent Chair, given that the current tenure of Commissioners was near its end, requested even more
independence for the body in future, through accountability to the Oireachtas, not to a Government Department. Unlike the
Equality Authority, in the Republic the Commission was a result of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, with a sister body in
Northern Ireland. Finally, in September 2011, a new merged Human Rights and Equality Commission was announced, on the
now familiar grounds of better value for money; leaner more streamlined body able [to function] more effectively, efficiently,
cohesively. The Minister had spoken with the NI authorities on the change. The new board of 12 would be less than half that
of the two combined boards. Legislation to effect the merger was to be enacted before the end of 2011. In this, the Government
is following a proposal of the previous administration. Calls are now being made for changes to the Constitution, in advance
of the 2016 commemoration of the Rising, in order to strengthen human rights in relation to domestic and international
legislation. By February 2012, Ireland was engaged in lobbying for one of three seats, for the period 2012-2015, to be voted
in Autumn 2012 on the UN Human Rights Council; the other contenders were Germany, Greece, Sweden and the US. In the
event, the votes from the UN General Assembly ensured election for Ireland (US 131; Germany 127; Ireland 124; Greece 78;
Sweden 75).
The point to be noted is the insistence on independence but the imposition of a merger.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission had its new Chief Commissioner appointed in July 2011. In September
2011, the appointment of Chief Commissioner to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland was re-advertised, the
Secretary of State for NI having decided not to appoint after previous advertising in February 2011. Both bodies were
established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

In August 2011, the Minister for Jobs an Innovation announced a proposal to create a single structure to replace the
existing five bodies on employment rights: the Labour Relations Commission, the Employment Rights Authority, the Equality
Tribunal, the Employment Appeals Tribunal, and the Labour Court. The new body would not affect statutory mediation and
conciliation processes in collective disputes. The argument for change was based on haphazard development over the years (by
Government decision, presumably) and cost. A consultation period of a month was given on the content of the proposal.
The point to be noted is the provision to interested parties of a specific proposal for consultation, even though the period for
consultation was brief.
By 1 April, 2010, the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) and the National Centre for Partnership and
Performance (NCPP) had been dissolved and their work programme absorbed into the National Economic and Social
Council (NESC) within the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO, An Oifig Nisinta um Fhorbairt
Eacnamaoch agus Shisialta), established under the National Economic and Social Development Act in 2006. This decision
had the input of many stakeholders, including the social partners, who were consulted (Taoiseach, 1 April 2010). The NESF,
established in 1993, had up to 60 members representing not only the social partners but the voluntary and community sector.
Unusually, members of the Oireachtas (Legislature) were also among the membership. The NCPP dated from 2001. The NESC
has a longer history, going back to 1973 and the beginning of new economic approaches.
In his speech on the 1 April 2010, the previous Taoiseach had made clear the extent of Government commitment to public
service transformation. A Minister of State serving both the Departments of the Taoiseach and Finance had been appointed in
March 2010 to strengthen the political leadership of the process and a Public Services Board was planned in order to bring
focus and energy to the task. In fact, the incoming administration of March 2011 established a new ministry, the Department
of Public Expenditure and Reform alongside the Department of Finance.
Another ongoing discussion reached conclusion in July 2011, when the new Government approved draft legislation with
the intention of amalgamating the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency in 2012.
The issues to be noted in these decisions on semi-official bodies include dissolution, streamlining the work of policy advice, and
references to consultation with stakeholders. They will be noted again in reference to the funding of the Irish language sector, both
semi-state and voluntary.
In the voluntary grant-aided culture sector, the Arts Council took some decisions (considered drastic by former recipients)
on funding groups and organisations. The (then) Minister for the (then) Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport announced
the establishment of Irish National Opera in March 2010, a merger of two companies representing opera brought about through
a consultative process involving the companies, the Arts Council and the department. An interim board was appointed and
advertisements for a new Director appeared in August 2010. One of the companies, the Opera Theatre Company, closed at the
end of 2010, its last performance (Autumn 2010) being Grigory Frids The Diary of Anne Frank. The first performance under
the new entity was expected in early 2011. Unfortunately, this did not occur and the so recently established Irish National
Opera was itself disbanded, responsibility for opera being returned to the Arts Council which is now (late 2011) engaging in
further consultation,
Future Provision of Opera, a discussion document which has not generated much enthusiasm
The issues to be noted in the voluntary grant-aided culture sector are withdrawal or reduction of funding or amalgamation to
form a new entity. In the event, all were relevant to funding decisions for the Irish language voluntary sector.
Before and after Budget 2009 (issued in October 2008), reviews, re-structuring and streamlining of all State-funded
agencies and organisations were called for in the interests of value for money, cost-benefits and efficiency. There was, however,
little analysis of effectiveness, whether actual or its potential loss, nor any attempt at impact analyses nor even the provision of
inclusive criteria by which to judge results. Language, culture and the arts would not escape.
Supplementary Budget 2009 (April 2009)

Six months after Budget 2009 (from October 2008), in April 2009, another Supplementary Emergency Budget was necessary
given what the Minister described as severe economic distress. This budget included, inter alia, the establishment of NAMA
(National Assets Management Agency to take over bad loans by banks), increased taxes and the reduction of the number of
Ministers of State from 20 to 15.
Budget 2010 (December 2009)

In the Pre-Budget Outlook of November 2009, the current expenditure figures for the (then) Department of Community, Rural
and Gaeltacht Affairs were given as follows (000s):
2009
Estimated
Outturn
2010
Pre-Budget
Estimate
2011
Pre-Budget
Estimate
2012
Pre-Budget
Estimate
342,995
330,178
329,778
329,778
The downward trend into the future was clear.

The Budget for 2010 was issued at the traditional time of December of the preceding year, 2009. The Minister for
Finance said that in framing this Budget, he was guided by the McCarthy Groups report (full account below), the Special
Group signalled in the budget for 2009 (October 2008) and set up in December 2008. More cuts were then inevitable in
departmental allocations with associated consequences for activities, including language. The effects on the department with
responsibility for language affairs were widely if fairly unevenly spread. The overall allocation (current and capital expenditure)
went down by 13% from 475.701m for 2009 to 415.426m for 2010; current expenditure reduced by 32.1m (9%) and
capital by 28,175m (21%). In practical terms of expenditure on Irish, almost every area was affected.
Area
Allocation (m) & Year
% Reduction
2009
2010
Office of An Coimisinir Teanga
960,000
875,000
9%
Gaeltacht & Islands (in toto)
85,918
62,501
27%
Gaeltacht Schemes
66,267
47,500
28%
dars na Gaeltachta
19,651
15,001
24%
*Language Promotion & Maintenance (in toto)
8,415
5,716
32%
An Foras Teanga (North/South body)
16,830
16,780
0.3%
*This includes the office of An Coimisinir, activities under Ciste na Gaeilge (Fund for Irish, part-funded by the National
Lottery), and the Advanced Irish Language Skills Initiative or grants for courses through Irish at third level, some to service the
ongoing requirements of Irish in the EU.
In other areas where Irish was an issue, actual Budget changes also occurred. The Irish language television station, TG4,
suffered a 3m loss in current expenditure although 900,000 was allocated for capital expenditure. However, the promise
made of additional expenditure measures to provide for Government commitments resulted in 3m for the Department of
Education for Irish in schools as part of the proposed 20-Year Strategy for Irish 2010-2030.
Given the economic situation, however, adjustments and revisions continued throughout the year and calls to Government
departments to reduce expenditure were heeded. The Office of An Coimisinir Teanga is a case in point.
Office of An Coimisinir Teanga (from Annual Reports)

Year
Budget
Drawn down
Staff
2008
1,040,000
830,000
2009
960,000
864,438
2010
796,000
743,966
Infrastructure Investment Priorities Programme 2010-2016 (July 2010)

In advance of Budget 2011, massive reductions were made in the revised 7-year capital investment programme. This 20102016 programme launched in July 2010 was the latest version, given the new economic problems, of The National Development
Plan 2007-2013. Among the projects to go ahead were public transport particularly in the Dublin area (a year later, in August
2011, the new Coalition Minister for Transport deferred both Metro North and Dart Underground, on foot of a review);
upgrading of public services and the encouragement of energy-smart policies with the intention of creating jobs in the sectors
most hit by the recession. Proposed decentralisation plans were postponed.
However, it was the reprioritisation under this Infrastructure Investment Priorities Programme 2010-2016 in future capital
investment for the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs (D/CE&GA) that received comment from Irish
language media and organisations, particularly insofar as changes might affect the economy of the Gaeltacht. Proposed total
infrastructural allocation for the department fell from 105m in 2010 to 86m (2011, 2012, 2013) and then more than halved
for 2014 at 40m, followed by a further reduction to 30m in 2015 and 2016. The official rationale given was, in effect, twofold:
the fact that some investment had already taken place in preceding years; more ominously, that some programmes were the same
as those administered by other departments (Environment, Heritage and Local Government; Enterprise, Trade and Innovation)
to which responsibility would now return, even if in consultation with the D/CE&GA. In future, ongoing investment for the D/
CE&GA would focus on the EU LEADER programme. One comment, in particular, seemed to echo a recommendation from
the Snip report: that dars na Gaeltachta provides enterprise supports similar to other enterprise agencies.
Speaking on radio (July 29, 2010) the CEO of dars na Gaeltachta made clear that the recommendations of the Capital
Spending Plan, as published, would mean the demise of his agency as a functioning body. The Minister, while still hoping that
the agencys enterprise role would continue, clarified that the matter had yet to be discussed by Cabinet.
Community and voluntary sector objections to these cuts centred on several arguments: that, of all departments, the D/
CE&GA received the highest percentage reduction (calculated at up to 70% since 2008); that the enterprise function of dars
na Gaeltachta seemed destined for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, despite the language community focus
of An tdars. Guth na Gaeltachta (Voice of the Gaeltacht) reiterated the arguments it had consistently made in relation to the
Gaeltacht section of the 20-Year Strategy and in its oral and written submissions to the Oireachtas (Parliamentary) Committee on
the Strategy. In a letter published in the Irish Times (26 August 2010), and in local newspapers the Donegal Democrat and the
Donegal News, a letter signed by 29 community and local Gaeltacht organisations made the case that the preservation of Irish as
a living community language in the Gaeltacht cannot be made conditional upon global economic conditions. This letter was also
sent to the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and to the (then) Tnaiste (Deputy Prime Minister), a local Donegal politician. It called
for all the recommendations of the Oireachtas Committee report on the 20-Year Strategy to be implemented in their entirety.
Another fear articulated was that, in fact, the recommendations of the Snip report (see next section) were already being
implemented, to the detriment of the language, through a capital investment policy which was firm Government policy and
that, unfortunately, in advance of any firm decisions being taken on the 20-Year Strategy for Irish, which was still at the time no
more than a Draft policy. In addition, the projected increases over the period of the capital investment programme both in
primary school enrolments and in higher education enrolment could have implications for Irish-medium education and courses.
The National Recovery Plan 2011 2014 (November 2010)

As recounted above (Chapter 1, Economy), this Plan was eventually published on 24
November 2010. As a four year corrective plan to the increasing level of public debt, it had already been announced in
December 2009 with the 2010 Budget. It was hoped to achieve current expenditure savings of 7 billion over the period of the
Plan. The (then) Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs was expected to deliver 35 million of this: 27
in 2011 and 8 million over the three years 2012 2014. This was described as front-loading. The measures to achieve this
included, for 2011, under language matters:
Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs
- Reduced funding for Gaeltacht schemes/services by 1.4 million.
- Savings across Irish language support programmes by 0.6 million.
- Over the period to 2014, the full range of grant assistance programmes to be reviewed for further efficiencies
and consolidation to secure an additional 8 million in savings.
Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

- Exchequer funding for TG4 will be reduced with the shortfall made up from RT licence fee income yielding a
net programme saving of 6.2 million. (Proposed by Bord Snip Nua in July 2009).
At the time (November 2010), according to TG4, it had already undergone budgetary cuts of 16% in the previous year and a
half; it had cut salaries by 10% and made reductions also for the independent sector providers (calculated at 320 full time and
some 800 part time workers). While the 6.2 million from the RT licence fee would not increase the TG4 budget, it would
decrease the RT budget. It was hoped that the proposed context would not change the existing arrangement whereby RT
supplies one hours programming without cost daily to TG4. This recommendation was still in
mid-2011 a matter of discussion between the current Minister for Communications and TG4. The licence fee arrangement is,
however, now included in Part 4, Amendments to Broadcasting Act 2009, of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services)
Act 2011, signed into law on 2 August 2011. The accompanying press release from the Department of Communications,
Energy and Natural Resources states that:
The bill also enables almost 10 million to be transferred from the TV licence revenue to help fund TG4.
No actual sum appears in the Act itself.
In fact, the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes, popularly known as An Bord Snip Nua
(below), July 2009, had recommended partial funding for TG4 from the TV licence fee with reciprocal reduction in Exchequer
funding but no increase in the TV licence to compensate. This Group also recommended that scarce resources such as radio
magnetic spectrum should be allocated through auctions to maximise the return to the State. The Review Group on State Assets
and Liabilities was established a year later in July 2010 under the chairmanship of the university economist, Colm McCarthy,
who also chaired the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes. It reported in April 2011 and its
proposals were under Cabinet discussion in September 2011; the official line seemed to be to realise through sales of certain
assets, or certain parts of assets, some 2 billion but the troika of the bailout institutions were seeking 4 billions worth. With
regard to the public service broadcasters, RT and TG4, this second Review Group echoed the previous recommendations of
An Bord Snip Nua:
- In the interests of transparency, the Group recommends that RTs provision of Irish language content to TG4
under the provisions of the Broadcasting Acts is transacted on a commercial basis and funded by TG4 from
within its revenues. The respective Exchequer support of each broadcaster should be adjusted accordingly to
take account of the transaction.
- In line with the position taken by the Group generally on allocation of radio frequency spectrum, the Group
recommends that rights to use spectrum for broadcasting purposes are allocated using a market-based approach
that promotes the most efficient management and use of the spectrum resource.
Budget 2011 (December 2010 onwards)

Budget 2011 was awaited with both hope and trepidation, given the thrust of the revised capital expenditure programme to
2016 as outlined in the next section. On general issues, as expected, social welfare payments fell except the old age pension;
ministers salaries were reduced and a ceiling of 250,000 put on public servants salaries; a universal social charge of 11%
replaced existing charges; third level registration fees increased to 2,000. Three items were significant: a huge 6 billion
adjustment was being made; this budget signalled the first instalment of the 4-Year Plan (see Economy above); the Minister
referred to a traumatic and troubling time for the people.
In terms of language as in other areas of State expenditure, the decisions had ongoing impact. The reduction in the funding
of Foras na Gaeilge had continuing effects not only on the agency itself but on the voluntary organisations it had traditionally
funded as discussed below. For dars na Gaeilge, the decline in funding had been meant to be partially offset by sale of assets;
not always feasible in a recession. In an interview with the Irish newspaper Foinse (17 November 2010), some time before
Budget day in December, the then Minister with responsibility for the language referred to expected cuts. However, he also
believed that, in the greater scheme of things, his small but historic department for language had accomplished much due to
the efficient use of funding by the organisations, including Foras na Gaeilge. Since their funding was not great, they had to be
efficient, he believed.
Several factors rendered the ongoing budget situation for 2011 even more complex than usual. These included a
change of Government after the February General Election and an ensuing redistribution of departmental functions. The
functions, personnel and associated funding of the previous Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs were
then redistributed as appropriate, those relating to Gaeltacht (former Vote 27) to the newly named Department of Arts,
Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Vote 35 plus Vote 33, the National Gallery). In addition, the Revised Estimates of the previous
administration laid before the Dil (Lower House) in February 2011 were not voted on and had no legal force. In fact, while
a press release states that they were lodged in the Oireachtas Library on 15 February 2011, these Revised Estimates (from those
of 7 December 2010, Budget 2011) are apparently no longer in the public web domain. The newly established Department for
Public Expenditure and Reform thus issued updated Estimates for 2011 in July 2011. The table below on language estimates
compares Estimates for 2010 with two sets of estimates for 2011: December 2010 Estimates for 2011 and the Revised version
of July 2011, under the specific subheads relating to language items. However, these may not always neatly correspond since
the layouts in the original documents are not exactly similar. Sufficient information is available, however, for purposes of broad
comparison.
Estimates (000s) for Public Services 2010-2011

Irish Language & The Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht Capital (total only)
Cultural & Social Schemes
Subtotal
Gaeltacht Support Schemes (total)
2010
(Dec 2010)
2011
(July 2011)
10,000
2,500
9,327
8,500
19,327
11,000
2011
9,076
dars na Gaeltachta
Administration
11,000
10,324
6,848
3,915
3,300
2,475
18,000
6,000
5,500
32,916
19,625
14,824
796
670
471
*An Foras Teanga
16,634
16,647
12,434
Islands (some of which are Irish-speaking)
16,700
9,400
6,713
7,216
4,600
5,379
93,589
61,942
48,897
Current Programme Expenditure

Grants for Projects & Capital Exp. Premises
Election
Subtotal
An Coimisinir Teanga
Irish Language Support Schemes (total only)

Total
* An Foras Teanga comprises two bodies: Foras na Gaeilge (ROI contributes 75% and NI 25%) and the Ulster-Scots Agency or Boord o
Ulstr-Scotch (NI contributes 75% and ROI 25%. The figure of 12,434 m euro above will then be increased by the NI contribution).
The July 2011 Revised Estimates give the following breakdown for totals given above.
(a) Gaeltacht Support Schemes 2011 (000s)

Housing
637
Community & Recreational Facilities
1,128
Roads
126
Water/sewage
20
Marine works
50
Gaeltacht Educational & Cultural Schemes
2,410
Parents/Guardians Irish main language
326
Households accommodating Irish language Students
4,379
Total
9,076
(b) Irish Language Support Schemes

Current
667
Capital
84
Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann
1,409
Third level education in Ireland & Overseas
2,583
Terminology, Translation & Placenames

Projects
636
Total
5,379
(c) An Coimisinir Teanga

Pay
290
Non-Pay
181
Total
471 (based on the reduced number of 5 staff)
Under other Departmental estimates the following figures are given for other subheads relating to language.
Department of Public Expenditure & Reform
2010
2011 (July)
Gaeleagras na Seirbhse Poibl
*233
120
*34,050
33,550
Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources

Teilifs na Gaeilge (Grant-in-aid)
* Provisional outturn
Preparations for Budget 2012

It was announced in August 2011 that, unusually, the annual publication of the pre-budget outlook would in 2011 be
accompanied by a 4-year medium-term fiscal consolidation plan for the period 2012-2015. The four-year plan of the previous
administration, the basic elements of which were retained by their successors for the moment, was intended to reduce the
GDP deficit to the 3% required by 2014. The current administration initially extended the period for reduction to 2015.
This inevitably meant continuation of austerity measures to at least that year. In the meantime, the Minister holding the new
portfolio of Public Expenditure and Reform (2011) engaged in the preparation of a Comprehensive Review of Expenditure
(CRE) across all departments, accompanied by public consultation on ideas for savings, as basis for a revised 3-year plan, 20122014. Departments were requested to think in terms of reductions in the order of 15% to 20%. Background documents for
this exercise were put in the public domain. Such CRE exercises are to be the keystone of public financial management, the
next to take place from Autumn 2013 to Spring 2014.
The thinking underpinning such an approach was:
Not solely achieving spending reductions but getting priorities right and embedding expenditure policy within the
reform agenda.
In conducting a CRE, other considerations were also made:
Among the thematic evaluations of a number of topics which span several departments in relation to specific policy
areas and the delivery of critical public services is listed Rationalising Multiple Sources of Funding to the Not-forProfit Sector.
Expenditure on matters relating to language and culture would, of course, be included in any reductions. The concept of
rationalising is not quite the same as removing, however, in the view of the Irish language funded Sector. Value for money
(VfM) tests were an integral part of prioritisation. Among the criteria for such tests were:
- VfM Test 1: Rationale, Objectives, Relevance
What are the objectives of the programme? Is there a valid rationale for undertaking the programme? Is the policy
consistent with the Government Programme?
- FfM Test 2: Effectiveness
Is the programme achieving its objectives?
- FfM Test 3: Efficiency
Is the maximum being delivered with the resources invested? How can greater efficiency be achieved in the context of
a lower level of expenditure?
Other possible criteria included more specific ways to realise savings and maximise impact. These included:
Rationalisation of grant and subsidy schemes; simplification of systems; rationalisation, merger or abolition of
agencies; potential for shared services or external service delivery; and more widespread use of eGovernment.
The scene was set for change as the Voluntary Irish Language Sector was soon to discover. However, the tools to ensure
harmonisation with Government objectives were given, as above, and could be applied without difficulty to the operations of
the Sector by the Sector itself, if it so chose or if it chose to publicise the ongoing positive results of its own strategic plans
and VfM tests.
Budget 2012 and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (D/AHG)
This section attempts to follow the various iterations of the Departmental Budget from September 2011 to early 2012.
Report on the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE): D/AHG Submission and CRE
Allocations 2012-2014
The September 2011 submission (published in December) for the CRE from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the
Gaeltacht contained the following arguments and figures on the four major aspects of its current brief. Overall, the submission
provided two scenarios: figures based on the 15% reduction requested and figures based on half that, a 7.5% reduction in
expenditure. The document also provides arguments for the lower figure based on the Governments policies in relation to
cultural tourism, the smart economy and Irelands international reputation, while also keeping in mind streamlining of services
and compliance with EU directives in the area of Heritage. In addition, cuts already suffered by the various elements of the
Departments brief are outlined, all of which impact on the core functions of the Department:
Decline in
- current expenditure by some 21% between 2008 and 2011 explained as:

Arts, Film, Music, Cultural Institutions & National Gallery by 17%
Heritage by 62%
Irish Language, Gaeltacht & Islands by 14%
North/South Co-operation by 9%
- total 262,729,000 (2008) to 207,340,000 (2011) or by 21%

The September 2011 CRE submission from the D/AHG explains that there are nine National Cultural Institutions under
the aegis of the Department as currently constituted. Under legislation there are the National Gallery, National Museum,
National Library, National Archives. Four others are limited companies (without share capital): Irish Museum of Modern Art
(IMMA), National Concert Hall, Abbey Theatre, Crawford Art Gallery Cork. The Chester Beatty Library is a charitable trust.
The document considers the option of a single board for all but opts instead for other possibilities towards rationalisation. For
discussion and possible legislative change, the following are raised (page 25):
appeared in the final budgetary allocation, they nevertheless still remained for possible future consideration.
By 18 November 2011, the media were carrying news of what was described as the quango cull or critical review intended
by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform by end June 2012. With regard to changes for the D/AHG, Culture
Ireland and the Placenames Commission (An Coimisin Logainmneacha) together with the Heritage Council were marked for
absorption of their functions into the Department. The potential for the Chester Beatty Library to share services with other
cultural institutions was also put forward. The Office of the Ombudsman would absorb Data Protection and the Office of An
Coimisinir Teanga.
The entire November 2011 list was of very disparate institutions, from old to new, from statutorily established to those
of fairly recent quango status. From small to large, from background-type bodies to those in much greater interaction with
citizens. The savings as a result of the cull were estimated at some 20m per annum but increasing over time. The incongruity
of some of the proposed mergers drew much media comment, together with the lack of rationale and, in some cases, very
little saving of public moneys. From the perspective of those involved in language and culture, it appeared from some of the
proposed changes that the supportive official structure, fragile though it might seem, was now being systematically taken apart
without impact analysis or any new edifice being proposed.
The eventual composite Report on the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure and Expenditure Allocations 2012-2014 of
December 2011 includes the following figures for 2012 Estimates in the case of the D/AHG. The report states that the
figures reflect the expenditure aggregates set out in the Medium-Term Fiscal Statement of 4 November 2011; that most of the
Estimates have been restructured on a Strategic Programme basis; and that the 2012 Estimates will be supplemented with key
performance information.
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Estimates: 2011 & 2012 000s
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2011
38,926
12,354
51,280
2012
37,379
8,927
46,306
Change 2012 over

2011
10%
North-South Co-operation (includes An Foras Teanga/Foras na Gaeilge)

2011
41,076
6,002
47,078
2012
38,216
4,502
42,718
9%
The other areas of the core activities of the Department, all of which have implications for language, were given as follows
in these allocations.
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
Change 2012 over

2011
2011
115,923
29,612
145,535
2012
109,450
20,102
129,552
11%
Change 2012 over

2011
Heritage
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2011
41,249
10,847
52,096
2012
38,952
9,469
48,421
-7%
National Gallery (Net Total)

Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2011
7,847
2,000
9,847
2012
7,335
1,000
8,335
Change 2012 over

2011
15%
Departmental figures early 2012

The next set of figures below shows some proposed, presumably fairly definitive, allocations for 2012 as at early February
2012, displayed on the website of D/AHG. There are some changes from those in the CRE above since the outturns for 2011
were probably more precise and internal changes between items may have occurred since some functions of the Department
had changed.
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Estimates: 2011 & 2012 000s
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
Change 2012 over 2011
2011
34,471
12,300
46,771
2012
32,871
8,874
41,745
5,026
Current
Capital
Total
An Foras Teanga
16,600
16,600
Waterways Irl
24,300
6,000
30,300
Total
40,900
6,000
46,900
An Foras Teanga
15,438
15,438
1,162
Waterways Irl
22,599
4,500
27,099
3,201
Total
38,037
4,500
42,537
4,363
2011
2012
Some other elements of expenditure in the core activities of the Department, all of which have implications for language,
showed as follows on the Departmental website (February 2012).
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2011
110,341
29,550
139,891
2012
104,006
20,040
124,046
15,845
Heritage
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2011
*13,528
10,539
24,067
2012
*13,260
9,164
22,424
1,643
*Areas listed include: Grant for An Chomhairle Oidhreachta (Heritage Council); Built Heritage; National Parks & Wildlife;
Irish Heritage Trust.
In fact, since 2008, the area of Heritage had suffered a 62% reduction (from 35,396m); the Heritage Council by 46%;
Built Heritage by 75%; National Parks & Wildlife by 62% and the Irish Heritage Trust (under review) by 28%.
Unfortunately, whatever the basis for the figures presented above, one stark truth remains constant: the trend is towards
reduction in expenditure by whichever means will best accomplish that end. Nevertheless, the D/AHG September 2011
submission to the CRE process had considered some critical issues, among which were:
The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in fulfilling its mandate to support and promote the arts and
culture, the built and natural heritage, the Irish language, the Gaeltacht, and the islands, recognises the intrinsic and
unique value of all of these to Ireland, as well as the benefits they bring in enriching the lives of all our citizens. The
Department, in carrying out this work, is delivering on the Governments commitment to ensure that every one of
our citizens has an effective rightto contribute to thecultural life of the nation.
The chapter on the Irish language, the Gaeltacht and the islands begins with the high level objective:
To support the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 and, within that framework, to
support the use of Irish as a community language in the Gaeltacht.
To sustain vibrant island communities through the provision of lifeline access services to inhabited offshore islands.
These are all critical issues and objectives which do not always lend themselves so readily to the kinds of future assessment
the final Report of the 2011 Comprehensive Review of Expenditure envisaged. Firstly, the new process will be based on a new
standard of programme evaluation or common standard report across all Governmental programmes based on three main
headings with accompanying set of criteria: quality of programme design; implementation of programme/scheme; crosscutting aspects (page 84). Performance budgeting requires performance indicators appropriate to the programme or scheme
which is the subject of assessment (page 87). Consideration is given to the following:
For any programme, there are many different PIs [performance indicators] that might be chosen. The challenge is to select
indicators that are useful to policy-makers, and to those whose role is to scrutinise the effectiveness and efficiency of public
spending. Less useful are indicators of mere activity or process, or qualitative measures that are hard to verify (e.g. continue
to provide high quality advice to Minister).
While this is useful to Government, the real challenge will probably lie in agreeing and selecting an appropriate set of
criteria for what qualifies as effectiveness in judging the outcomes of language or cultured-centred programmes or interventions.
In some aspects such criteria can only be qualitative as they are often engaged more in assessing process
than product. Otherwise the exercise becomes a mere numbers game.
The final set of figures given in the next section demonstrate the ways in which the D/AHG dealt with PIs in its area of operations.
Revised Estimates for Public Services 2012 (23 February 2012)

This final set of figures is from the Revised Estimates for Public Services as published by the Department of Public Expenditure
& Reform on 23 February 2012. Again they differ somewhat from those given above with regard to the 2011 outturns (not
given here) and, more significantly in the slight increase across all programmes. Additionally, in these Estimates is found the
identification of expenditure relating to the numbers of Public Service employees (including pensions) and to the percentage of
total allocation going on pay under expenditure for each departmental programme. Key target outputs expected are also listed
under each programme as promised in the CRE Report. Total allocation for the Department is now 263,772,000 (Vote 33).
Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Revised Estimates: 2012 000s
Irish Language, Gaeltacht & Islands (Programme C)
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2012
35,853
8,927
44,780
11%
Previous 2012 totals on the D/AHG website

2012
32,871
8,874
41,745
5,026
The revised Estimates show an increase on previous figures, which may be related to the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy
for Irish or to other considerations. It is unclear whether Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann (now under Programme A) had been
removed from the previous totals. If so, the increase is even higher. The Key Outputs and Targets listed show no surprises while
the context and impact indicators are all couched in quantitative terms and refer to the years 2009-2011 as comparative baseline.
D/AHG: Key Outputs and Output Targets for 2012: Programme C

- Implement the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030
Deliver Departments 2012 implementation plan.
Deliver language planning process in context of proposed new statutory definition of the Gaeltacht.
Progress Gaeltacht Bill and *Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill through the Oireachtas.
*{Amalgamation of translation agencies].
Support dars na Gaeltachta in assisting enterprise development and maintaining employment base in the
Gaeltacht.
Complete review of Official Languages Act.
- Facilitate the delivery of services to island communities
Continue provision of lifeline transport services to offshore islands.
Context and Impact Indicators

Indicator/Year
Number attending Irish colleges in the Gaeltacht
Number of jobs created in the Gaeltacht
Number of jobs maintained in the Gaeltacht
Number using subsidised travel services to offshore islands
2009
2010
2011
27,586
25,120
24,714
710
704
734
7,472
7,074
7,000
496,337
537,778
586,234
North-South Co-operation (Programme D)
*2012
Current
Capital
Total
38,244
4,503
42,747
-8%
*Includes both Waterways Ireland and the overall body, An Foras Teanga. These estimates are subject to the approval of the
North South Ministerial Council.
2012
38,037
4,500
42,537
4,363
The previous totals on the Departmental website were somewhat lower.

North-South Co-operation (Programme D): An Foras Teanga 000s
Current
Total
2011
15,873
15,873
2012
15,438
15,438
435,00 (2.74%)
The Key Outputs and Output Targets for 2012 for Programme D are the promotion of North South co-operation through
the holding of meetings, agreeing business plans and budgets for the two agencies and, in the case of Foras na Gaeilge, through
implementing the external review completed in 2011 of IS, the book distribution agency of FNG. No mention is made of
the completion or implementation of the outcomes of the ongoing third consultation process on the New Funding Model
Schemes in the case of the Core-funded Sector (discussed below). Under the context and impact indicators are the number of
organisations and festivals supported by Foras na Gaeilge over the three previous years: 2009 (155); 2010 (303); 2011 (377).
The number of joint projects supported by both parts of the Language Body increased from 8 (2009) to 10 (2010 and 2011).
The breakdown of Programme C was given as follows. A somewhat similar table is found above under Budget 2010 for
the years 2009 and 2010.
Area of Programme
Allocation (000s) & Year
Change
2011
2012
630
650
+ 20 (+3.17%)
Gaeltacht Schemes
10,878
9,123
1,755 (-16%)
dars na Gaeltachta
19,918
19,082
836 (-4.2%)
*Irish Language Support Schemes
5,028
4,625
403 (-8%)
Islands
9,475
6,863
2,612 (-27.5%)
Office of An Coimisinir Teanga
* Part-funded by the National Lottery

Some other elements of expenditure in the core activities of the Department, all of which have implications for language,
are as follows in these latest (23 February 2012) Revised Estimates 2012. It is also noted that funding for the traditional music
organisation, Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann, has now been moved from Programme C (Irish language etc.) to Programme A
(Arts, Culture, Film). This may account for some of the increase noted in Programme A. Expenditure of 1m has been included
for a cultural programme during the EU Presidency by Ireland.
Arts, Culture & Film (Programme A)
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2012
112,278
20,101
132,379
10%

104,006
2012
20,040
124,046
15,845
Outputs
- To nurture and develop artistic ad creative talent; enhance arts access, national cultural institutions, regional
arts infrastructure and cultural tourism countrywide, in co-operation with national/local authorities and other
partners (including Arts in Education initiative).
- To promote Irish arts worldwide and develop a strategy for philanthropic-type funding in the Irish arts and
cultural sector (including cultural programme planning for EU Presidency).
- To develop and promote the Irish audiovisual content creation industry (Irish Film Board; Creative Capital
Report implementation).
Indicators
2009
2010
2011
Number of visitors to cultural institutions
2.89m
3.1m
3.5m
Aggregate output level film/tv production sector
247m
243m
388m
Participation arts/culture nationally (a) no (b) % adult population
2.3m
2.0m
2.0m
66%
58%
58%
Heritage (Programme B)
Year/Exp.
Current
Capital
Total
2012
39,076
9,469
48,545
4%

2012
*13,260
9,164
22,424
1,643
*Areas then listed include: Grant for An Chomhairle Oidhreachta (Heritage Council); Built Heritage; National Parks &
Wildlife; Irish Heritage Trust. Valid comparison is not then possible between the Revised Estimates and figures previously on
the Departmental website. However, a total of 48,421 had been given in the earlier Report of the CRE.
Outputs (some through third parties)
- Compliance with EU law.
- Raising awareness of the richness of heritage.
- Implementation and enforcement of legislation.
- Effective delivery of heritage services.
Indicators
- Extent of cases of EU infringement against Ireland.
- Number of visitor services open to the public.
- Protection of structures/monuments (numbers).
The National Gallery also (Vote 34) remained unchanged. The number of visitors fell year on year (as did the number
and cost of acquisitions): 2009(782,000); 2010 (737,000); 2011 (624,000). Such numbers tend to be affected by exhibitions,
the number of tourists and any closures due to refurbishment.
Programmes under other Departments which affect the Irish language are listed below.
2012 Estimates (000s)

Department
Programme
Allocation
Change over 2011
Public Expenditure %
Gaeleagras na
Reform
Seirbse Poibl (a)
45 Current
+ 5,000
Communications,
TG4 (Grant-in-Aid)
32,750 Current
Energy & Natural
835 Capital
Resources (b)
33,585
2,675m
Broadcasting Fund
14,704
+284,000
COGG
1,750
+150,000
Grants for Irish &

Bilingual schools
(Irish as medium)
440
no change
Second Level Support

Service for Irish (c)
832,500
Education & Skills
(a) This may relate to Civil Service personnel formerly with Gaeleagras.
(b) The Key Outputs for this department include:
- Ensure the continued provision of public service and Irish public service broadcasting.
- Create an environment that encourages the successful development of the audio and audiovisual media sector in
Ireland.
(c) Published in Irish newspaper Gaelscal, 22 February 2012
Among the targets are:
- TG4 to deliver 4.6 hours of Irish language programming per day [2011 estimate is given as 4.2 hours].
- BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland) to provide grants for eligible Irish culture and heritage programmes
[some of these are often in Irish].
The Context and Impact Indicators are quantitative:
Indicators
2009
2010
2011
Number of hours of distinctive indigenous programming broadcast by RT

across all genres
4,600
5,030
4,782
Average number of hours (per day) of Irish produced television programmes

broadcast by TG4
1,672
1,593
1,544
(4.58)
(4.4)
(4.2) est.
147
129
273
Number of new television and radio programmes commissioned by BAI
The decline in broadcasting in both RT and TG4 are probably attributable to reduced income.

Receipts from the National Lottery are used to fund some programmes across several departments. There had been argument
in the past with regard to dependence on such a source for key Government expenditure on the basis that if Lottery receipts fell,
crucial programmes, including language, might suffer. The following table shows the then current indicative situation.
D/AHG Expenditure Part-funded by the National Lottery: 2012 Estimates (000s)

Current
Capital
Total
63,100
141
63,241
Grants for An Chomhairle Oidhreachta (Heritage Council)
2,842
1,969
4,811
Irish Language Support Schemes
4,425
200
4,625
70,367
2,310
72,677
An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council) (Grant-in-Aid)
Total
Other Departments may also part-fund Irish organisations through Lottery assistance: e.g. youth organisations and preschools,
Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
Budget 2013 and D/AHG

Several departmental budgets suffered change and reduction for 2013. Since the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
(D/AHG) underwent a reduction of 5.4% (and 10% on the capital allocation), it was clear that some services for the Irish
language and the Gaeltacht would also undergo change. In addition, departments had to make allowance for the EU Presidency
held by Ireland during the first half of 2013. The published estimates under programme expenditure showed the following figures:
D/AHG: Estimates Programme Expenditure 2013

Programme
Estimate
Current
Estimate
Capital
Total
Change over
2012 %
107,240,000
18,188,000
125,428,000
-5%
Heritage
37,577,000
6,757,000
*44,334,000
-9%
34,290,000
8,077,000
42,367,000
-5%
(Foras na Gaeilge & Waterways Ireland)
36,178,000
4,073,000
40,251,000
-6%
*In addition, it was intended to apply to the Heritage Programme a sum of 1,200,000 from unspent capital supply services
in 2012.
Information from Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge pointed out that the Irish Support Schemes, which are part-funded
by the National Lottery, have been reduced for 2013 by 25%, from 200,000 to 150,000. dars na Gaeltachta capital
funding remains more or less as in the reductions of recent years. An additional sum for language planning responsibilities
has also been granted to the agency. As already forecast, some reduction has occurred for the N/S bodies (to be confirmed by
the N/S Ministerial Council). Specifically Irish language and Gaeltacht programmes were allocated 57 million. Government
statements were also made in support of the Gaeltacht and the development of employment there as well as in support of the
20-Year Strategy and the provision of achievable targets.
Budget 2014
The indicative figures for 2014 were issued on 15 October 2013. They included a specific allocation of 0.5m for the 20Year
Strategy which the Minister of State said would fund various activitiesto support the language planning process on the
ground support for community organisations to assist them in preparing and implementing language plans under the
Gaeltacht Act 2012. Overall, however, the figures showed cuts all round in the order of -5% from the previous year. The
Language Body (An Foras Teanga), which includes both Irish (75% from the South) and Ulster Scots (25% from the South)
was allocated 13.578m.
Budgets, recessionary times and Foras na Gaeilge

In relation to the continuing decrease in the budget for Foras na Gaeilge, the minutes of the Board for 18 December 2009 noted
receipt of a letter the day before with regard to the 2010 budget. Pending agreement on the 2010 budget between both sponsor
departments, Foras na Gaeilge was requested to limit monthly expenditure to 80% of the expenditure profile for 2010. A draft
budget and business plan were to be prepared for the January 2010 meeting of the Board. In February 2011, the budget for
2011 was reduced by 9% over that of 2010 (by some 2 million euro). FNG was also informed that an additional 3% decrease
would be imposed for the three following years, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
As a North South body, An Foras Teanga is funded by two sponsor departments, the department with responsibility for the
language (however entitled) in the Republic (ROI) and by the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure in Northern Ireland
(D/CAL, NI). An Foras Teanga comprises two bodies: Foras na Gaeilge (ROI contributes 75% and NI 25%) and Boord o
Ulstr-Scotch (NI contributes 75% and ROI 25%).
In Northern Ireland, in the wake of the NI Executives Draft Budget, D/CAL engaged in a public consultation exercise
from December 31st 2010 on its long-term budgetary proposals. Final budget allocations were published after this exercise.
With regard to FNG, they reflected the following situation.
N/S Body Languages (Current Expenditure Allocation)
m sterling
2011/12
2012/13
2013/20
2014/15
Budget Allocations by Unit of Service
6.99
6.73
6.57
6.24
Budget Allocations by Department

& Arms Length Bodies
6.47
6.21
6.03
5.68
These figures are in pounds sterling and for division between Foras na Gaeilge (25%) and Boord o Ulstr-Scotch (75%). As in
the Republic, they reflect a declining funding context.
This then was the financial background for the immense changes detailed below in the funding of the core-funded Sector.
It also had an impact on the continuing revision of the six monthly plans and budgets submitted by the Sector to FNG from
2010 onwards.
ADVISORY GROUP REPORTS
The Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes and subsequent
McCarthy Report An Bord Snip Nua (July 2009)
In light of the deteriorating state of the public finances, the Government issued a Statement on Transforming Public Services
in late November 2008. This Statement included an announcement to the effect that the Minister for Finance intended to
establish a Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes. When established, this group comprised
six members from various sectors of finance, including the Second Secretary General of the Department of Finance. It was
chaired by the university economist, Colm McCarthy, who had participated in previous governmental cost-cutting exercises.
This led to the popular and widely-used bilingual sobriquet for the group, and later for their report, An Bord Snip Nua. Colm
McCarthy was also appointed in 2010 to chair the Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities.
The report of the Special Group was presented in two volumes in mid-summer 2009. It was based on submissions from
the various departments, meetings with senior personnel, and the Groups reaction. In efforts towards eliminating the budget
deficit by 2011 and reducing the numbers employed in the Public Service, the groups terms of reference referred to reducing or
discontinuing Expenditure Programmes through prioritisation of particular output targets and areas, efficiency and economy
in the delivery of services, rationalisation and streamlining of public services in the consumers interest. The Special Group
followed its official instructions strictly and produced exactly as was required of them: ways were identified of reducing costs
and numbers in every department. It was questioned, however, whether any in-depth analysis took place with regard to the aim
actually being accomplished and whether the required efficiency did in fact still or could remain with the reduced costs actually
identified. The Group ended the Preface to its report with this statement: `
In arriving at its recommendations for savings, the Group has assessed what it considers to be the relative priority of individual
programmes and the affordability of these programmes in light of the budgetary crisis facing the country at present.
While Govenment decision on the Report as a whole was still (mid-2011) ongoing with regard to full implementation
of its recommendations, some of the substantive decisions had been taken and the spirit of the report does permeate all
departmental planning and action.
An Bord Snip Nua and the Irish language

The Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (popularly known in bilingual fashion as An Bord
Snip Nua) was set up solely to identify across Government departments cuts of 5 billion in the public sector. This cost-cutting
task was precisely met as the two-volume report made clear (July 2009).
The chairperson of the Group, speaking in public in Edinburgh in early 2010, gave an interesting view on the entire
process of recession and remedy for recession. In his account, official denial of the problem ceased and was replaced by a new
fiscal approach beginning with the incoming Coalition Government in May 2008. A difficult October 2008 budget caused
such public unrest that some cuts had to be rescinded. The Special Group was then formed in December 2008 as an absolute
political exercise insofar as it had two main objectives: not only to prepare a set of proposals on cutbacks but to persuade the
public, including the Opposition and the media, of the need for these cutbacks in the reality of threatening recession and,
presumably, in light of public reaction to Budgets.
While most public critique of the McCarthy report centred on the actual cuts, there did occur also some comment on the
need for a rigorous cost-benefit analysis of possible impacts in order to ensure that future State expenditure would favour those
programmes with the highest economic and social benefits. Of course, the criteria for a cost-cutting exercise are probably more
straightforward than those for an in-depth cost-benefit analysis of the tangible and, more importantly, of the more intangible
benefits over time of any programme. Efficiency and effectiveness are not necessarily synonymous. The latter would also
comprise an analysis of the possible losses, whether economic, social or other, to any previous investment of finance, time and
personnel in the programme, sustainability being one possible criterion. Most critics of any and all aspects of the report shared
the (to some extent strange) hope that identification of cuts did not necessarily mean implementation. This hope was, in fact,
also clear in some statements from Ministers: Government makes decisions on any report and would choose, as appropriate,
from the Snip report. While the recommendations of the report were wide ranging, the following account details only those
relating to language.
Both issues, cost-cutting and cost-benefit, and their relevance to investment in programmes for the Irish language, were
naturally of concern to Irish language organisations. In effecting its mandate across various departments, the McCarthy report
made many recommendations which would directly or indirectly affect State support for Irish and the Gaeltacht. The following
recommendations of the Snip report were singled out for specific comment.
Department with responsibility for Language Affairs

1) The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (D/CR&GA) to be closed and its functions and
programmes reallocated to other departments. This was proposed on the basis that some of its functions came
originally from other departments or were similar to those of other departments. Within the reallocation proposed
for political decision was that Gaeltacht Affairs (including dars na Gaeltachta minus its enterprise function) and the
North/South body, Foras na Gaeilge, go to the (then) Department of Education and Science (D/E&S).
This equation of Gaeltacht Affairs solely with education, as well as the problems organisations tended to encounter on
Irish policy within that department formed part of the counter-argument made. However, the loss and downgrading
of political and structural support for the language within the State system was to the fore in objections. Maintenance
of a department with responsibility for the language, or at the very least a Minister within the Department of the
Taoiseach with a seat at Cabinet, was demanded by the language lobby.
Possible closure was later denied in media reports by both the incumbent Minister (August 2009) and by the Taoiseach (Prime
Minister) the following month.
2) Changes in Gaeltacht language programmes supported by D/CR&GA.
(a) The proposal that the enterprise development functions of dars na Gaeltachta be transferred to Enterprise
Ireland, a general enterprise agency, appeared to indicate a total lack of understanding of the language community
development aspect of the work of dars na Gaeltachta and was rejected by all sectors of the language movement.
As noted above, this was again mooted in the Infrastructure Investment Priorities Programme 2010-2016 of July 2010. (The
new Coalition retained both the dars and its enterprise function but the latter to be exercised in cooperation with similar
enterprise bodies).
(b) Further proposals included:
- Incentivisation schemes such as Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge (for households) and Scim na bhFoghlaimeoir Gaeilge
(for households providing board and lodging for students in Summer Colleges) be wound down over two
years. (Scim Labhairt na Gaeilge ended in 2011 as announced by the new Coalition; the decision had been
taken by the previous administration. An enhanced family support scheme was intended to become part of the
implementation of the 20-Year Strategy).
- Discontinuation over two years of community and recreational schemes in Gaeltacht areas as well as of Gaeltacht
improvement schemes
- Non-resumption of the Gaeltacht housing grant scheme.
- Reduction in the allocation for island infrastructure.
- Reduction of 1m in the allocation to Ciste na Gaeilge (Irish Fund), which supported Comhaltas Ceoltir
ireann (traditional music), Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe (theatre), placenames research and other schemes.
Support for Summer Colleges was reiterated by the relevant Minister and by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) in September
2009. Speaking in the Dil (Parliament) on 17 November 2009, the (then) Minister with responsibility for Language Affairs,
in answer to a question, said that any changes to the operation of these schemes will be considered in the context of the work of
the Cabinet Committee on the Irish Language and the Gaeltacht, as well as in the context of the 2010 Budget. Many of these
proposed changes were gradually implemented as the Estimates for 2011 of July 2011 (below) show. Capital project funding
received mention in the Infrastructure Investment Priorities Programme 2010-2016 of July 2010.
Ciste na Gaeilge is part-funded by the National Lottery and the allocation for 2009 was 8.4m. In relation to Ciste na
Gaeilge, the Special Group noted the absence of objective studies to assess the Irish-speaking abilities of the populace by age,
gender, location etc.. Such research and funding to carry it out at a level more precise than census returns would be welcomed
by the language movement. Some studies do, in fact, exist and are objective.
It is of note that Ciste na Gaeilge had, in fact, been the subject of an inter-departmental analysis of value for money and
policy review for the period 2000 2005. While some recommendations had been made with regard to clearer alignment of
grants made with the policy objectives of the department and possibilities for multi-annual funding, the conclusions overall
were that the use of Ciste na Gaeilge, as a strategic means of promoting the Irish language where other existing institutional
mechanisms have not been available, during the period under review has been effective Some changes in the range of bodies
and activities grant-aided have since taken place.
The language community also took exception to several remarks made in this section of the report. In relation to the
Official Languages Act 2003 it was recommended that the translation requirement should be amended and reduced to a more
limited range of cases. This appears in the Programme for National Government of the new Coalition (Introduction) and will
probably be part of the upcoming review of the Official Languages Act (as intimated by An Coimisinir Teanga, see above).
Foras na Gaeilge
Among the references in the sections of the report dealing with the (then) Department for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht
Affairs, is a recommendation that the North/South body, An Foras Teanga, of which Foras na Gaeilge is the Irish language
component, be transferred to the Department for Education and Science. (This did not take place. In any event, Gaeltacht
Affairs are still attached to a full department and Foras na Gaeilge still comes under the aegs of that department, as of March
2011). However, in the expenditure table of the Snip report, no reduction is indicated for Foras na Gaeilge and it is remarked
that efficiency savings are ongoing. More interestingly, it is noted that the question of securing efficiency savings in respect
of all North/South bodies is being addressed separately by the Minister for Finance and his Northern Ireland counterpart,
the Minister for Finance and Personnel, in liaison with their relevant authorities and via the North South Ministerial Council.
The implications of these statements later became only too apparent to the Irish language voluntary organisations funded by
Foras na Gaeilge in the upheavals recounted below.
Education
Several disquieting proposals were made in the domain of education, so vital to the Irish language.
3) Discontinuation of An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaochta (COGG), established in 2002 on
foot of Article 31 of the 1988 Education Act, at a saving of 1.2m (0.3m in administration and 0.9m in funding
of provision of texts/resources for Irish-medium schools).
Since COGG also provides a range of support services including research, policy advice, support and advice on ancillary
paramedical services, Irish speakers and organisations did not find acceptable the rationale of the Snip report. This ignored
the statutory basis of COGG, recommended absorbtion into the (then) Department of Education and Science, on the grounds
that a separate agency to carry out the listed functions was unwarranted. By late 2012, no such change had occurred in the
status of COGG.
In relation to education, the Group made other recommendations, apart from relocating COGG, that could adversely
affect the Irish language in education. These included reduction in the State subvention to teacher training, consideration
of a reduction in the number of teacher training colleges and possible concentration on teacher supply through a private
institution at no cost to the State. General retrenchment in all areas was advised including third level, inspections, research,
and psychological support.
Broadcasting
The Group recommended partial funding for TG4 from the TV licence fee with reciprocal reduction in Exchequer funding
but no increase in the TV licence to compensate. Not surprisingly, a similar proposal appeared in the subsequent report of the
Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities (chaired by the same economist, Colm McCarthy) and found expression finally in
the Communications Regulation Act (21 of 2011). The Group also recommended that scarce resources such as radio magnetic
spectrum should be allocated through auctions to maximise the return to the State. These matters are ongoing (late 2012).
State commercial bodies

Reviewing the operations of some named bodies (e.g. Bord na Mna, Peat) was proposed in order to achieve optimal value.
These matters were later to be examined by The Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities, under the chairmanship of the
chair of the Special Group.
The implications for language matters of the deliberations of the Special Group may be repeated in other sections above
and below as appropriate.
The Active Citizenship Office

Closure of this Office was proposed and immediate cessation of implementation of the recommendations of the report
(March 2007) of the Taskforce on Active Citizenship (An Tascfhrsa um Shaornach Ghnomhach) which had been set up a
year previously. Interestingly, or ominously for civil society organisations, in view of the political stance previously taken
towards the democratic principles of active citizenship and the (then) upcoming European Year of Volunteering 2011, this
recommendation wasimplemented.
The Local Government Efficiency Review Group

The Local Government Efficiency Review Group, popularly known as An Bord SnipEile (the other board to cut or snip), was
set up in late December 2009 by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, having been earlier
announced in the Budget for 2010 published in the same month. Its remit was to examine the cost base, expenditure and
numbers employed in local authorities. It reported in July 2010 and its report was accepted by government. Despite its remit
being confined primarily to costs and staffing, this Group also gave views on local government boundaries. As a result, city
and county councils could be amalgamated or restructured with attendant reductions in the number of managers and staff at
all levels. Certain powers could be removed such as housing, planning and striking rates. Charges could be increased for all
services. An implementation body to achieve the 500 million cuts and changes was envisaged for 2011.
Objections to the report centred on the emphasis on administrative efficiency to the detriment of an analysis of the role of
properly funded institutions of local democracy; on the relative under-representation of local democracy in Ireland as a country
in western Europe; on under-funding in general. Nevertheless, the need for appropriate reform was also accepted, particularly
in terms of the devolution of functions across a range of public services from central to local control. As yet, privatisation
or contracting out of all services by local authorities was not being contemplated except in a few instances but many local
authorities were undoubtedly facing income shortages, particularly those more reliant on State aid than others due, in part, to
their low base of income from rates. Water charges or other charges might help to offset this since the central State was itself
now in financial straits.
The next Government implemented these proposals through a plan entitled Putting People First which was launched on
16 October 2012 by the Taoiseach, the Tnaiste and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.
The plan was described as the most fundamental overhaul of the Local Government sector in over 100 years; since 1898 in
fact. Interestingly, an overhaul is also underway in NI. The new arrangements in the Republic are somewhat similar to NI with
regard to structures. As already signalled, three current areas will see amalgamation: the city and county councils of Limerick
and Waterford; the north and south ridings of Tipperary. The four councils of County Dublin (1994) remain in place and a
plebiscite will be held (in all four councils) in 2014 on the issue of a directly elected mayor of Dublin. Each county will then be
divided into Municipal Districts (of at least five councillors) and the existing 80 borough and town councils will be abolished.
Overall, 114 existing forms of local authority will reduce to 31 City and County Councils (18-40 members except for Dublin
and Cork) with integrated Districts. Those elected by Districts will form the County Council. The number of councillors will
reduce from 1,627 to not more than 950. The current 10 regional authorities/assemblies will be replaced by 3 assemblies and
county enterprise boards by enterprise offices. Emoluments for councillors will be reduced. Auditing of councils will take place
through a new independent Commission (as in the UK). Councils will be expected to engage more vigorously in economic
development in county plans. Funding for council activity will be through the new local property tax although it has already
been decided that Revenue will collect this tax and then redistribute it. The former manager will become the CEO.
Commentators are of the view that little if anything has changed with regard to the democratic deficit or local powers for
local authorities: water, roads, health, education in general, and transport all come under departments or specific agencies.
Nevertheless, a website will be established where people may complain about local problems. Women will be encouraged to
become councillors and meeting times may be changed to accommodate mothers.
The plan is expected to save the exchequer 420 million; however, councillors losing seats will receive a retirement
package. Voluntary redundancy will be offered to 500 staff (saving 45 million annually).

The practical implications for linguistic matters may lie in two areas: possible diminution or delay of implementation within the
local authority system of Languages Schemes already in train or in process of renewal together with difficulty in assessing progress
on specific areas when rationalisation of entities occurs; a lesser pool of linguistically competent staff from which to draw for
services to the public; loss of continuity with regard to the provision or take-up of services. Disruption of any kind generally results
in losses or reductions of various types. Clearly, retention of An tOifigeach Gaeilge (Irish language officer) in some local authorities,
where available, may be under threat also. This is already occurring where short-term contracts are not being renewed in some
cases. It had been hoped that such posts would become an accepted part of the staff structure of public bodies.
The Review Group on State Assets and Liabilities (July 2010)

This review group was established in July 2010 under the chairmanship of the university economist, Colm McCarthy, who
also chaired the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes. It reported in April 2011. The list of
State assets to be reviewed contained some 20 commercial State bodies as well as intangible assets such as the radio spectrum
allocated for broadcasting and telecommunications, carbon emissions permits and State-issued licences (hydrocarbon and
mineral). The Group was referred to as more of a privatisation board since its terms of reference clearly include the potential
for disposal of some of these assets. The agencies under review were reported to employ over 40,000 people. Submissions were
sought by the Group from the interested public.
On the privatisation issue, some State agencies have been sold off in the past. They included Irish Steel, partial sale of Aer
Lingus and Eircom. The latter, a telecom fixed-line monopoly sold off in 1999, was performing strongly and investing in areas such
as broadband which are now under-resourced although vital to economic infrastructure. This company has gone through several
changes since its sale to the private sector and has been considered to have failed its many small investors in Ireland. Comment,
then, was varied on this latest venture by the State. In particular, it has been argued that strategically important infrastructures
which impact on national competitiveness in the short or long term should not be totally ceded to private control.
From the market viewpoint, political and public comment on this particular Review Group was varied. Monopoly was
not intended even with the existence of State agencies, competition being seen as healthy. However, the print media (NNI,
National Newspapers of Ireland) sent a submission to the then Minister for Communications in September 2010 asking that
the expansion by the licence-funded RT of its commercial activities in digital media be curtailed since the NNI viewed it
as a distortion of the market. This position was refuted by the national broadcaster. A year later, in September 2011, and on
similar grounds but related to advertising income in this instance, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland were seeking a
comprehensive review of the State-run radio stations, the abolition of the broadcasting levy, and changes to the proposals
of the BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland); the latter were intended to prevent monopoly. The Broadcasters view their
contribution in the independent sector as providing a strong public service dimension.
In addition, of course, selling off sound and well-performing entities relatively cheaply in a globally depressed economy is
not considered wise. A more productive way forward might be to develop these entities in ways that could support indigenous
industry through the provision of sophisticated and competitively priced infrastructure, for example in transport, energy
and communications. Losing control of these State agencies to foreign multinationals, for example the telecommunications
network, could ultimately result in losses to the economy and to employment.
From the governance viewpoint, a State holding company for commercial State companies was proposed to ensure clear
governance structures and maintenance of founding aims as well as efficiencies. Some agencies are required to cope with
conflicting aims, providing a social-type service which operates at a loss while also attempting to provide a sound commercial
basis for the company. This must be recognised. Unions are wary of any sell-offs. One proposal made by ICTU (Irish Congress
of Trade Unions) concerns the sale of shares in such a composite holding company with the result that no particular entity
would be affected or sold off. Critiques of the privatisation approach centred then on the necessity for a review wider than cash
for assets and a more in-depth analysis of the rle and function of these State entities in the needs of the overall economy and
of the country, together with recommendations on a more strategic use of their strengths both at home and in foreign markets
and their contribution to social well-being. This is a view with which Irish language organisations would largely concur.
More specifically, the list included certain segments of bodies such as the broadcasting authority, RT, and possible
separation of the transmission and generating assets of the ESB. Due to EU regulations, analogue transmission systems had
to be replaced by digital systems by end 2012. RT was investing in upgrading at a high cost funded from its own resources
and from borrowing. This is without any increase in licence fees being envisaged by the State and a recommendation in the
Snip report that, in future, TG4 might be part-funded through this same fee (whether as licence or universal charge), a
recommendation taken up in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 and later in legislation (Communications Regulation Act
of August 2011). The new digital service, Saorview, which is free but requires an additional box for older television sets, was
pruned from more ambitious initial plans; it now includes, inter alia, Irish television broadcasters (RT and the commercial
station TV3), the State-funded Irish language channel TG4, national radio channels and a possible film channel. The former
Minister for Communications, while averse to the sale of the postal, gas and electricity services, (An Post, Bord Gis and the
Electricity Supply Board/ ESB), was in favour of separating the broadcasting and new digital system of RT and perhaps selling
off the latter. Any possible implications for the funding of Irish language broadcasting, whether on RT or on TG4, had not
been clarified.
To accord with EU regulations, in relation to associated offshoot companies, Bord Gis (Gas) and the Electricity Supply
Board (ESB) would have to change their names as part of any deregulation process. The ESB owns the transmission system in
Northern Ireland.

The former Minister for Energy had commissioned a report on the future of the ESB. This (the Cahill Report) recommended
against the break-up of the agency. This decision, while not that recommended in the McCarthy Report, was accepted by the
present Coalition Government in late July 2011. In public commentary on the annual report from RT for 2010 (published
July 2011), it was suggested that the body might have to be compensated for the cost of the 70m upgrading to meet EU
regulations, speculation which could possibly ensure that it may enjoy the same outcome as the ESB. RT is currently engaged
in a cost-cutting plan. In advance of the Communications Regulation Act becoming law, TG4 was reported to be in talks with
the present Minister for Communications (July 2011) on the proposal that it pay RT for the one hour of broadcasting per
day which it receives free of charge. Depending on its total annual budget, such a charge could have had implications for the
duration and quality of future broadcasting for the Irish language station.
In the event, the general recommendations of the Review Group included:
- A planned prudent approach to sales of State assets without an accelerated sales process and no sale of core
transmission assets in gas and electricity to private interests in the near future.
- Not proposing that all assets be disposed of.
- Restructuring of state companies and changes in governance in the interest of efficiency and performance
whether assets are to be sold or not.
- Review of regulatory arrangements.
- With regard to land assets, that the rights to the produce of the land be sold but not the land itself.
- Intangible assets and tangible assets (if for sale) should be treated in the same way sold to the highest bidder.
The net asset value (a rough guide) of assets to be sold was possibly worth in the region of 5 billion. While the Memorandum
of Understanding of the Assistance Programme did not initially specify any target disposal of assets, the 5 billion sum
was (Autumn 2011) being sought in EU circles but the lower 2 billion was the preferred option in Irish political circles
(Programme for a National Government), if indeed an appetite existed at all for any sale of state assets, given that the reports
from the troika on Irish fiscal policy are consistently favourable and loan rates had recently (Autumn 2011) been adjusted
downwards (Introduction, EU/ECB/IMF Assistance: Programme of Support). In fact, the Government would wish
whichever sums accrue from the sale of State assets to go into a new jobs initiative rather than into debt servicing or debt
reduction. Political decisions had yet to be made on all of the Review Groups recommendations by early September 2011 but
more recent (February 2012) indications from the troika are towards the Government position in the latest Memorandum of
Understanding following the most recent favourable quarterly assessment of progress. The Government was to consider all
reports (Cahill on the ESB and the general report on State assets) towards the end of February 2012. Current thinking at that
time appeared to be that no quick decisions would be made; that different strategic assets had to be treated differently; that the
licence fee for public broadcasting is an out of date mechanism since technology is changing and could be replaced by a general
broadcasting charge, public broadcasting being necessary and deserving of public funding.

From the language standpoint, several considerations arise. On a general point, the interim list is of State bodies, many of
which are subject to the requirements of the Official Languages Act in respect of language schemes and act accordingly. Their
possible privatisation could then see changes in the public uses of Irish, despite the Official Languages Act (which is, in any
case, under review). Many are named in Irish: Cras Iompair ireann/CIE (including Bus ireann); Bord na gCon; Bord na
Mna; Coillte; An Post; Bord Gis ireann; RT; TG4.
Some recommendations on specific bodies included the following:
Public Service Broadcasters (RT and TG4)
- In the interests of transparency, the Review Group recommends that RTs provision of Irish language content
to TG4 under the provisions of the Broadcasting Acts is transacted on a commercial basis and funded by
TG4 from within its revenues. The respective Exchequer support of each broadcaster should be adjusted
accordingly to take account of the transaction. [This could be taken to mean no more than treating it as purely
an accounting exercise. RT currently supplies one hour daily to TG4 including news which could be worth
up to 10 million or more annually. The licence system is under review and may be replaced by a universal
broadcasting charge levied on households and some businesses].
- The portion of the licence fee allocated to the Broadcasting Fund, currently just 7%, should be increased
substantially, in order to better equalise conditions of competition between RT and private broadcasters.
- In line with the position taken by the Group generally on allocation of radio frequency spectrum, the Group
recommends that rights to use spectrum for broadcasting purposes are allocated using a market-based approach
that promotes the most efficient management and use of the spectrum resource.
An Post
- The grant of a new seven-year licence to operate the National Lottery should be the subject of an open
competition. [Currently, An Post may earn up to 3 million in annual management fees from the licence].
An Post was not, however, considered a ready candidate for asset disposal in the near term. In fact, the Communications
Regulation Act of 2 August 2011 removed the legal monopoly enjoyed by An Post, designated An Post as the postal operator
charged with ensuring daily provision of a quality service while providing a framework to allow access by competitors to
the delivery network of An Post. Private postal firms need not necessarily follow linguistic regulations unless their contracts
included such a provision. In fact, fault was still (Autumn 2011) being found with An Post itself: the list of post offices or postal
towns/areas on the companys website was still not bilingual and Gaeltacht post offices were appearing in English when Irish
is stipulated by law. However, work is ongoing on these issues including rendering the site bilingual. Of more consequence to
users of the postal service is the inability of the software in use to read addresses in Irish with consequent tardy delivery. The
results are sometimes ironic the use of a sticker in English and sometimes in Irish referring to the address being incorrect,
which is patently not the case in general. Customers are being assured that this issue also is being addressed and courses in Irish
being run for personnel.
On the other hand, Bord na Mna (Peat) and Coillte (Forests) were viewed as possible candidates for disposal, exclusive
of their lands. Altogether, these two agencies hold up to 1.2 million acres of land. There had been plans to merge them into a
new entity, titled in English, Bio Energy Ireland. The States shares in Aer Lingus were also a candidate for disposal, as was the
National Stud (An Gra Nisinta).
The recommendations of this Review Group were available to the Government in April 2011, when the Communications
Regulation Act 2011, which concerns postal services and references to licence funding for TG4, was being debated.
By April 2012, the contract for the National Lottery, which co-funds many Departmental programmes, including Irish
language programmes, had been added to the list of assets for disposal in early 2013. The news was greeted with dismay by the
voluntary sector in general and representations began on conditions to be met by the successful applicant. Lottery proceeds are
used for many social, community and cultural good causes all around the State, particularly in the areas of health, sport and
language. The Departmental budget head, Ciste na Gaeilge (Fund for Irish), receives over 60% of its income from the lottery.
As a result many organisations and initiatives receive grant-aid listed in a statement from Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge. They
include: funding for universities abroad; funding for courses (towards skills required for Irish in the EU) and initiatives at home
(RIA dictionary project; Fiontar EU terminology project); funding for business-oriented projects through Irish, e.g. Gaillimh
le Gaeilge, Gn Mhaigh Eo; funding for organisations: Gael-Taca, An Cumann Scoildrmaochta.
Government decisions
Cabinet discussions on the sale of State assets began on 8 September 2011. On Wednesday, 14 September 2011, the
Government, on consideration of a report from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, decided in principle to sell
a minority stake in the Electricity Supply Board, considered the most valuable of the State assets. However, for the moment,
the electricity transmission network, Eirgrid, was not under discussion. The process towards sale included setting up an expert
group to make a recommendation by end November for consideration by Government. ESB unions were already concerned.
Separately, the sale of the States 25% share in Aer Lingus was discussed, but with some conditions, including retention of
the brand name.
Partial privatisation appeared to be the path being pursued, to keep within the IMF/EU bailout terms on the one hand
and to attempt to retain the proceeds of sales, if possible, to invest in the NewERA job creation initiative, a project under
development since being mooted in March 2011 and considered central to the Governments plans for job creation and
investment and for reforming how the government manages its semi-State companies. It was intended that this body, as a unit
with its own Director and staff initially within the National Treasury Management Agency, would be formally tasked with a
broad range of responsibilities. They would include examination of the semi-state sector in general to include CI (Transport),
Coillte (Forests), Bord na Mna (Peat), Eirgrid, ESB (Electricity); advise on any further sales of State assets such as elements of
Bord Gis or the remaining State share in Aer Lingus; development of possible investment in a national bio energy company,
universal broadband, a new water network, and a smart grid for electricity and gas. However, the final shape and funding
of NewERA was dependent on EU/IMF acceptance of using returns from State assets sales for an economic growth stimulus
rather than debt reduction. NewERA had not yet received statutory status, as intended, by end November 2012.
Further decisions were to follow. In the meantime, exports were continuing to improve (in the first half of 2011 at any
rate), bailout targets were being met, and urgency appeared to be being replaced with a hasten slowly approach. By late 2012,
even one rating agency was concurring that Ireland was moving forward economically.
Legislation was also being prepared (mid-September 2011) by the Department of Communications on the issue of media
mergers, particularly given the convergence nowadays between the various media types. The newspaper industry is calling for
a Minister for the Media.
Eventually, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform held a press conference to announce Government plans
on the issue. This caused some annoyance to deputies that the information had not first been given in the Houses of the
Oireachtas. The accompanying press release of 22 February 2012 stated that:
- the sale of State assets up to 3 billion had been agreed with the troika; one third to be used for re-investment in
the economy;
- the options for disposal now were:

some of the Energy business of Bord Gis ireann
o some of the ESBs non-strategic power generation capacity but commitment to retaining the utility in State
ownership
perhaps some assets of Coillte (but not land)
the States holding in Aer Lingus.
Transactions would commence in 2013, if market conditions were favourable; all issues prior to disposal to be dealt with during
2012. By April 2012, the contract for the National Lottery, which co-funds many Departmental programmes, including Irish
language programmes, had been added to the list of assets for disposal in early 2013. The news was greeted with dismay by
the voluntary sector in general and representations began on conditions to be met by the successful applicant. The relevant
legislation on a new National Lottery Bill to permit the licence sale was approved and drafted in late 2012. An Post had been
operating the licence since establishment of the Lottery in 1986. An upfront payment of 500 million was hoped for, some of
which was destined for the provision of the proposed new childrens hospital. Among the conditions attaching to the sale of
the licence was that 30% of proceeds be used for good causes.
By end 2013 the only sale successfully in train was that of the National Lottery. Whether on arguments of low price offers
or factors relating to pension complexities, the States share in Aer Lingus was not sold, nor were the forests of Coillte, nor the
non-core assets of the Electricity Supply Board.
Non-commercial State agencies

Many non-commercial State agencies were set up, particularly during the 1990s, most for specific purposes, some within
departmental structures and others at arms length. They were reported as numbering 249 and have varying legislative and
governance arrangements. Given that their establishment tended to be ad hoc rather than structurally planned as an integral part
of required re-organisation of the State apparatus, the OECD queried their rationale several years ago. In 2008, Government
began the process of reduction but again due to the complexity of differing arrangements, this was a slow process. As detailed
above, the Special Group (An Bord Snip Nua) recommended forms of rationalisation which would, in their opinion, result
in savings of 170 million, for some agencies through moving functions to other agencies or back into departments, e.g.
the enterprise function of dars na Gaeilge; the support for Irish in education functions of An Chomhairle um Oideachas
Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaochta (COGG). As a North/South body, Foras na Gaeilge appeared to escape loss of functions.
Objections centred largely on two issues: the lack of an overarching forward plan for coherent rationalisation rather
than haphazard cutting; the lack of proper costing of rationalisation in order to realise the projected savings. Nevertheless,
movement gradually took place. Pertinent examples are mentioned as appropriate throughout the text. Instances of official
change of mind have also occurred, a factor that might prove useful with regard to Irish language agencies under threat.
One example of differing approaches occurred in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. Legislation was
ongoing in mid-2012 to merge the Irish Sports Council with the National Sports Campus Development Authority. In this
case some elements would be absorbed into the Department while a new agency would oversee the remaining. Existing boards
would be abolished and new posts thus created for which previous staff could apply; this would mean one CEO rather than
two as formerly. However, the same Department decided not to amalgamate the Irish Aviation Authority with the Commission
for Aviation Regulation as planned, as one is purely regulatory while the other has a commercial role also. Instead restructuring
rather than a merger is now envisaged to provide a single regulatory body and a single air traffic control body without any
regulatory elements.
Both the Dublin Regional Tourism and Shannon Development agencies have been absorbed into Filte Ireland while the
amalgamation of the National Roads Authority and the Railway Procurement Agency is ongoing. Plans are underway to merge
three safety agencies (Road Safety Authority, Railway Safety Commission, Maritime Safety Directorate) although the Medical
Bureau of Road Safety is destined for the State Laboratory.
Overall, however, by mid-2012, the Government target of dealing with 48 quangos by year end was slowing down for
various reasons including complexities of function and legislation. Of the other 46 under review for 2013, it was decided
that 11 would remain untouched. Among these were the Heritage Council and the National Economic and Social Council.
As reported in other sections, plans for the office of An Coimisinir Teanga and for a host of cultural and art institutions had
aroused much public, academic and voluntary sector criticism. To the relief of the Irish language community who still hoped
for change, progress was particularly slow with regard to these agencies and little action occurred until 31 October 2012 when
the proposed axe did indeed fall as discussed in the relevant sections above.
EFFECTS OF CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY ON THE GRANT-AIDED VOLUNTARY

SECTOR FOR IRISH
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT: THE WIDER VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Apart from the general political and economic background as outlined above, discussion of funding for Irish language voluntary
activity in recessionary times may also be understood against the changing policy background in relation to the voluntary
sector overall.

The wider voluntary and community State-aided sector in general reacted with dismay to the general thrust of Government
policy and especially to the recommendations of the Snip report in July 2009. At the 2009 annual conference of the representative
body, The Wheel, the results of a survey in May 2009 revealed that 62% of community and voluntary organisations might have
to cease operations in the absence of statutory funding and that 58% had already suspended or delayed projects due to lack
of funding in the previous half year. In response to the Snip report, it was pointed out that reduced funding to voluntary and
community organisations would inevitably impact on the delivery of essential public services in health, disability, education
and social welfare. A day of action on behalf of workers in the sector was organised by the Community Sector Employers
Forum and two unions, SIPTU and Impact, for 29 September 2010, following an event to highlight the cuts in the sector on
15 September. In fact, an Impact trade union conference in Tralee in May 2011 was told that up to 5,000 jobs had been lost in
the voluntary sector in the previous year or so. A report and analysis of the implications of the 2010 Budget (Harvey Report)
was prepared in advance of Budget 2011. It contains the following estimated statistics:
- number of voluntary and community sector organisations: 6,100
- level of employment: 53,098 full-time equivalents
- value to the economy: 6.5 billion
- level of state funding: 1.89 billion
- financial value to the economy: between 204 and 485 million
- estimated loss of jobs (despite salary cuts) if cuts continue: 5,000 (10% of total).
Of equal significance were the results of research (6 February 2012) from the Irish Nonprofits Knowledge Exchange. This
identifies three sectors among the Nonprofits:
- Local Government quasi-autonomous community-based groups which provide essential local services; fully-funded
and supervised by some Government arrangements. [MFG in the Gaeltacht might come under this heading].
- Nonprofits, often with service level contracts from Government, which advocate for, and deliver, frontline
services in disability, health, education, homelessness etc.
- Citizen-led voluntary organisations motivated by a variety of purposes; many being fully voluntary and drawing
funding from a variety of sources, including public sources. [The Irish-language organisations generally come
under this heading].
Among the factors discussed in the report, Irish Nonprofits: What do we Know?, and in an article in the Irish Times on 6 February
2012, are the following:
- There are some 12,000 Nonprofits operating, of which some 4,000 receive half or more of their funding from
the State.
- They comprise charities, NGOs, community and voluntary organisations.
- They are a very significant source of economic and social impact.
- There were some 100,000 working in these sectors in 2009, the majority in small companies employing 10 or
fewer.
- More than 50,000 voluntary citizens are involved in the governance of the voluntary sector.
- The policies of reducing public sector numbers and State expenditure has hit badly the vulnerable who depend
on the services of the nonprofits with little recognition of this impact.
- As the commodification of public services advances with the wider use of service-level agreements, so the
bureaucracy proliferates. Each department or agency exercises its own due diligenceand has built elaborate
systemsAn army of officials requisitions cheques or electronic transfers.
The article ends:
For the most part, these are mission-driven organisations: they are motivated by a concern for the most vulnerable
in our society. They are often passionate, entrepreneurial, highly agile and responsive to the needs of beneficiaries.
They usually operate on far lower cost bases than would be the case if the services were provided directly by the public
sector itself.
They represent enormous value for money at a time when we must all demand that public monies achieve more with less. Far
from them depending on State grants, we as a society depend on them to maintain the quality of all of our lives. They deserve
even more and closer attention than they have had to date.
The Irish language organisations would concur with both the facts and the conclusions expressed.

This research was followed by a study from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions launched in late February 2012, Downsizing
the Community Sector, at the launch of which it was stated that:
These cuts are eroding the social fabric, eating away at what binds those communities togetheralso self-defeating
as an absence of servicesmeans people will fall back on the StateNo social or economic benefit from throwing
people out of work when they want to make a contribution to their communities.
The study points out that:
- The Community Sector has experienced cuts of between 17% and 54% which could result in the possible loss of
up to 11,150 jobs by 2013.
DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, SNIP REPORT AND THE WIDER VOLUNTARY SECTOR: RATIONALE
The number and variety of some of these organisations, as well as their possible future, was the subject of a section of a
comprehensive document prepared for the Special Group by officials of the Department of Finance in March 2009. It was
entitled Local Delivery Mechanisms under the general title of Cross Cutting Issues. The section contains an admirable rationale
for the rle of local bottom-up involvement in local development as well as discussion of the continued relevance of such
an approach. It indicated that up to 870 small local non-statutory not-for-profit independent organisations with voluntary
boards, and 229 local groups, with staffing of up to 7,000 were in receipt of funding from different statutory sources of some
380m. The areas of operation included development, child care assessment, training and advice. Effectiveness as a criterion
of evaluation was not possible as the hard data did not exist. Changes in funding and management were considered necessary
as a prerequisite to such evaluation. Loss of those functions already being carried was not envisaged with any proposed forms
of rationalisation.
Interestingly, a reference was made to the ongoing cohesion process within the (then) D/CR&GA, which had overall
responsibility for many of the programmes, in an effort to reduce the overall number of Partnership and LEADER (EU
Programme) organisations from 96 to 60. Apparently, in March 2009, This process [had] taken a number of years to deliver
results which indicates that reducing numbers of local organisations is not a simple task. This was advice that would also have
been useful in the case of Foras na Gaeilge and its funded organisations (as recounted below).
At The Wheels 2010 conference, the new Minister at the newly named Department of Community, Equality and
Gaeltacht Affairs gave an outline of the rationalisation programme undertaken by his department and mentioned in the Local
Delivery Mechanisms document. Two existing programmes, the Local Development Inclusion Programme (LDSIP) and the
Community Development Programme (CDP) were ended in December 2009 and amalgamated into the Local and Community
Development Programme (LCDP) while preserving elements of good practice. This programme was henceforward to be
delivered nationally on an integrated basis but by a reduced number of companies. The voluntary boards of the previous CDPs
were reconstituted to act both as advisory boards to the Local Development Company and as management committees for the
local project. The Minister was willing to consider, and indeed had considered, other models from the various bodies but on
clear conditions: less structures, integrated delivery, efficiencies, avoidance of duplication and fragmentation, value for money,
and, above all, no return to the status quo. He called for innovative approaches and flexible responses. No figures were given
on any loss of posts or personnel nor on the cost reduction achieved. Interestingly, the Minister indicated also that research
from 2008 had estimated that the State expends more than 5 billion per annum on the non-profit sector across a wide range
of activities and services (sport and culture included).
FINE GAEL/LABOUR PARTY COALITION AND THE WIDER VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Responsibility for the wider sector now lies with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in
the new Coalition Cabinet (March 2011). In his address to the annual meeting of The Wheel in May 2011, he made several
remarks of interest to Irish language organisations funded by Foras na Gaeilge. These points, as reported by The Wheel, included:
-
recognition of the independence of the sector
developing partnership between the sector and the State
multi-annual core funding
coordination to be encouraged and fragmentation/duplication avoided
value for money, good governance and efficiency required in public service providers (whether statutory
orvoluntary)
The Minister also alluded to the pressure on departmental budgets and to the priority to protect front-line services and
disadvantaged communities.
However, in September 2011, the same Minister, on rationalisation grounds, decided to abolish the quango, Comhar, the
Sustainable Development Council (1999), whose work included advice on climate change. It will now be incorporated into the
National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and three staff redeployed; three others are on short-term contracts soon to
expire. This Council was an interesting body. It began in 1999 as the National Sustainable Development Partnership and had
a Board of 25 drawn from five stakeholder sectors State, economy, environmental NGOs, social/community NGOs and the
professional/academic sector. The members were appointed by the Minister but from nominations made by interested bodies.
The Chair was appointed by the Minister. An environment NGO described the move as false economy and criticised the
lack of consultation. By November 2011, the host body itself, NESC, was earmarked for critical review by end June 2012,
having regard to the duplication of functions with the ESRI and the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (which is to be wound
down once Ireland exits the current EU/IMF programme). NESC eventally escaped the cull. Any new agencies will have a
defined operation span.
In an article in Autumn 2011, in volume 10 of Le Chile (Together), the magazine published by The Wheel umbrella
group, the Minister speaks of collaboration and no duplication, alignment of structures and functions and enhanced
services in local and development programmes as part of the Governments reform agenda concerning local groups and
local government and the strengths of both sectors. To this end, a high-level steering group was intended and consultations
with stakeholders. In light of the proposals made to Foras na Gaeilge by the Irish language Sector (I dTreo na Fse/Towards
the Vision) in February 2010 as described below (Response of the Sector), the following remarks by the Minister are very
apposite. In seeking and planning for change, he was confident that:
any improved arrangements will take account of and harness the strengths and contributions of local government
and local development bodies, as well as the community and voluntary sector. Consultation and a partnership-based
approach will be the key to our successwe all have a shared vision for the futurestructures that are participative
as well as representative
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE GRANT-AIDED VOLUNTARY SECTOR

For the Irish language grant-aided voluntary sector, the pertinent issues from available evidence appeared then to be the following.
- Before and after Budget 2009 (issued in October 2008), reviews, re-structuring and streamlining of all Statefunded agencies and organisations were called for in the interests of value for money, cost-benefits and
efficiency. There was, however, little scrutiny of effectiveness, whether actual or its potential loss, nor any
attempt at impact analyses nor even the provision of inclusive criteria by which to judge results. Cost-benefit
seemed to be too often equated with cost-cutting without any appropriate analysis. Language, culture and the
arts would not escape.
- The issues to be noted in the political arena, both in references and in decisions with regard to semi-official
bodies or quangos included dissolution, streamlining the work of policy advice through integration of agency
back into Government Department, and references to consultation with stakeholders.
- In the case of the voluntary grant-aided culture sector, the issues were withdrawal or reduction of funding or
amalgamation to form a new entity.
- Finally, in his address to the annual meeting of The Wheel in May 2011, the Minister of the Environment to
whom responsibility for the wider voluntary sector had been moved, made a series of points of interest to Irish
language organisations funded by Foras na Gaeilge. These points, as reported by The Wheel, included:

recognition of the independence of the sector
developing partnership between the sector and the State
multi-annual core funding
coordination to be encouraged and fragmentation/duplication avoided
o value for money, good governance and efficiency required in public service providers (whether statutory or
voluntary)
The Minister also alluded to the pressure on departmental budgets and to the priority to protect front-line services and
disadvantaged communities.
In the event, all proved relevant to funding decisions for the Irish language voluntary sector.
THE IRISH LANGUAGE SECTOR: DEFINITIONS
For purposes of clarity in the sections below, it is necessary to make at least three distinctions.
- The Irish language sector (Earnil na Gaeilge) is usually taken to be an inclusive term for speakers wherever they
may be located together with the supportive structures they enjoy, whether statutory or voluntary.
- The Irish language voluntary sector (Earnil Dheonach na Gaeilge) will include all voluntary activity, whether
organisational or ad hoc groupings, whether long established and long-term or temporary, whether focussed
on specific action or public, whether in the Gaeltacht or elsewhere, whether in the Republic, in Northern
Ireland or elsewhere, whether State-aided or not.
- The Irish language voluntary State-aided sector comprises those 19 organisations currently core-funded by Foras
na Gaeilge (FNG), some of which had been passed to FNG from the Department, the original funder, and are
specifically mentioned in a schedule of the Act establishing Foras na Gaeilge.
- This sector may also include some organisations which receive funding for specific activities from other
Departments (Gaeltacht; Education) or local ad hoc groups which receive funding for specific schemes from
Foras na Gaeilge.
In the information below, the emphasis is not on actual core funding or transitory or short-term events or schemes, but on the
relationship in a changing funding environment between the funder, Foras na Gaeilge, and the 19 organisations it currently
core funds, on the conduct of the process of change, and on the possible repercussions of change.
THE IRISH LANGUAGE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Background and context: The Department

In line with public statements from other Government Ministers, the (then) Minister with responsibility for Language Affairs
made a series of references, whether direct or oblique, throughout 2008-2009, to the Irish language sector, both statutory
and voluntary; these references were reported in the Irish language media. In the case of the voluntary sector, the thrust of
his remarks on all media was similar: on television, Nuacht (News) TG4 (April 2008), or in print in the (then version of the)
newspaper Foinse (June, 2008). He questioned the need for so many Irish organisations, all with their own headquarters and
staff; in his view a review was needed and a reduction in the number of organisations with a view to ensuring the best use of the
funds granted to the sector. The same view is found in the Programme for Government of the current Coalition (March 2011):
Vuluntary sector
review of the current investment and funding programmes in order to achieve visible value for money for citizens
and tangible outcomes on a transparent basis.

This Minister spoke very directly in the Dil (Lower House) in January 2009 on two bodies under the aegis of his
own department: the statutory authority, dars na Gaeltachta, and Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Community
Development Group/MFG, 1991), a voluntary organisation (incorporated as a company) established in order to implement
the EU LEADER Programme. He questioned again the need for two organisations in the Gaeltacht having some functions
in common. He was clear that the welfare of the Gaeltacht community was more important than vested interests. By April
2009, the Minister informed the House of a process of amalgamation and the transfer of the powers of MFG to An tdars.
By July 2010, discussions were still ongoing on the proposed merger. In August 2010, the post of chief executive for MFG
was advertised in the press on the retirement of the incumbent. By November the new appointee was announced to begin
work in early December. A brief news release from dars na Gaeltachta, dated 14 December 2010, gave details of a meeting
between both organisations at which agreement was reached on the necessity for high levels of cooperation between the two
organisations, given that both have staff, offices and development schemes across the Gaeltacht regions. Another meeting was
planned for 2011 to finalise a joint scheme of operations. In this instance the State body and the bottom-up organisation
appeared to reach an accommodation on mutually complementary roles of benefit to the community they both serve. In this
instance, however, EU regulations may attach to funding for programmes in the community operated by the community.
Subsequent information reported on MFG is recounted above in Chapter 2.
In a broadly similar example of transfer, the long established Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge (1952), with a voluntary board, small
staff, and funding from the Ministers department through the national lottery-funded Ciste na Gaeilge, was transferred from 1
January 2008 to Foras na Gaeilge, the cross-border body, where it became Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge. The joint communiqu from
the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) of 27 October 2007 notes the transfer but also the fact that funding for Bord
na Leabhar Gaeilge will continue to be provided by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. The change
of name once the transfer took place does not appear to have affected the funding aspect. Indeed, this funding, as that of the
programme Colmcille, is ringfenced and additional to the allocation approved annually for Foras na Gaeilge by the NSMC.
In these circumstances, the Irish language grant-aided voluntary sector could not but expect change of some kind. The
ways in which that change, or management of that change, would occur would, however, provide issues of debate.
NORTH SOUTH BODIES UNDER THE AEGIS OF THE (THEN) DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITY,
EQUALITY AND GAELTACHT AFFAIRS: UISCEBHEALA IREANN (WATERWAYS IRELAND)
This body, which has responsibility for seven waterways throughout the island, deserves mention in the context of management
of change, against the background of a swiftly changing environment for voluntary organisations and concerns voiced by the Irish
language State-aided voluntary sector. In July 2010, Waterways Ireland began a process of public consultation on the introduction
of new regulations (for the Republic) governing use of these waterways, their management and the obligations of those who enjoy
them. The first stage of consultation was with stakeholders, organisations representing users and organisations whose statutory
rights might be affected by the regulations. The then iteration of the regulations was given for examination over a period of 12
weeks (to 15 October, 2010) to these organisations with a request that they be discussed internally with members or followers before
returning a composite reply. After analysis and study of the replies, the second stage was intended to be publicly advertised. Due to
differences in the relevant legislation in both jurisdictions, regulations for Northern Ireland were to be introduced at a later date.
The process is to be noted: proposals affecting organisations were given over by this North South body for comment by those
organisations over a three month period. The body then, after due analysis and consideration of those comments, would offer the
regulations for public comment before implementation.

In the introductory part of the Draft Strategy, under the section A Phased Strategy, there are two references to resources.
In Year I, the Establishment Phase, the overall resources required will be allocated. It is also recognised that provision of
appropriate resources and support will be crucial to the implementation of the Strategy. Definition of resources is not given.
However, in general the term would be taken to include more than finance, e.g. personnel, skills, premises, voluntary
input, support of different types.

ORGANISATIONS: RSUM
CONTEXT AND CHANGE
Change is a fact of life. Even with no obvious attempt at change, things naturally either move on or deteriorate. Without
change, things may stagnate. With too much change too quickly, things may disintegrate. Change is then inevitable. It may
also prove painful. The process of managing change is, however, amenable to planned intervention. If guided by a decent set
of principles of engagement, the process may even prove both exhilarating and enhancing.
Given the scale of change initiated by Foras na Gaeilge in its arrangements with the core-funded language sector between
May 2010 and September 2011 and into 2012, both a brief rsum of events is given in this section and a more complete recital
of how the current situation was reached, or the early stages of the process, in the accompanying Appendix. The two accounts
may contain some repetition. Some expression of opinion may also occur.
This more in-depth account of the facts is required in view of the entirely new set of circumstances which may shortly
govern voluntary activity in the field of Irish language promotion, circumstances which will obtain solely in this particular
field of State-aided voluntary activity insofar as total withdrawal of core funding was envisaged for the Irish language corefunded sector, as constituted.. This could only result in a very changed landscape. There has occurred no greater change in
the relationship between the State and the Irish language voluntary sector since the foundation of the State. It was perceived
as somewhat ironic, given the rle played by the voluntary sector in the founding of the sovereign State and in realising many
aspects of that States linguistic policies in the community over the years, that one arm of the State appeared now to be the
instrument of the possible demise of the voluntary sector. It appeared even more ironic that this should occur when the 20-Year
Strategy, the success of which can only lie in community effort, was about to finally become more than a report on paper.
The issue was not solely one of funding, since, on the one hand, a substantial budget would still be available to Foras na
Gaeilge to disburse on its preferred system of schemes and, on the other, the core-funded sector showed willingness, in the
current economic climate, to discuss issues related to the uses of funding. As was made clear during the many media references,
the main issue was one of process, or how the issue was dealt with, in the view of the Sector.
The two sections following attempt to summarise from both perspectives, based on information in the public domain,
what turned out to be a painful and protracted process.
RSUM: FORAS NA GAEILGE (FNG)
In the period 2008 to 2011, in line with developments in the wider economic context, and in light of the budgetary changes
outlined above under Budget 2011, Foras na Gaeilge undertook first an external review of the 19 organisations it was core
funding and consequently produced reports for the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) under whose remit it comes
as a cross-border body. These reports were accepted by the NSMC. FNG argued that it was under direction to implement
the decisions of the NSMC, decisions for which, however, it appeared that the specific basis was provided by FNG itself in its
reports. The latest available annual report of FNG is for 2009, published in December 2012. The following appears under the
section on Policy, Planning and Research:
The most important initiative which Foras na Gaeilge undertook during 2009was the continued systematic review of
the 19 organisations which receive core fundingThe decision of the North/South Ministerial Council in December
2009 in respect of the rationalisation of the core funded sectorgave the work added impetus.
Given the political emphasis on reducing budgets and cutting costs, it might have been possible to put forward the view
that the primary and over-riding directive to FNG could have been to accomplish that same task of reduction and cost-cutting
across all of its operations; in fact its annual budget had been reduced over the period by the Sponsor Departments. More to
the point however, comments had been made publicly by the Minister with responsibility for language in the Republic, and
who sat on the NSMC, on the situation of salaries and offices in the core-funded voluntary sector and on the possibility of
one amalgamated rather than many separate organisations. While the former comment was a purely financial matter, the latter
appeared to the Voluntary Sector to be in another category entirely.
Against this background of independent review and political comment, FNG apparently proposed to the NSMC first
(December 2009) a reconfiguration of the core-funded organisations on the basis of funding one or a small number of
organisations within strategic priorities set by FNG and then secondly and even more controversially, the removal of core
funding entirely and use instead of that particular element of the FNG budget towards a system of theme-based competitive
schemes open to any applicants (May 2010). This was entitled the New Funding Model. It was one of a list of possible scenarios
for future funding of the core funded Sector in a consultants report commissioned by FNG. The themes, considered as
strategic priorities by FNG, in fact echoed in some aspects the differing fields of operation of the voluntary core-funded
organisations. FNG contended that this New Funding Model was the most cost-effective way of providing services to the
public since the salary and overhead costs of the organisations constituted an over-high percentage of the core funding granted,
in the view of FNG. The problem with voluntary work, however, in any sphere of activity, is its labour-intensive nature. In
language promotion, the messenger is the message. The Sector mobilised in response.
In the interim, the organisations were permitted a series of six monthly contracts on the existing system of core and
project funding and on the usual basis of plans submitted to FNG and frequent rigorous reporting. While with hindsight the
new contracts appear a series, at the time each was separate with no promise of a succeeding contract. Apart from the anxiety
associated with the proposed change, this uncertainty of funding contributed to practical personnel and employment law
problems for some of the organisations.
No other budget head within the FNG budget was discussed in this fashion by the NSMC in this cost cutting exercise.
The core-funded organisations were the sole target of such deep change in their circumstances.
As the process unfolded, it was the contention of the organisations that while FNG was in contact with the organisations
seeking their views which were provided particularly through two reports from the Sector, FNG did not provide either
information of a kind that might help to inform those views or an appropriate co-forum in which to exchange viewpoints.
The two reports on which the NSMC based their momentous decisions apparently came as a surprise to the core-funded
Sector, particularly in light of the efforts of the Sector to engage properly with the process as detailed below in the Sectors
account of events. No change management structure was offered by FNG as part of the momentous upheaval proposed to the
organisations. Two public consultations (10-30 June 2010; March June 2011) had produced largely negative responses to the
New Funding Model although from a small set of respondents. By late September 2011, despite input from the Sector which
had coalesced into a Forum by then to some meetings of an FNG subcommittee, matters had not improved. A stage had
been reached where, on the one hand, representatives appointed by 15 organisations in the Sector, 80% of the total, felt they
had no option but to refuse to attend a meeting at short notice and without sufficient sight of relevant documentation and, on
the other hand, FNG continued to follow its timetable and its Board accepted the same documentation containing now a list
of eight schemes as the latest iteration of the New Funding Model.
Parallel with these developments, media comment was relatively frequent and questions on the issue were being raised in
the Dil in Dublin and in the NI Assembly. Consequently, and perhaps also due to sustained informed lobbying, in October
2011, the NSMC decided on a third comprehensive public consultation exercise; this was announced by FNG in early January
2012 to run until 2 April 2012. This exercise was, however, confined solely and expressly to the concept and content of the
portfolio of schemes put forward by FNG; alternatives to this New Model of Funding did not form part of the documentation
with regard to this third consultation despite the fact that previous consultations had rejected the concept. In the meantime,
the organisations were once more granted core funding until mid-2013.
Given the negativity expressed at the public consultation meetings organised by Foras na Gaeilge from 25 February to 14
March 2012, (Maynooth, Tralee, Belfast, Galway, Dublin), comments from FNG representatives ranged from possible change
but no end to the New Funding Model to acknowledgement of problems with the Model and the possibility of having to
come up with another Model. The first focus group (open to the public), as part of the consultation exercise, was organised by
the company Seirbhs Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Services) employed by FNG as independent consultants to produce
an overall report on the consultation process. This report, when published, was timely, concise and to the point, despite giving
a comprehensive insight into the views expressed by a wide range of organisations and individuals.
In essence, the Conclusion of this report confirmed as follows:
- the Sector was almost entirely negative towards the New Funding Model;
- the Sector was not against review and restructuring of the Sector but not in the manner common in the private
sector; any refiguring should be based on the results of professional research conducted in accordance with the
tenets of good practice in the field of language planning;
- lack of confidence was expressed in the process to date as well as concern that the Sectors views were ignored;
- it was accepted that FNG became more open to proposals and to amendments to the proposed schemes as this
final consultation proceeded;
- the Sector was concerned that FNG had no understanding of the nature of their work, particularly as the
proposed alternative of short-term schemes did not sit easily with the long term requirements of real language
planning.
Media comment continued unabated.
Immediately after its meeting of 29 June 2012, the Board of FNG issued a statement (initially in Irish only, in loose
translation below) to the effect that:
- a sum of 6.7 million had been agreed for the core-funded Sector for the year to June 2013;
- that it would not be proceeding with the New Funding Model as originally proposed;
- however, the requirement to restructure the Sector as directed by the NSMC was recognised;
- to this end, other models would now be examined which would include the report of the Oireachtas
Committee, proposals from the Culture Committee in NI and input from the public consultation; additionally,
developments such the 20-Year Strategy, the (then) Gaeltacht Bill and the scheme Lofa 2015 (NI) would also
be taken into account;
- FNG would be co-operating with the Irish language organisations in the months ahead to ensure good results
before the end of the core-funded period (June 2013).
Within a week after this Board meeting and issue of the press release, FNG presented its latest plan to the meeting of the
NSMC on 7 July 2012 as recorded in the minutes of the NSMC:
6. The Council received a presentation from Foras na Gaeilge outlining progress on the development of a new
funding model. The Council noted that 167 submissions had been received during the consultation process
which ended in April 2012. The Council noted a revised implementation plan prepared by Foras na Gaeilge
and agreed that Foras na Gaeilge would provide final funding proposals at the next NSMC Language Body
meeting.
While the Sector took issue with the low number cited of submissions in the consultation since many more had been sent en
bloc from organisations, it was the references to a new funding model and to the revised implementation plan prepared by
FNG which caused most concern. It appeared that, once more, proposals had been made by FNG and accepted by the NSMC
without any sight of them by those affected. However, from the Sectors viewpoint, what first became public was that part of
the implementation plan which concerned an advertisement from FNG on 9 July 2012 seeking the services of consultants
to prepare, by 27 July, the business plan which had been requested of FNG by the NSMC at its meeting of 12 October 2011:
d) prepare a detailed business case, if necessary with independent assistance, in support of the portfolio of draft
schemes.

In its Implementation Plan as made public, briefly, working back from the next meeting of the NMSC in November/
December 2012, FNG intended to embark on the following (subject to approval from FNG Board, the Sponsor Departments,
Finance Departments and the NSMC):
- new draft strategy for the agency in line with the 20-Year Strategy and the needs of the language in NI;
- appoint a consultant and finalise the business case requested by the NSMC;
- ongoing consultation with the Sector on priority areas of work and developing consensus for way forward;
- preparation of application packs, including forms;
- preparation of press release, advertising and launch of way forward.
For the following year, 2013, the plan included:
- discussions leading to agreement on approved way forward and implementation plan with the organisations
(January/February 2013);
- submission of bids for funding by organisations (March/April 2013);
- FNG: assessment of bids/interviews if required /decisions by Grants Committee (May/June 2013);
- recommendations before Board (28 June 2013);
- successful applicants informed/contact core-funded organisations which will have funding ended/start of wind
up and wind down for organisations (June/July 2013).
- The way forward ready to start.
Having advertised in relation to consultancy help with the business plan, FNG given the tight time schedule to the next
meeting of the NSMC continued with the ongoing consultation through several methods, facilitated workshops, workshops
on themes, meetings with specific organisations on six specific themes decided by FNG as the focus of discussion. FNG hoped
to have a decision from its Board by end September on this iteration of the New Funding Model to be set within a business
plan by the November 2012 NSMC meeting. It was also intended that the Sector have sight of this document on future plans
before it went to the Board of FNG. This was a new departure.

The actual content of the proposed document revealed itself by degrees and finally in meetings with individual organisations
(press reports, August and October 2012) as six themes led by six lead organisations with service contracts for a brief period
for other organisations operating in related fields. It was not greeted with enthusiasm since internal competition seemed
inevitable and the demise of some organisations was apparently being asked of the chosen lead organisations. The proposal
was reportedly accepted by the FNG Board at its September 2012 meeting although media reports did not specify whether the
way forward presented to the Board was that outlined at meetings with the organisations.
From the viewpoint of FNG, however, the way forward as discussed with the Sector fulfilled its proposal to the NSMC
meeting of December 2009 concerning a reconfiguration of FNG funding to the core-funded organisations on the basis of
funding one or a small number of organisations within strategic priorities set by FNG. On the other hand, it appeared that
the Sector had succeeded in its lobbying against the withdrawal of core funding (although now confined to six organisations).
However, further comment in the NI Assembly on 9 October 2012 seemed to signal a possible future change of tack for FNG
in relation to the Sector in NI. This is given below.
In the meantime, some organisations were requested to reduce once more their plans and funding for the first six months
of 2013 beyond what had been initially signalled. Discussion continued on the six themes and their possible operation in
the future during November 2012 between FNG and invited organisations chosen by FNG in advance of the last meeting
of the NSMC for 2012. This meeting proved inconclusive with regard to the theme-based way forward since matters were
postponed to the next meeting of the NSMC in early 2013.

In retrospect, the Chairpersons Introduction to the annual report of FNG for the year 2009, not published until December
2012, is of interest. It comments as follows:
Because the Board felt that it was necessary to pay particular attention to the rationalisation of the core funded sector,
another Committee, the Development Committee, was set up in the middle of the year [2009] for that purpose. Foras
na Gaeilge believes that there are opportunities for the Irish language organisations ourselves included to co-operate
with one another and co-ordinate work to a greater extent than is the case at present. It is worthwhile reviewing the
wider context as opposed to the organisational context at regular intervals to identify whatever opportunities might
have arisen and to avail of them together. The decision of the North/South Ministerial Council in December [2009]
in respect of the rationalisation of the core funded sector has added urgency to [t]his work.
RSUM: THE CORE-FUNDED VOLUNTARY SECTOR OF 19 ORGANISATIONS
Over the period 2008 2011, the core funded Sector co-operated with the review process of them initiated by FNG, completing
questionnaires and meeting with consultants commissioned by FNG for the purpose. It was argued by the Sector that research
on the effectiveness of the operations of the organisations did not form part of this engagement, although later used as a criterion
for the New Model of Funding to be operated solely through schemes. The umbrella organisation, Comhdhil Nisinta na
Gaeilge, organised two seminars for the Sector in early 2009 on the changing context where possibilities for co-operation and
collaboration were discussed, the Sector being very cognisant of the requirement to function effectively with less funding.
Over the subsequent 18-month period, action continued. The problems for the future both for language promotion and
for the entire sector were analysed from the voluntary sector perspective through an independent researcher (with financial
input from Foras na Gaeilge) and it was accepted that change of a kind was inevitable. The 19 core-funded organisations
eventually coalesced into a coherent group, later described as a Forum; this was no mean task for 19 autonomous organisations
with differing fields of operation. In the meantime, methods of reducing costs whether by working together or otherwise were
discussed.
Two discussion documents, agreed by the 19 in the Forum, were produced by the participants: one in February 2010
on a vision or overarching environment for development of the Irish language North and South within a context where the
primary actors (State, state agencies, voluntary sector and community) would co-operate fully towards agreed common goals
each in its own sphere of influence; a set of principles were also enumerated for contract partnership between funder and
funded. The second document in early May 2010 outlined several possible scenarios for more intense collaboration between
organisations, all within the parameters of the NSMC decision of December 2009 then pertaining. Both documents were sent,
on completion, to FNG.
However, it was the Sectors view that no fruitful joint discussion or exchange of views took place on the Sectors input
nor was any information revealed by FNG on its own then developing concept of radical change. It was argued that Foras na
Gaeilge worked largely in parallel and produced its own solution for the NSMC decision of late May 2010. Communication
and consultation between the parties during the process apparently consisted of several plenary meetings and some slight input,
viewed as having been reluctantly ceded by the funder, to a subcommittee of Foras na Gaeilge. The organisations felt that none
of their arguments at meetings nor the content of the documentation they provided was taken seriously or fed in any way
into the Foras na Gaeilge deliberations or its eventual solution. In the event, communication of the FNG momentous proposal
and its acceptance in principle by the NSMC was by press statement and the release into the public domain of a document,
the New Funding Model, which detailed future arrangements based on open thematic schemes and an end to core funding, a
document which had never been seen by those organisations whose very future was involved. Neither had they been privy to
the consultants report from which the New Funding Model had emerged.
In the months following the May decision of the NSMC, as reported in the Irish media September 2010, one organisation
felt that the Forum was losing momentum and that organisations had to fight their individual case. This would, however, have
usually been the position in the sector generally insofar as the representative Comhdhil, for example, would have put forward
to the authorities the agreed common position on specific issues while each constituent member organisation would have made
the case particular to their area of operations. Later, a group within the Forum formed their own partnership, to some extent
in line with the NSMC decision of December 2009. This information appeared in the Irish language media in early August
2011 and later in the minutes of the then newly established Coiste Comhairleach (FNG Advisory Committee on Schemes) of
20 January 2011. This group, named as Aontas Phobal na Gaeilge, APG, (Irish Community Union), includes the following
organisations listed as forming the unit: Conradh na Gaeilge, Glr na nGael, Comhluadar, Comhaltas Uladh (4 members of the
Forum) and Seachtain na Gaeilge (of Conradh na Gaeilge). By September 2011, APG were advertising their first public meeting
for 30 September 2011, in Galway, with the aim of encouraging collaborative local groups towards both the all-Ireland schemes
of FNG and the regional plans of the 20-Year Strategy.
The response of the Sector to the New Funding Model was two-fold. In the first instance, since the development of the
language in the community is their primary work, their concern was that this would hardly be best served in a sustainable
developmental fashion through schemes and transient projects which were not set in a coherent strategy from FNG, a strategy
which appeared lacking. Neither was articulation with the 20-Year Strategy immediately evident in the new scheme of things
using public monies. In addition, that no indication was given of an understanding of the very differing linguistic conditions
pertaining in the Republic and in Northern Ireland was viewed as a major lacuna. Secondly, on their own behalf, the fear
was that the expertise and experience built up over years might now be dissipated and that advances carefully nurtured in the
community might be set at nought. Functioning with much reduced budgets but without change to the core-funding system
was a challenge they were ready to face even with possible loss of jobs.
However, the over-riding criticism was for the flawed process, or lack of democratic process, throughout the development
of the FNG reports to the NSMC. The Sectors demand was for at least a change management structure of some kind in light of
events. This demand was eventually acknowledged officially (NSMC 3 November 2010), if only partially,. in the establishment
of an Advisory Committee (Coiste Comhairleach) on the proposed schemes where three seats were given to the Sector. This
action, while welcome, nevertheless came too late in the process to have much more than some quite slight effect on the
general criteria for the system of schemes as already decided by FNG. The possibility of alternatives other than schemes was
apparently not entertained. Even this contact through the Advisory Committee eventually came to an end when the Sectors
representatives were informed at very short notice of a meeting, the date of which had been known to FNG quite some time
in advance (Irish Times column, Tuarascil, 28 September 2011). In addition, the crucial documentation for this same meeting
was supplied at the same short notice. The Sector declined to attend but FNG, nevertheless, held the meeting in their absence
and, on the following day, put the documentation to its Board which passed it, in time to present this draft portfolio of eight
open schemes, hopefully for acceptance by the NSMC at its October 2011 meeting.
Lobbying and third consultation

However, such was the level of concern North and South that the NSMC, at this October meeting, noted the progress by FNG
on the schemes but also directed the agency to conduct a further comprehensive twelve-week public consultation exercise. The
NSMC, at its next February 2012 meeting, also allowed core funding for a further period until mid-2013. In the meantime,
until the end of the third consultation on 2 April 2012, the Sector continued its lobbying and set up an online petition to save
the organisations which reached 1,000 signatures by 2 March 2012. However, since consultancy assistance was to be engaged
by FNG on a six-month contract, to analyse feedback from the consultation, it was initially feared that it could be Autumn
2012 before any further decisions took place. The employment of the company, Seirbhs Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning
Services), as occurred, could, of course, serve to shorten this period. The report, when it came, gave a clear picture of the
Sectors concerns.
Twice during February 2012, presentations were made to the relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee by representatives of the
Sector and by Foras na Gaeilge. A subgroup of the Oireachtas Committee further examined the proposals of the New Funding
Model. The ensuing report in June 2012 echoed the concerns of the Voluntary Sector, called for the retention of core funding
and independent research towards the elaboration of an overall language strategy for FNG which would articulate with the
20-Year Strategy. May 2012 saw a two and a half hour debate on the issue in the NI Assembly and the adoption of a resolution
of concern from the SDLP party.

Given the negativity expressed at the public consultation meetings organised by Foras na Gaeilge from 25 February to 14 March
2012, (Maynooth, Tralee, Belfast, Galway, Dublin), comments from FNG representatives ranged from possible change but no
end to the New Funding Model to acknowledgement of problems with the Model and the possibility of having to come up
with another Model. FNG then, in quick succession, announced an end to the New Funding Model in its current form (29
June 2012) and presented its new Implementation Plan on the review of the core-funded sector to the NSMC on 9 July 2012.
This new Plan was eventually published on the agencys website following sustained requests for sight of the document by An
Fram as input into any joint meetings on the co-operation of the future as cited in the statement of 29 June 2012. A series of
meetings occurred as part of the ongoing consultation stated.
Contacts between the organisations and Foras na Gaeilge and the way forward were reported in the press (Gaelscal, 29
August 2012; Tuarascil, The Irish Times, 3 October 2012) as follows:
- FNG had decided on six themes as the basis for future language activity:
Irish-medium education; Irish in English-medium education and adult education; language awareness raising,
language protection and contact with the two jurisdictions, North and South; community development; youth;
support activities and occasions for use of Irish.
- FNG proposed one lead organisation for each theme which would/could be responsible for others of the
organisations associated with the specific theme and could offer them service contracts from July 2013 to
December 2014, but no longer.
- FNG proposed the lead organisations as follows: Gaelscoileanna; Gael Linn; Conradh na Gaeilge or Comhdhil
Nisinta na Gaeilge; Glr na nGael; Cumann na bhFiann; An tOireachtas.
- The two community radio stations in Dublin and in Belfast, Raidi na Life and Raidi Filte would continue
to be funded as would An tisaonad which produces educational resources from its location in Coliste Mhuire
(teacher training university college in Belfast).

The reported response of the Forum contained several points of note:

- that the concept of collaboration as proposed appeared to mean that six organisations were being asked to put
an end to other core-funded organisations;
- that the element of competition remained although this had been strongly rejected in the report from the
Oireachtas Committee in June 2012.
None of the organisations in NI were cited as lead organisations, a factor which could potentially mean that the funded
support system for NI would be more or less based in the South, if any NI organisations survived the proposed way forward.
In addition, one of the NI organisations pointed once more to the lack of information to those affected by policy changes
as is legally incumbent on all State bodies in NI. No independent research had been yet conducted on the work, outcomes,
efficiency or effectiveness of the 19 core-funded organisations.

It appeared on the one hand that the process was back at square one, at December 2009, with reduction to six organisations,
but that the Sector might have succeeded in its lobbying to maintain core funding.
These proposals led to an interesting exchange in the NI Assembly on 9 October 2012 in reference to the organisations
in NI. Dominic Brolchin (SDLP) posed this question to the Minister (Sinn Fin) who had just given a full statement to the
House on the NSMC meeting of 9 July 2012:
Will she [the Minister] assure the House that the new version of the funding model will not, in any way, disadvantage
Irish-language organisations here in the North?
The Minister probably saw the leaked details of the new model in The Irish Times last week. Will she assure us that
she will fight to ensure that Irish-language organisations here get the best possible deal out of it?
Her reply was quite clear:
I give a 100% assurance that I will fight for the organisations that are based here in the North. Honestly, I did not see
the leaked details in The Irish Times; this is the first that I have heard of them. As the Member will be aware, it is not
the first leak, and I have no doubt that it will not be the last.
The Members question is a serious one, and my answer is serious. Given the nature of funding for the Irish language
across the island and the commitment, particularly in the Programme for Government, to the strategies for Irish and
Ulster Scots in this instance for Irish it is imperative that we have robust infrastructure and strong support in
the community to meet the needs of that sector. Sometimes, meeting the needs of that sector includes meeting the
needs of funded groups, because you cannot deliver a service without the resource on the ground.
I cannot give an assurance about the new funding model at this stage because I have not seen the proposals, nor can I
judge what effects they will have. However, I can promise that I will fight the corner for people from this jurisdiction
and for the language across the island. I will make sure that the funding arrangements are truly representative,
meet the needs of everyone on the island and are not skewed towards the benefit of some and to the detriment and
disadvantage of others.
In the meantime, some organisations were requested to reduce once more their plans and funding for the first six months of
2013 beyond what had been initially signalled. Discussion continued on the six themes and their possible operation in the
future during November 2012 between FNG and invited organisations chosen by FNG in advance of the last meeting of the
NSMC for 2012.
This meeting took place on 12 December 2012. The new approach put forward by FnaG did not receive immediate
approval as expected. The following reference to the issue appeared in the agreed communiqu which was issued:
Recognising that there is a need for change in the sector, Ministers discussed Foras na Gaeilges review of core funding
which will be the focus of the next Language Sector Meeting in 2013.
While it appeared that some slight reprieve had, in fact, been granted to continue with current structures for the moment,
overall the Sector entered 2013 to a future which was still far from clear.
CONTEXTUAL DEVELOPMENTS JUNE 2011-JUNE 2012
The rsums given above omitted much of the context in which the impasse between FNG and the Sector was played out. In
the period from June 2011 to June 2012, however, several developments occurred in the ongoing situation with regard to the
New Funding Model being implemented by FNG. As the respective positions of both FNG and the Sector have been given
separately above, they are now taken together in the section immediately following which comments on the various external
forces requiring consideration in the matter of the New Funding Model.
The legal position

Legislation giving effect to the provisions of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement had been passed by both the Dublin and
Westminster Governments. The relevant Act is the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999. By this Act, the existing Bord na Gaeilge
was repealed and the body Foras na Gaeilge, part of An Foras Teanga, was established. In the section of the Act dealing with
the implementation bodies, CUID VI (PART VI) refers to the North/South Language Body; in Irish An Foras Teanga and Tha
Boord o Leid in Ulster Scots, comprising Foras na Gaeilge (for the Irish language) and The Ulster Scots Agency (for Ullans or
Ulster-Scots). Both the Irish and English language versions of Article 28. (1) (2) (a) and (b), on transfer of functions to the
Body, are clear:
(2) (a) The functions of the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, in so far as those functions relate
to the funding of the voluntary Irish language organisations specified in the Table to this section, are hereby
transferred to the Body.
(b) The Minister may, with the prior agreement of the [North/South Ministerial] Council, by order amend the Table
to this section by adding a reference to any other Irish language organisation to, deleting a reference to such an
organisation from, or amending an entry in respect of such an organisation in, the said Table.
In PART 5 of Annex 1 (Exercise of Functions) of this Act, under the heading, Language, Exercise of Functions, provision 1.1 states:
The functions of Bord na Gaeilge and its staff, assets and obligations will be transferred to the Body. Bord na Gaeilge
will be dissolved.
It is, however, the next sentence, together with the provision above, which is currently at issue.
The functions of the Irish Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands in relation to financial support for
certain voluntary Irish language organisations will also be transferred to the Body.
Firstly, it is to be noted that the legislation specifically transfers the funding function of certain voluntary organisations,
formerly exercised by the Department, to the new Body, Foras na Gaeilge. Secondly, these organisations are listed in a Table
enshrined in the legislation, which refers to eight of the 19 core-funded organisations, seven in the Republic and one in NI.
Thirdly, the Minister has apparently discretion to make changes to the Table. Fourthly, the procedure to do so is by request to,
and consent from, the NSMC. However, in order to issue a Statutory Instrument giving effect to any mutually agreed change,
it is understood that the Minister in the Republic must place the wording before the two Houses of the Oireachtas for debate.
Fifthly, the meaning of the terms funding and financial support are, of course, open to interpretation.
The minutes of the Steering Committee on the Schemes of 5 August 2011 state that this Table in the Act is for discussion
at the NSMC meeting of 12 October 2011. In the meantime, a paper was being prepared by the Department of Arts, Heritage
and the Gaeltacht, and, subject to agreement from the NSMC, a Statutory Instrument would then be prepared. Good practice
would normally ensure that such legalities would have been dealt with before any proposals, such as Schemes, were developed;
it would also ensure some level of engagement with those to be affected by any changes in legislation.
It would be, of course, a matter for the organisations set out in the Table to seek independent legal advice on the issue.
In the meantime, the North South Ministerial Council took the following decision.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, 12 October 2011

Item 12
The NSMC agreed that an Order be made at the appropriate time under section 28(2)(b) of the British-Irish
Agreement Act 1999 (No.1 of 1999) to delete the reference to the organisations listed in the table to the section.
While no timescale is given, it is clearly intended to remove the reference which gives a form of legal support to funding for
eight organisations by FNG. The absence of timescale may be political, given that the New Funding Model was far from yet
being agreed as other excerpts from this communiqu show (Outcomes, below). Additionally, such an Order would have to
be put before both Houses of the Oireachtas and, while the present Coalition Government has a clear majority, such an event
could possibly lead to embarrassing debate, particularly if occurring at the time of another austerity budget.
The political position

Given the ongoing unease of the Sector with the proposed system of Schemes, and in particular the difficulties of the NI
organisations within the very differing context from that pertaining in the Republic, the continuing resistance of the Sector to
the New Funding Model of FNG found several outlets, as detailed below, all of which had to be taken seriously.
Consultations conducted by FNG

Apart from the brevity of the first consultation process (September 2010) which drew criticism from the Sector, and the second
(March June 2011) which was apparently more concentrated on NI (D/CAL Committee 9 June, below), the results of these
two consultations were apparently not very numerous and proved more negative than positive to the New Funding Model
based on Schemes. This is illustrated in the analysis conducted by an independent consultant and which was accepted at the
meeting of the FNG Board on 23 September 2011 (available on FNG website). Apparently, 11 completed questionnaires were
received from organisations but these comprised only 5 (or 26%) of the core-funded groups since some replies were from
groups under the auspices of one core-funded organisation, Conradh na Gaeilge. The feedback was better from NI, where 57%
(4 of 7 organisations) replied. In one way, since there was interaction of a kind between FNG and the core-funded organisations
(through documentation from the Sector and contacts otherwise), although this was considered flawed by the organisations,
nevertheless, a public consultation process was hardly the most appropriate vehicle for engagement between funder and funded.
Responses from individuals were relatively sparse also. A third comprehensive consultation process was then required of FNG
by the NSMC at its meeting of 12 October 2011.
D/CAL Scrutiny Committee (NI)
An all-party scrutiny committee, somewhat similar to the Joint Oireachtas Committees in the Republic, is attached to each
Assembly Department in NI. Each is chaired by a party different from that of the Minister of that Department. The Department
of Culture, Arts and Leisure (D/CAL) concerned itself with reactions to the New Funding Model to which the Department
had agreed in principle through the NSMC. The various meetings of this Committee, reported in Hansard (official record,
in printed transcript, of UK and NI parliamentary proceedings), are fairly indicative of the continuing concerns. A factual
briefing paper, Paper 67/11 dated 3 June 2011, was prepared for the Committee by the Research and Library Service of the
NI Assembly. In part, it reiterates those concerns of the Sector, particularly in relation to NI, and lays out a useful table of the
legislative and status differences with regard to Irish in the two jurisdictions.
Annexe 1 to this research paper gives the summary timeline for the proposed change in funding arrangements. It notes
the various appearances before the D/CAL Committee of representatives of both the core-funded Sector and of officials from
FNG and from D/CAL itself.
The Sector
21 October 2010
Appearance and written submission on concerns about Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and Equality Impact
Assessment (EQIA) with regard to the proposed changes.
In addition, a later appearance by the Sector also occurred after the issue of the research briefing paper.
22 September 2011
Appearance and written submission from three NI organisations on the unsatisfactory nature of the process in general
(described by one participant as appalling); the [lack of ] of conduct of both Impact Assessment Regulations; the
lack of engagement on views and submissions to FNG from the Sector; the continuing and bewildering change in the
number of proposed Schemes (from 10 to 9 to 12 to 9 to 10 to 8). The organisations were of the view that, in light of
the D/CAL Ministers emerging Strategy for Irish in NI, it would be appropriate to wait and to articulate any possible
changes with the implementation of that NI Strategy. The organisations were particularly perturbed about a recent
meeting which is discussed below (Foras na Gaeilge: 15 September 2011).
Foras na Gaeilge
25 November 2010
The scrutiny Committee was briefed on the ongoing review of core-funded organisations. Some Committee members
made known their concerns on the consultation process. It was agreed to seek details of the Equality Impact Assessment
(EQIA) from the D/CAL.
9 June 2011
The Committee received current information. The second Public Consultation (due to end on 14 June) was referred
to as in Northern Ireland; ten Schemes were outlined; details were provided of the new Steering and Advisory
Committees; the EQIA was carried out by FNG and did not highlight any adverse impacts; the position on the RIA
was not clear but would be checked.
15 September 2011
Work on the RIA was progressing but was still in draft form; however, of the options (including the costs and benefits
of each) identified for achieving desired change, the draft supported the approach taken by FNG. The RIA would be
finalised and presented to the Minister when considering approved schemes from FNG.
Other funded schemes of FNG were discussed, newspaper and magazines. Information was also provided on the political
path to be followed: the FNG Board would consider the latest proposals on 23 September 2011, these would then go to the
officials of the sponsor Departments, then to the respective Ministers and also to the Finance Departments. It was, however,
the following reference by the D/CAL representative to meetings of the FNG (Schemes) Advisory Committee that later created
the next crisis in the FNG/Sector engagement. Voluntary Sector representatives sit on this Advisory Committee.
The advisory committee also met on 6 September, and a further meeting to consider the aims and objectives of the
draft funding schemes is being arranged for 22 September. In advance of the meeting, Foras na Gaeilge will also write
to the advisory committee providing copies of the draft aims and objectives for each of the proposed funding schemes
and inviting comment on those prior to the next meeting of the advisory committee.

The same official had commented before the Committee on 6 June 2011 on:
the criticism from some in the sector about the nature and level of engagement that there had been with Foras
He had alluded to the various structures (Steering and Advisory Committees on Schemes) and had stated that:
The two sponsor Departments are satisfied that they have put in place a procedure that ensures effective engagement.
The effectiveness or otherwise of this engagement was tested in the period between the D/CAL meeting of 15 September and
the proposed Advisory Committee meeting of 22 September, the day before the FNG Board meeting of 23 September. Sector
participants at a meeting of the D/CAL Committee on the 22 made very clear that, despite reference to an apparently prearranged date for the Advisory Committee meeting and to provision of documentation in advance, they as representatives of
the Sector on the Committee had not only been given very late notice of the meeting but were expected to give feedback on
vital information which had not been received in timely fashion. One of the witnesses, a Sector representative on the Advisory
Committee, stated as follows:
Unfortunately, we did not have the minutes of that [September] meeting, so I had not realised that there was to be a
meetingA meeting was organised for Dublin today [Thursday] at 2.00 p.m.. We did not hear about it until Monday
afternoon. It came as an e-mail at about 4.30 pm and I caught it by accident at 5.45 pm on Monday. I said I would
go and asked for documentationI e-mailed Foras na Gaeilge to ask for the documentation and got no reply. Then,
on the Tuesday, I discovered the minutes of this committee [Scrutiny Committee] from last Thursday [15 September].
We did not get the documentation until 9.30 am on Wednesdayno chance of us [Sector representatives on Advisory
Committee] getting together to make a considered response. If the meetingwas to be meaningful, there had to be
some chance that it could have an effect on the outcome. We decided that the meeting would have no effect on the
outcome and was intended to have no effect on the outcome, and we, therefore, decided not to attend.
By late September 2011 then, despite input from the Sector to some meetings of FNG subcommittees, matters had not
improved. A stage had been reached where, on the one hand, 15 organisations in the Sector, 80% of the total, felt it had
no option but to have its representatives refuse to attend a meeting at short notice and without sufficient sight of relevant
documentation and, on the other hand, FNG continued to follow its own timetable, convened the meeting on the 22nd and
presented the resulting documentation containing eight schemes on the following day, 23rd, to its Board, which accepted
them.
That draft versions of these schemes appeared briefly on the FNG website before being withdrawn, and that these drafts
contained references to the number and grade of staff required to run them, provided another source of confusion and
frustration to the Sector.
Outcomes
The Sector
From the perspective of the Sector, the most salient outcome of their refusal to attend the 22 September meeting of the
Advisory Committee without due notice or documentation was their determination to make their position widely and clearly
known, through letters to the relevant Ministers and in media contacts. The main thrust of their argument (Tuarascil, The
Irish Times, 19 October, 2011, in translation) remained as before:
- the Sector as a valuable resource of knowledge and expertise with the support of its followers;
- the proposals of FNG as being incoherent and over-simplistic lacking any objective, informed, in-depth analysis;
- the process behind the development of the proposed policy as having been deeply flawed, flouting every
principle of good practice and due process in policy development;
- lack of transparency and relevant documentation being withheld without good reason;
- the Sector as having been consistently frustrated in every attempt it made to engage with the process, and
- the formal consultations as having been mismanaged.
Finally, the Sector called on the NSMC:
- to refuse the current proposal and to direct FNG to fully engage with the Sector, with a view to finding an
agreed alternative by a given date.
These views were also put personally by a deputation from An Fram which met the Ministers on their way in to the NSMC
meeting in Armagh on 12 October 2011.
This determination had several further outcomes as given below: the October NSMC communiqu; parliamentary
questions in both the NI Assembly and in the Dil; a statement from the Advisory Group of the Council of Europe on the
implementation in NI of the Framework Convention for the Protection of Minorities. Media attention was also maintained
on the issue.
North South Ministerial Council

The Council issued two highly significant decisions one after the other in their meetings of late 2011 and early 2012.
Items 10-13
10. Ministers noted the progress that has been made to date by Foras na Gaeilge with regard to the preparation
of a portfolio of draft schemes for the new competitive funding model which has the objective of achieving
significant benefits in relation to value for money and the effective delivery of Foras na Gaeilge's statutory
obligations.
11. Having considered this progress, the NSMC requested Foras na Gaeilge to:

a) take forward a further twelve week consultation about the portfolio of draft schemes, particularly with the
core funded bodies;
b) ensure that relevant statutory bodies are given the opportunity to consider the impact of the draft schemes
on their areas of operation;
c) amend the portfolio of draft schemes as necessary and appropriate, having regard to the extended
consultation process;
d) prepare a detailed business case, if necessary with independent assistance, in support of the portfolio of
draft schemes; and
e) prepare a revised project plan, in conjunction with the Sponsor Departments, that will have due regard to
the completion of the review process as a matter of urgency.
12. The NSMC agreed that an Order be made at the appropriate time under section 28(2)(b) of the British-Irish
Agreement Act 1999 (No.1 of 1999) to delete the reference to the organisations listed in the table to the
section.
13. Ministers requested a further progress report at the next NSMC Language Body meeting.
The Sector reiterates in its media reports that it is fully cognisant of the current economic difficulties and that their desire is to
work with FNG to reach an effective workable model for the Irish-language Voluntary Sector, and for the Irish language, but
a model which will be based firmly on the best aspects of what the Sector currently comprises.
A quote from a deputy (Fianna Fil) in Dil ireann (20 October 2011) in relation to another matter entirely would
appear to be ad rem with regard to the future manner of engagement between the Sector and FNG in the twelve weeks further
consultation.
There was need for an intermediary between the banks and individuals because the relationship was unequal.
An independent facilitator might bridge the gap existing between the two parties, FNG and the Sector, since the relationship
between the funder and the funded is of its nature an unequal one.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, of meeting 14 February 2012
Item 10
Ministers noted the progress that has been made to date by Foras na Gaeilge with regard to the development of a new
competitive funding model with the objective of achieving significant benefits in relation to value for money and the
effective delivery of Foras na Gaeilges statutory obligations. The Council agreed that, in the context of continuing
to achieve satisfactory progress, interim funding may continue to be provided by Foras na Gaeilge to the existing
core funded bodies to 30 June 2013. A further progress report will be presented to the next NSMC Language Body
meeting.
It was hoped that this extended period would bring a satisfactory resolution to a situation which was consuming much time
and energy that might have been more profitably spent in furtherance of the Irish language as a national project.
NI Assembly resolution and debate

In Northern Ireland, as in the Republic in relation to the 20-Year Strategy, the FNG New Funding Model based on schemes
would impact on both the language strategy and possible Act for Irish, both political ventures which were closer to nationalist
than to unionist aspirations.
On Tuesday 18 October 2011, one of the SDLP members who had put down a related resolution the previous September
asked the (Sinn Fin) NI Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure (D/CAL) the following questions:
- given the problems encountered during the consultation on core-funded Irish language organisations,
whether she [would] review the consultation proposals in light of her Departments emerging Irish language
strategy, and
- [was] the Minister willing to propose changes to the new funding model in light of the answers that she receives
through the consultation process?
In her reply, the Minister said that:

- she had met with the majority of core-funded Irish-language organisations [and] intended to engage with those
key stakeholders across the North in relation to the strategy and the Act development process which is subject
to public consultation;
- the direct answer to the Members question [was] that she [was] not happy with the consultation
announceda new consultation process in November that needs to be fully inclusive The core-funded
Irish language bodies, like any other group in the community, are arguing for services and facilities for the
constituents and people that they represent. The way in which the details of those schemes were brought
forward almost made it impossible for people to consult
A supplementary question was put by a Sinn Fin member:
- Has the Minister brought her assessment of the consultation process on the core-funded bodies to the North/
South Ministerial Council (NSMC) sectoral meeting?
She replied:
The assessment is that a consultation must be full and rigorous, and people have to become involved. I appeal to
the relevant bodies to take this new opportunity to bring forward their concerns. We need to make sure that the
investment is protected and that the services are fit for purpose and are for not just the core-funded groups but the
people and parents who rely on them.
This session took place mainly in English. Other Members also took part. Some Irish was spoken and translated by the speaker.
The official Hansard record of this exchange is headed Irish Language Strategy.
Arising out of concern for the NI organisations affected by the funding change, a previous resolution had been put to the
NI Assembly, dated 27 September 2011 and signed by three SDLP members, as a No Day Named Motion (Hansard). It was
couched in the following terms:
Foras na Gaeilge Proposed Funding Model
That this Assembly notes with concern the effects that the new funding model proposed by Foras na Gaeilge will
have on Irish language organisations; expresses concern about the nature of the consultation process; and calls on the
Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to review these proposals in view of her Departments emerging Irish Language
Strategy.
[Mr D Bradley]
[Mrs K McKevitt]
[Mr P McGlone]
[27 September 2011]
On 22 May 2012, the same resolution was put to the Assembly under Private Members Business, entitled Irish Language:
Funding, and, after quite a long debate of an hour and a half containing some Irish, was agreed to. The debate itself contained
some interesting contributions apart from the succinct SDLP introduction and concluding remarks. They are included here as
representative of the position of different parties in the NI Assembly on the related issues of the New Funding Model, Foras na
Gaeilge, the Sector and the Irish language.
Ms McIlveen Chair of the D/CAL Committee (DUP)
The Committee wrote to the Minister, on 26 September 2011, about the concerns of the Irish language core-funded
groups, the consultation process, the RIA and the EQIA. The Committee asked the Minister to refrain from making
any decisions on the proposals put forward by Foras na Gaeilge until proper consultation with the sector had been
taken. The Committee has followed closely the developments in relation to the consultations on the new funding
model proposed by Foras na Gaeilge and, following the decision by the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC)
last October to undertake a further consultation to address the concerns raised about the consultation process, the
Committee invited officials to provide an update on 26 April 2012. The Committee continues to take an interest in the
issue and has requested that DCAL and Foras na Gaeilge report to it on the outcome of this consultation in due course.
Mr McGimpsey (UUP)
As has been indicated, Foras na Gaeilge is not an independent fiefdom but part of the North/South Language Body
and, as such, is answerable to the North/South Ministerial Council in language format. There will always be a unionist
Minister at those meetings, so a veto exists as far as unionism is concerned. It is more than simply an academic
exercise when it comes to funding for GaelicWe are all aware that core funding is key for organisations that bid for
funding, whether it be for Ulster Scots, Gaelic or any other form of funding. If organisations get core funding, they
then have continuity and confidence to plan. They do not spend most of their time, as many groups do, wondering
what the next funding round will provide for them and lobbying and working for that fundingCore funding is
always the way for voluntary and community groups to go forward, if at all possible, to give them that confidence and
continuity. Therefore, I am not clear about the argument as to why we will go on to a new funding model. That has
to be developed, but, clearly, as has been indicated, the Committee has concerns and the Irish language groups have
concerns. I sat in the Ministers chair at one stage, and I am reminded that we are empowered, where appropriate and
where people so desire, to take resolute action to promote the language and to facilitate and encourage its use, and it
appears that, in this constituency, the people do not desire that type of change of arrangement. The Irish language is
75% funded by the Dublin Government, and that Government will have a major say in this. Similarly, Ulster Scots
is 75% funded by the Northern Ireland Executive. So, it is not simply a matter for this House but a matter that
requires consensus and working by agreementI have listened to the discussion, and we have to tread carefully and
with caution if we are to change this after a number of years. The promotion of Gaelic has been successful, and that
is one of the successes of the cross-border body. We need to be very careful that we do not lose the support of the
constituency by introducing a funding model that may well be driven by budget problems in Dublin. If Dublin has
those budget problems, it has to be honest with us and make that caseThe issue still has to be fully explored. I am
not fully across all the issues, and it is a developing argument. Someone said that the motion is premature and preemptive; I am not sure that it is either of those, but it is a discussion that we can usefully continue.
Mr Lunn (Alliance Party)
I have listened with interest to the contributions so far, particularly from the Irish-speaking side of the House
Frankly, I am always impressed by the interest and commitment of those who are involved in the Irish language
movement and the ongoing project to widen its use in everyday speech and conversation. Mr hOisn mentioned the
education perspective, and it has been well proven that learning an additional language at an early age is stimulating
and beneficial to our children. That is accepted at home and across EuropeSo, I support the promotion of Irishmedium schools as one of Foras na Gaeilges activities, if there is a strong parental demand for it. I will turn to Foras na
Gaeilge and todays motion. What little I know about the organisation indicates that the review of the funding model
is to be welcomed it is long overdue provided that it is done properly. My impression is that the organisation
has been allowed to do its own thing with funding from both Governments with, perhaps, precious little supervision
or accountability. They appear to have funded certain bodies by block grants without due regard to how effectively the
money has been used, while, at grass-roots level, it seems to be generally accepted that local projects doing really good
work on language promotion and development and showing real creativity and energy receive only about one sixth
of the total funding that is channelled to the core-funded groups under the present system. My impression is that,
under the new model, it will be easier and quicker for projects to access funds, and that the money will, in theory at
least, follow the action and will result in enthusiasm and good practice being rewarded. I also hear from Irish speakers
that there is a need to regenerate and revitalise the geographical areas of language activity so that they fit into the
context of a national language planning model, ensuring that where Irish-speaking communities exist, they are active
and vibrant and not just nominal Gaeltacht areas where there is little or no real attention paid to the subjectWe
will have to listen with interest to the rest of the debate before we decide whether we will support the motion. I will
say, however, as an outsider, that I like the look of the proposed new structure for Foras na Gaeilge. I listened to Mr
Bradleys criticisms of it, but as an outsider looking in, it seems to me to be more modern, active and reactive, and the
organisation will hopefully be more accountable to its funders and the taxpayers, North and SouthI note that the
Northern Ireland Government have invested 25% of the overall funding, but over the years, only between 16% and
22% of that money has found its way back to the North. I also note the feeling that the needs of the Irish-medium
sector in the North are different from those in the Republic, a fact, perhaps, that is not always recognised by Foras na
Gaeilge. I hope that whatever changes are finally agreed will be introduced gradually, as it is important not to lose the
expertise and experience that is available in organisations that, although they will have to change as Mr Bradley
said, some of them may disappear are decades older than Foras na Gaeilge and have a lot to offer. I am not fully
conversant with the overall existing structures, but there is Plean 2030 and plans for a national language planning and
implementation unit, so a co-ordinated and sensitive approach is what is needed. I hope that Foras na Gaeilge gets it
right and that it does not rush things.
A Sinn Fin member, Cathal hOisn, referred to the motion proposed as being pre-emptive and premature since the [3rd]
consultation process was still underway. The point was taken up by others.
The Minister (Sinn Fin)
Members have mentioned that concerns have been raised by a number of the groups. We listened to those concerns
and brought them to the North/South Ministerial Council meeting in sectoral format. I support that right, and I
am delighted, as Cathal and others have expressed, that a motion has been tabled on the future proposals for funding
the Irish language. I do think that it is a bit premature
Mr McGlone (SDLP)
You can never be pre-emptive or premature about a core issue to the development of the Irish language. On this
particular issue, whoever is responsible I do not particularly care who is responsible has been footering about
with this for about two years. I do not know whether that [refers to footering] is Ulster Scots or Irish. It has been
going on since 2009, which is over two years. The Irish language sector is delighted that this debate is taking place
here today. This is where the debate should take place. Pre-emptive or not, the debate has to take place here through
the elected representatives and through the Minister so that we can add some focus to the discussion and eventually
try to get things sorted out in regard to promotion of the language.
Dominic Brolchin (SDLP)
The point was made that the motion was premature and pre-emptive. The fact is that the motion has been on the list
of no-day-named motions since September, so we can hardly be accused of rushing to bring it forward. We waited
until a strategic time, and I believe that this is the strategic time to debate it.
The NI Minister for Culture (in the debate following her statement to the Assembly on 22 January 2013 on progress with
regard to the North/South bodies under her Department) was even more clear in relation to her position on Irish and on the
NI Sector in her response to a question from the same SDLP member, Dominic Brolchin:
Mr D Bradley: I notice the reference in the Ministers statement to the funding of voluntary Irish language
organisations. Will the Minister once again attest to the fact that she will defend those organisations, as she said she
would in the House previously?
Ms N Chuiln: Gabhaim buochas leis an Chomhalta as ucht a cheiste.[I thank the Member for his question]. I
have always said that I will defend the Irish language, as I will defend Ulster Scots. What I will not defend is a review
or reorganisation of the sector that does not meet needs. I know that the Member is also coming from that position.
This is not just about maintaining the status quo for the sake of it. It is about making sure that there is core funding
for the Irish language to meet the needs of not only children and their parents but the business sector as we heard
in previous questions the environment and any aspect of life through the medium of Irish language.
It is imperative that those needs are defended. However, I will not any Minister worth their salt would not
defend something that, on occasion, is indefensible. There have been extensive reviews, and I have done extensive
consultations. I want to look at the existing, new and emerging needs of the sector, and that is what I will defend.
I will defend the needs of the Irish language sector not only for the sake of it but because it is the right thing to do.
(Hansard)
Dil ireann
On the same day as the question to the Minister for Culture in the NI Assembly, 18 October 2011, in Dil ireann, a Sinn Fin
deputy questioned the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs (Fine Gael) at the Department for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht
on the New Funding Model of FNG for the future, including the voluntary Irish language organisations.
The Minister gave the decision of the NSMC from its meeting of 12 October but was of the view that he could not
comment further at this point in time. Having spoken on the rle of FNG and having praised the work of the Sector over the
years, the Minister added that a further period of consultation had been given to allow for careful listening to the concerns of
the Sector.
He went on to say that the decisions on the review of the Sector had been made by Ministers before him and by the
NSMC, decisions which he could not overturn. This latter view was later disputed by the previous Minister at a meeting of the
Oireachtas Joint Committee (8 February 2012) with responsibility for Language, inter alia.
This Dil session took place through Irish. Other matters were also discussed and other deputies took part.
Parliamentary questions on the issue were also regularly put.
Oireachtas Joint Committee

The Joint Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht held two meetings on 8 and 28 February 2012
where the specific issue of the New Funding Model through a system of schemes was discussed. At the first meeting evidence
was given by the group Aontas Phobal na Gaeilge (APG, Irish Community Union); at the second by Comhdhil Nisinta na
Gaeilge and Foras na Gaeilge. In addition to presenting the case and answering questions from Committee members, the Sector
sought the support of the Committee in a request the NSMC to put aside the funding model through schemes and agree a new
partnership model. The report from the Committee in June 2012 upheld the view of the Sector.
The decision to amalgamate the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga with the Office of the Ombudsman was also discussed
at both these meetings, Changes to the Office of An Coimisinir above, as was the review of the Official Languages Act. The
support of the Committee was sought to ensure that the Office would remain an independent statutory Office.
Council of Europe (2011-2012)

The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe
commented, inter alia, in their Third Opinion on the UK (adopted 30 June 2011, published 22 December 2011) on the
situation of Irish in NI. The relevant comments concerned the implementation of the Convention in that jurisdiction in
relation to Article 5 of the Convention: Preservation and promotion of minority cultures and languages. The following remarks
on new government policies which emphasise the need to reduce public deficits and to cut on a number of expenditures
appear in the Committees commentary (Present situation):
the Advisory Committeenotes with concern that many of the representatives of minorities with whom it met
are worried about the potentially disproportionate impact of budgetary cuts on the sustainability of activities for
the promotion of minority cultures and languagesinterlocutors of the Advisory Committee regret that impact
assessment of budgetary restrictions on minority needs seems often not to have been carried outconnected with a
lack of data
The Advisory Committee is concerned by plans that have been under preparation since 2009 by the North South
Ministerial Council relating to Northern Ireland to reconfigure core support for activities aimed at preserving and
promoting the Irish language and culture, including funds distributed so far through the Irish Language Agency (Foras
na Gaeilge).
Among the Recommendations arising out of these remarks is the following:
The Advisory Committee calls on the authorities to evaluate carefully the impact of budgetary cutsin close
cooperation with representatives of the groups concerned, to ensure that they are not disproportionately affected by
budgetary stringency. The authorities should also ensure that local authorities respect their obligations pertaining to
the protection of minority rights.
Among the interlocutors was the advocacy group, POBAL, one of the core-funded organisations, which also prepared a
report for the Advisory Committee.
Three issues for immediate action by the authorities are highlighted at the end of the Executive Summary which begins
this Opinion.
- Take measures to ensure that budgetary cuts are kept at a minimum and do not have a disproportionately
negative impact on the situation of persons belonging to minority ethnic communities, by means of impact
assessments of ongoing and planned cuts and careful monitoring;
- Develop comprehensive legislation on the Irish language in Northern Ireland and take resolute measures
to protect and implement more effectively the language rights of persons belonging to the Irish-speaking
community.

In its response of 24 February 2012 to this Opinion, the UK Government does not refer to these comments on budgetary cuts.
Media
The issue of a system of schemes to replace core funding of organisations received much media exposure, largely arising
from the efforts of the core-funded Sector, to the extent that one Irish-language columnist eventually almost apologised for
commenting on the latest news on the subject. Coverage was given on a continuous basis, in print, on radio and on television,
largely but not exclusively in Irish. The main points of the Sectors case have been given above. On the issue of value for
money, it was unclear to the Sector how the system of schemes would accomplish this; that, in fact, the proposed system
constituted commercialisation of a community-based not-for-profit sector.
In advance of the 12 October 2011 meeting of the NSMC, the Forum, after reiterating these points, called on the NSMC:
to refer the New Funding Model back to Foras na Gaeilge with an instruction that they fully engage with the sector,
with a view to finding an agreed alternative by a given date.
In the event, the Council instituted a third consultation process.
A NI Assembly member of the SDLP called for negotiation as the dispute was not helping the cause of the language
in either jurisdiction. NI organisations complained to the NI Minister for Culture on grounds of directives from the NI
Department of Finance and Personnel which might require an impact assessment of regulations:
Retrospective appraisal, that is, going through the motions of appraisal after decisions have been taken or expenditure
committed, is bad management practice and is unacceptable.
As the third consultation process got underway in early 2012, the Sector criticised the consultation document for being
limited to seeking opinion solely on the schemes and not permitting comment/input on any possible alternatives to the New
Funding Model. A letter from previous presidents of Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge suggested some possible alternatives to
the FNG approach on budget disbursement and made the following proposal:
Our structural proposal then is the establishment of an ad hoc representative group, having an independent chair,
to discuss possibilities and reach an agreed solution, based on all the available facts, to put before the North South
Ministerial Council.
A letter from the Chief Executive of Gael Linn, another core-funded organisation, answered some of the assertions on
duplication of provision and offered the view that:
the interest of the current public consultation process would be best served if meaningful engagement were to occur
between Foras na Gaeilge and the sector, as requested by the North-South Ministerial Council.
In February 2012, a letter in disagreement with the FNG approach, from a group of language planning experts, some
international, was published in the newspapers. An online petition from all 19 organisations was launched in the same month
(Dont destroy the Irish language voluntary sector) and quickly gathered signatures, 1,000 by 2 March 2012.
Comment from Foras na Gaeilge welcomed all input into the ongoing consultation process.
DEVELOPMENTS JUNE 2012 TO END 2013
The issue continued throughout 2012 to the end of 2013 as exemplified in the following series of joint communiqus from
the NSMC.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, of meeting 09 July 2012 Item 6
FORAS NA GAEILGE - REVIEW OF CORE FUNDING
The Council received a presentation from Foras na Gaeilge outlining progress on the development of a new funding
model. The Council noted that 167 submissions had been received during the consultation process which ended in
April 2012. The Council noted a revised implementation plan prepared by Foras na Gaeilge and agreed that Foras na
Gaeilge would provide final funding proposals at the next NSMC Language Body meeting.
The NSMC meeting of 12 December 2012 contained no reference to the review but the first meeting of 2013 did.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, of meeting 06 March 2013 Item 6
FORAS NA GAEILGE REVIEW OF CORE FUNDING

Ministers agreed to extend the existing core funding arrangements to 31 December 2013. They also directed that
plans be advanced for introducing a revised model for core funding, that takes account of the relevant language
Strategies in both jurisdictions, with a view to making a final decision no later than June 2013.
The NSMC meeting of June 2013 did not refer to the review but the July meeting laid out the future of the organisations as
follows.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, of meeting 10 July 2013 Items 2 & 3
FORAS NA GAEILGE REVIEW OF CORE FUNDING
2. Ministers approved new funding arrangements, to replace Foras na Gaeilges existing core funding model,
comprising the following key elements:
the delivery by 6 lead organisations operating on an all-island basis of the following strategic priorities: Irishmedium education; Irish language in English-medium education; language-centred community and economic
development; language use; language awareness and youth networks;
the establishment by Foras na Gaeilge of an all-island partnership forum to ensure a collaborative approach by the
6 lead organisations;
the establishment by Foras na Gaeilge of an all-island language development forum which is representative of local
language interests funded by Foras na Gaeilge at community level;
the development of a community radio scheme to provide funding for Irish language community radio in both
jurisdictions; and
future funding to be provided for An tisaonad, as appropriate, in the context of Foras na Gaeilges statutory
function in regard to supporting Irish-medium education and the teaching of Irish.
3. The Council also directed Foras na Gaeilge to proceed with implementation of the new funding arrangements
with effect from 1 July 2014, subject to approval by Finance Departments, and agreed to extend the core funding
arrangements to 30 June 2014 when the new funding arrangements will take effect.
The final meeting of 2013 of the NSMC made the following references in respect of Foras na Gaeilge. The interest lies in the
arrangements proposed under the first bullet point for 19 organisations on the ground in juxtaposition with a list of other
schemes funded by Foras na Gaeilge.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, of meeting 20 November 2013
Foras na Gaeilge:
Ongoing measures for implementation of the new core funding arrangements, including seeking expressions of
interest from qualifying organisations wishing to be considered for selection as a lead organisation;
Progress has been made with key schemes, including advertisement of Scim na nOifigeach Gaeilge 2013 2016
(Irish Language Officers Scheme);
In order to support the Irish language in the arts sector, 57 applications for funding were approved under the
Festivals Scheme 2013 as well as 10 applications for funding under the Drama Companies Scheme 2013;
70 projects were approved in order to provide opportunities and events for 3,000 young people to use the Irish
language; and
7 Irish language booklets were circulated with the Irish Daily Mail in September.
During the second half of 2013, the core-funded sector was almost totally engaged in attempting to fathom intentions and
future landscape in relation to themselves as individual organisations, or in relation to other organisations, or in relation to the
new structural arrangements now inevitable. Clarity was sought with Foras na Gaeilge on several issues. Eventually, following
public advertisement for expressions of interest on 16 October 2013, submissions were prepared by a good number of those
in the sector to be considered as lead organisations. Interviews followed for those which came through the first step. Finally,
six lead organisations were announced by Foras na Gaeilge in an extended press release on 17 January 2014. The future for the
unsuccessful is not yet clear beyond the fact that their funding will cease in June 2014. Funding for the chosen lead organisations
had not yet been clarified as of early 2014. Since the entire re-organisation was premised on an all-Ireland basis, those previously
core-funded organisations which functioned solely within the sociolinguistic context of Northern Ireland did not in the end
figure among the chosen six lead organisations. This situation attracted no small degree of media and political focus.
The six strategic priorities identified by the NSMC in July 2013 were: Irish-medium education; Irish language in Englishmedium education; language-centred community and economic development; language use; language awareness and youth
networks. These became areas of activity as follows in the public notices later issued in October; the successful lead organisations
in each case are given in italics. (A) Irish-medium /Immersion Education and All-Irish Preschooling Gaelscoileanna; (B)
Education in the English-medium sector and for adults and opportunities for use for school students at every level Gael
Linn; (C) Community and Economic Development (with specific emphases on the economic aspect and on raising children
through Irish) Glr na nGael; (D) Opportunities which support Use of Irish (in every aspect of life) and the Establishment
of Networks Oireachtas na Gaeilge; (E) Awareness Raising; Language Protection/Defence and Representation (on behalf of
the language with state authorities) Conradh na Gaeilge; (F) Development of Opportunities for Use of Irish and of Networks
for Young People Cumann na bhFiann. (Translated from Irish in the original and with retention of capitals; organisations for
specific activity as intuited from the official press release since they were not specifically listed).
It remains to be seen whether the promise of Foras na Gaeilge will be realised that the agency sees itself as beginning a
new era in the development of the language at a critical and challenging time. The Chief Executive recognised the uncertain
future facing those organisations for which funding would end but promised that every effort would be made to ensure that the
good work of those not chosen would continue for the benefit of Irish speakers. The challenges to deliver facing the successful
organisations are not insignificant.
Nothing further was announced in relation to item 12 of the NSMC meeting of 12 October 2011:
The NSMC agreed that an Order be made at the appropriate time under section 28(2)(b) of the British-Irish
Agreement Act 1999 (No. 1 of 1999) to delete the reference to the organisations listed in the table to the section.
CONCLUSIONS
It has been commented that the foregoing account of an issue that has been ongoing since 2008 is being referred to as a dispute is
hardly in the interests of the Irish language. That this dispute is between a statutory body and the voluntary sector, both of which
share the same professed main aim of promoting the Irish language, may be indicative of some wrong choices at the very least.
One possible inference that has been reported from the foregoing is that FNG is, in fact, using its power as a funding
agency to impose its version of how the (so far) autonomous voluntary citizen-initiated sector should both organise itself and
function. That this is apparently being done as an exercise in cost-saving efficiency hardly precludes the possibility of other
equally valid versions being also available to the interested, versions which might reach the same ends of cost saving-efficiency
and others besides. Some in the Sector also find it difficult to fathom the exact meaning of the references to continued
consultation with those for whom the changes had most impact that they apparently acquiesced in this version of a new
reality. However, a possibly more useful collaborative approach is explicit in the response of the Sector above.
An alternative partnership approach inevitably entails not only acknowledgement of the input of voluntary organisations
into both civic life and the practical realisation of State policy, but the necessity for a structured sectoral method or mechanism
for joint discussion and future-oriented planning which gives due respect to the complementary but distinct rles of state
bodies and the voluntary sector. Problems are not solved but compounded by diktat from whichever source. Mutual problems,
whether of a financial or policy nature, whether relatively simple or hugely complex, are best dealt with in partnership. There
are those who hope that it may not yet be too late to establish such a Forum for and between the Irish-language voluntary
sector and the semi-state North/South body whose joint remit is the promotion of the Irish language. Interestingly, the
Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) document issued by Foras na Gaeilge in conjunction with the public consultation 2012
document carries the following excerpt:
The report prepared by Mazars [commissioned by FNG to conduct a review of the Core-funded Sector] in 2009 also
considered this approach as a strategic option:
Establish fora to coordinate the strategic alignment of activities supported by a bottom up consensus and some
top down strategic direction e.g. establish strategic priorities. (This is similar to the status quo, albeit that the fora
are largely not operational.)
The Sector would argue that no such co-ordinating fora were ever established, representing both top-down and bottom-up
interests, from which consensus might emerge. Instead, FNG priorities were eventually presented as a given and the Sector was
expected to change itself to accommodate them. Whether, or how, these particular priorities could be interpreted as strategic
seemed more a matter of finance than language. Interpreting the recommendation from the consultants as similar to the status
quo also seemed questionable.
Unlike the approach taken in broadly similar situations as outlined above, FNG did not apparently actively participate
or engage in a meaningful manner in the proposed process of change, nor facilitate it initially in any way, in the contention
of the Sector. Instead, the agency requested that Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge bring about the result desired, despite
some immediately obvious issues: the Comhdhil was itself one of the 19 core-funded groups; not all of the 19 were member
organisations of Comhdhil; some of the organisations were legally constituted charities; the voluntary boards of the
organisations would generally depend on staff to engage in such negotiations but, in this instance, staff were literally being
asked to make decisions about the future of their own and others employment and organisations. Their actual proposals in
two documents the Sector views as having been ignored. In addition, the Sector unfortunately was required to function in a
knowledge vacuum: neither the entire results of the review of them nor the evolution or content of the proposed New Funding
Model were shared with them by FNG.
The Sector was also acutely aware, as the statement from the past presidents of Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge pointed
out (all written responses to the third public consultation are available on the FNG website as is the independent report on
the consultation itself ), that the Irish Language Voluntary Movement and associated organisations were intricately bound up
firstly with the gestation and birth of a free Ireland and subsequently with the ongoing development and implementation of the
States language policies. These policies were not alone pioneering in their time but undertaken at a time of straitened economic
circumstances. Under its differing facets, the Irish Language Voluntary sector had served the State well in the implementation
of the community aspects of those policies as well as in its rle, unique to the voluntary sector, of representing the wishes of
Irish-speaking citizens to the State. Its place in Irish society seemed to deserve much more than is conveyed by the epithet
third sector from a relatively new agency. Indeed, when that new political agency or quango, Foras na Gaeilge, was set up with
the intention of rebalancing the position of the Irish language in Northern Ireland, the funding functions of the responsible
Minister in respect of eight voluntary organisations, North and South, were transferred by the 1999 Act to the new agency.
That arrangement is now set to be removed from the Act (NSMC, 14 February 2012). The New Funding Model appears to
be an unfortunate example of unforeseen consequences; whether intended or unintended, the real consequences of this new
funding model proposed by Foras na Gaeilge was feared to presage the demise of long-founded and hard-working voluntary
organisations.
On the other hand, FNG as a semi-State body is subject to State directives and requirements. Cost-effectiveness is
constantly quoted nowadays as if something new. There is nothing new about it. It may, of course, even for apparently right
reasons, be a very blunt instrument. On the one hand, nothing should be publicly funded if not proving effective. On the other
hand, non-effectiveness must be proved before citing it as a reason for either change or demolition. Unfortunately, criteria
for cost-efficiency (or finance only based criteria), are sometimes mistaken for cost-effectiveness (or the tangible and sometimes
more intangible results of money well spent). Clear, and different, criteria are, unquestionably, required for both exercises.
The elaboration of criteria for what constitutes success in language and community based work is not easy. It may be best
accomplished in a joint bottom-up and top-down approach free from the jargon of what is still euphemistically called the
market.
In this case, the facts appear to show that the task of proposing methods of what might be described as self-improvement
(re-structuring; streamlining) by the funder, but almost as self-annihilation by the funded, was a task largely handed over to
the funded organisations to solve.
The dispute over most of the period under review in this update of events affecting the Irish language has had rippling
effects: public and political discussion became more frequent even if at times polarised; scrutiny of costs and of results from
whichever quarter became more intense; positions had to be taken and clearly explained. In the end, the real questions concern
not money, not the power of money, not value for money, nor even the existence or the lack of partnership, but more tellingly
they concern the issue of the worth to the nation and to the two political entities on the island of Ireland of the entire language
revitalisation project and the possible loss through short-sighted approaches having unintended consequences of the huge
investment of time and effort that has been expended on the ongoing success of that language project. In the current market257 More Facts About Irish
driven context, ways of safeguarding the investment should perhaps take precedence over other considerations.
Despite the establishment of two new bodies to accompany the activities of the six lead organisations, a Partnership
Forum (chaired by the funder) and a Language Development Forum (to report on progress on the ground), together with
the appointment of various experts (language planning, strategic planning and change management planning), the question
of roles and reciprocal roles remains; the appropriate roles of a state body and that of the voluntary sector in interaction with
each other. The situation has echoes of the remark made by a sociologist in respect of ambiguity of role for the former Bord na
Gaeilge: should it represent the people to the State or the State to the people? Neither the Bord nor the Foras became language
planning agencies: the State in both jurisdictions attempted to reprise that role through the devising of Strategies. In this
respect, the complications of a political genesis and an all-island remit may not have been helpful to the Foras; nevertheless it
has itself dictated an all-island area of activity for the six lead organisations to the detriment of existing NI organisations. In
addition, will it be possible for the voluntary sector, now so closely enmeshed with the State sector, having seemingly lost the
struggle for autonomy, to retain an independent voice on behalf of Pobal na Gaeilge or will it gradually begin to see the world
solely through the perspective of the funding agency on which it depends for its existence?
FUNDING: THE CORE-FUNDED IRISH LANGUAGE VOLUNTARY SECTOR AND FORAS

NA GAEILGE
CONTEXT
This section looks at the actual current funding situation between FNG and the core-funded Sector.
Nineteen different organisations across a range of activities constitute the Sector in receipt of core (operational) and
project funding from Foras na Gaeilge, a situation now contested by that agency. Eight of these organisations (one in Northern
Ireland) were specifically mentioned in the British-Irish Agreement Act (1999), whereby An Foras Teanga was established as
a cross-border implementation body, and the functions of the Minister, in so far as those functions relate to the funding of
the voluntary Irish language organisations specified in the Table to this section, [are] hereby transferred to the Body. The
interpretation of funding is, of course, open to legal interpretation. Of the eleven other organisations, several had been in
receipt of core funding for years from the Bodys predecessor, Bord na Gaeilge, others more recently from Foras na Gaeilge. Of
the nineteen, seven were based in Northern Ireland but many of the others operated on an all-island basis. The latter twelve are
marked as based in Ireland in the March 2011 Consultation document issued by FNG.
COSTS
Funding is granted by FNG on the basis of quite detailed application plans, as is clear from the forms online attaching to its
varied projects.
In the documentation on the FNG website relating to information sessions conducted in 2011, it is stated that the funding
arrangements for the Irish language organisations in what is described as the third sector (a term not in use previously by
FNG) are not sustainable. In support of this argument and that of the importance of value for money the following points are
made (Sector response is given in italics in brackets):
- Value for money is required from all institutions in receipt of public monies, as is the case of FNG. This, in turn,
requires evidence that both its own output and that of activities funded by FNG are succeeding; in particular
that the relatively scarce resources are being used to increase the use of the language and for the general good
of all the community. (Criteria to date, from published reports, in the case both of FNG and of its funded activities
have in general been quantitative rather than qualitative).
- In seeking linguistic outcomes, FNG must receive evidence from funded groups as to their outcomes in the
context of the three crucial aims: status, competence, usage. (An attempt at more precise criteria to judge or
measure outcomes in these areas are given under the heading Measuring Value for Money in the document and in the
information on the actual new funding model, that is Schemes. These are, however, couched as questions rather than
as possible useful tools).
- Organisations are free to seek alternative sources of funding, in which case complete transparency on all sources
is expected. (There is always a fear in voluntary organisations, sometimes well-founded, that official funding decreases
in line with income from other sources; this leads in turn to scarce time and energy being devoted to fundraising and
thus deflected from the core purpose or services of the organisation).
- In 2008, FNG expended 40% of its annual budget on the core-funded sector, in the region of 8 million.
(No information is given on the effectiveness of this expenditure nor of how such effectiveness might or might not
compare with other areas of FNG expenditure).
- Approximately 50% of that went on salaries in the sector. In spite of the fact that core funding was reduced by
4.25% in 2009, salary costs went up by 6.4%. (No information is given as to whether this related to additional
posts permitted by FNG or to annual increments. Even same contractual salary costs would, of course, form a
higher percentage of a reduced grant. In any case, FNG would have been aware of these facts on receipt of funding
applications, at which point it might have been further discussed, given the general cutbacks).
- The 2011 budget for FNG was reduced by 9%. In the next three years, the budget will be reduced annually by at least
3%. (The core-funded organisations had expected reductions in their funding but not complete change in the method).
- The relationship between State and the third sector (a term not in use previously by FNG) in other fields is being
reviewed by both Governments. (In fact, both autonomy and core-funding, albeit reduced, was announced in the
Republic for voluntary organisations in the health, disability, and other community support fields).
- The NSMC had decided in December 2009 to seek an efficient rationalisation model for the future.
In the expanded version of the New Funding Model (post May 2010), the information on 40% of budget is repeated. In
this instance, however, it is speculated that if the trend towards an increasing percentage on salaries were to increase, it could
mean a risk to the provision of services, a matter of interest to the Sponsor Departments. It was on that evidence that FNG
had provided the NSMC with the sole option of the New Funding Model, as outlined above, from among the four possible
options proposed in the final version of the consultants report: that is an end to core funding and, instead, a fund for fixed
term schemes open to all.
The information on salaries in the Core-funded Sector is repeated in the EQIA document issued in conjunction with
public consultation 2012.
As previously mentioned, in 2008 Foras na Gaeilge spent 40% of the total annual budget on core-funded organizations
approximately 8m. Of that funding, over half of the money (50.48%) was spent on salaries. Although the corefunding budget decreased by 4.25% in 2009, salary costs rose by 6.4%. Mazars [consultants to Foras na Gaeilge]
recognised the inherent danger in a further report of 2010, stating: Based on the above trend, and were it to continue,
most of the funding would be spent on wages and there would be a risk to service provision.
Since then, in the years 2010 and 2011, 53% and 59% respectively of core-funding has been spent on salaries. [The
same level of salary costs will inevitably form a larger percentage of a reduced grant. In fact, some staff took voluntary salary
cuts. It is not known if such occurred in Foras na Gaeilge. Salary costs are not, of themselves, a criterion of the level of either
effectiveness or service provision, anymore than they are a criterion of the lack of effectiveness of service provision].
In summary, the organisations hold that they are aware of the financial situation and willing to discuss it with Foras na
Gaeilge, although they would have preferred if the agency had informed them on a yearly basis as their plans were presented of
any perceived lack of effectiveness in their operations.
FUNDING OF THE CORE-FUNDED SECTOR 2009 ONWARDS
The information below appears in minutes of FNG published on its website. It indicates the change to six-monthly contracts
from the NSMC decision of December 2009. For ease of comparison, the organisations have been placed in the same order in
both lists, unlike in the original.
RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE GRANTS COMMITTEE (MARCH 2010)
A grant of no greater than 3,082,400 and 577,673 was proposed to be paid as core funding for the first half of 2010 (01
January to 30 June) as set out in the following table.
Core Funding by FNG January-June 2010

Organisation
Amount Requested
2010
Recommended
Jan-June 2010
Raidi na Life
257,030.00
118,058
895,064.18
213,907
913,549.31
376,182
Glr na nGael
738,456.00
359,839
Drmaochta
288,324.00
131,162
Conradh na Gaeilge
913,215.00
231,909
1,585,512.21
524,367
Comhluadar
414,815.34
125,710
Gaelscoileanna Teo
623,968.63
232,150
1,050,364.00
408,447
Cumann na bhFiann
832,469.00
255,952
Comhar na Minteoir
321,500.00
104,717
Euro
An Comhlachas Nisinta
Forbairt Naonra Teo. (FNT)
Gael Linn
Total
Organisation
3,082,400
Amount Requested
2010
Recommended
Jan-June 2010
Raidi Filte Teoranta
195,000.00
46,534
Pobal
210,079.05
91,818
Iontaobhas Ultach
249,923.00
114,688
Comhaltas Uladh
152,836.00
46,500
Forbairt Feirste
130,967.00
58,190
Altram (faoi FNT)
212,434.00
97,030
An tisaonad
394,301.00
122,913
Sterling
Total
577,673
It was recommended that 212,950 be paid as funding to the following centres for the year 2010 (01 January to 31 December)
as set out in the following table.
Organisation
Amount Requested
2010
Recommended
2010
98,903
91,763
205,603
121,187
Cultrlann McAdam Fiaich (Belfast)

An Gaelras (Derry)
Total
212,950
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE GRANTS COMMITTEE (JUNE 2010)

The Board accepted the recommendation by the Grants Committee regarding funding for the organisations mentioned below
from 1 July to 31 December 2010:
Core Funding by FNG July-December and Full Year 2010

Funding
approved by the
Board of Foras
na Gaeilge from
the period until
30 June 2010
Funding
approved for
the period from
1 July to 31
December 2010
Funding
recommended
in total from 1
January to 31
December 2010
Raidi na Life
118,058
108,055
226,113
213,907
309,606
523,513
376,182
341,183
717,365
Glr na nGael
359,839
236,609
596,448
An Comhlachas Nisinta Drmaochta
131,162
97,162
228,324
Conradh na Gaeilge
231,909
229,661
461,570
{Comprising of: Conradh na Gaeilge
207,659
205,411
413,070
24,250
24,250
48,500}
FNT
524,367
568,710
1,093,077
Comhluadar
125,710
130,555
256,265
Gaelscoileanna
232,150
249,498
481,648
Gael Linn
408,447
343,449
751,896
Cumann na bhFiann
255,952
255,952
511,904
Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge
104,717
116,897
221,614
Raidi Filte
46,534
46,533
93,067
Pobal
91,818
91,817
183,635
114,688
114,688
229,376
Comhaltas Uladh (& An tUltach publication)
46,500
46,500
93,000
Forbairt Feirste
58,190
62,189
120,379
Organisation
Euro
Feasta (Publication)
Sterling
Iontaobhas Ultach
Core Funding by FNG July-December and Full Year 2010

Altram
An tisaonad
97,030
102,646
199,676
122,913
221,165
344,078
For information for the Board

Seachtain na Gaeilge (2010)
138,509
Pre-authorised in 2009
At its meeting of 21 January 2011, the board of Foras na Gaeilge were informed that a letter had been received from the Sponsor
Departments to the effect that plans for the remaining part of the year could be sought from the core-funded organisations.
The May meeting set out the grants to be expended.
Recommendations from the Grants Committee (May 2011)
The Board accepted the recommendation regarding core funding for the period from 1 June to 31 December 2011:
Core Funding by FNG Half-Yearly and Full Year 2011

Funding approved
by the Board of
Foras na Gaeilge
from the period
until 31 May 2011
Funding recmmnd
for the period
from 1June to
31December 2011
Funding
recommended in
total from
1January to
31December 2011
Raidi na Life
111,527
116,907
228,434
184,480
302,497
486,977
276,309
374,100
650,409
Glr na nGael
296,599
252,262
548,861
113,022
99,029
212,051
Organisation
Euro
Conradh na Gaeilge
*Seachtain na Gaeilge
541,901
200,896
326,763
plus
527,659
14,242}
FNT
506,973
508,244
1,015,217
Comhluadar
124,045
107,370
231,415
Gaelscoileanna
217,589
243,595
461,184
Gael Linn
356,222
343,595
699,817
Cumann na bhFiann
225,286
263,554
488,840
93,406
113,375
206,781
46,730
55,913
102,643
Sterling
Raidi Filte
Core Funding by FNG Half-Yearly and Full Year 2011

Pobal
78,877
99,430
178,307
Iontaobhas Ultach
95,728
112,272
208,000
Comhaltas Uladh (& An tUltach publication)
39,167
35,184
74,351
Forbairt Feirste
49,304
66,565
115,869
Altram
88,005
111,305
199,310
135,033
208,010
343,043
An tisaonad
Comparison of Core Funding by FNG 2010 and 2011

Organisation
Funding
Recommended
in total from
1 January to
31 December 2010
Funding
recommended
in total from
1 January to
31 December 2011
Raidi na Life
226,113
228,434
523,513
486,977
717,365
650,409
Glr na nGael
596,448
548,861
228,324
212,051
Conradh na Gaeilge
600,079
541,901
413,070
527,659
Feasta (Publication
48,500}
Seachtain na Gaeilge
138,509
14,242
1,093,077
1,015,217
Comhluadar
256,265
231,415
Gaelscoileanna
481,648
461,184
Gael Linn
751,896
699,817
Cumann na bhFiann
511,904
488,840
221,614
206,781
93,067
102,643
183,635
178,307
Euro
(1 April-31 May 2011)

FNT
Sterling
Raidi Filte
Pobal
Comparison of Core Funding by FNG 2010 and 2011

Iontaobhas Ultach
229,376
208,000
Comhaltas Uladh (& An

tUltach publication)
93,000
*74,351 80,551
Forbairt Feirste
120,379
115,869
Altram
199,676
199,310
An tisaonad
344,078
343,043
* The September minutes of the Board accepted an increase in the total 2011 funding for Comhaltas Uladh to 80,551.

In the introductory part of the Draft Strategy, under the section A Phased Strategy, there are two references to resources.
In Year I, the Establishment Phase, the overall resources required will be allocated. It is also recognised that provision of
appropriate resources and support will be crucial to the implementation of the Strategy. Definition of resources is not given.
However, in general the term would be taken to include more than finance, e.g. personnel, skills, premises, support of
different types and voluntary input.
THE IRISH LANGUAGE VOLUNTARY SECTOR: SOME EFFORTS AT SELF-FINANCING
Many organisations have either modest membership fees or hold collections or run events to provide some independent
finance. Others seek and sometimes receive corporate donations for specific purposes, e.g. prizes. Some produce materials for
sale: educational materials, books, videos, games; these may be sold online, e.g. www.udar.ie. Books, magazines and the weekly
newspaper, Gaelscal, in Irish will have cover prices or subscription lists or both. The other weekly newspaper, Foinse, which
does not receive a grant from Foras na Gaeilge, is distributed with an English daily.
One of the more imaginative fundraising events, RITH 2010 (RUN), was based on the Basque Korrika It took place in
conjunction with the annual March Seachtain na Gaeilge 2010 (Irish Language Week). From the 10th to the finale on the 17th,
St. Patricks Day, a baton containing a message from the President, Mary McAleese, was passed from relay to relay in cities and
towns around Ireland, from north to east to south to west, including participants from as many counties as possible. Public
celebratory events were held on the way culminating in the Galway city St. Patricks Day Parade, where the Presidents message
of hope was read to the crowd by An Coimisinir Teanga. It is hoped to organise the event every two years under the auspices of
a joint group including Conradh na Gaeilge, Glr na nGael, Comhluadar and others. In the inaugural year, RITH broke even;
in future it is hoped to provide funding for specific initiatives. Up to 20,000 people participated over the various stretches of
the run in 2010; this increased to 27,000 in 2012. Gradam Sheachtain na Gaeilge 2012 (Irish Week Award) was presented to
the young man who instigated the idea of RITH.
However, even more ingenuity in accessing funding may be required in light of the Governments plans for the National
Lottery, particularly given the assessment (April 2012) from the accountancy firm Grant Thornton that one in ten charities are
at risk due to the decline in both State and private funding. The firm advises: recognition of risks, diversification of funding,
adoption of best practice and rationalisation through alliances and mergers. Charities, however, are not always in a position to
follow what might be regarded as best organisational practice; their focus must always be on the best interests of those they serve.
By April 2012, the contract for the National Lottery, which co-funds many Departmental programmes, including Irish
language programmes, had been added to the list of assets for disposal in early 2013. The news was greeted with dismay by the
voluntary sector in general and representations began on conditions to be met by the successful applicant. Lottery proceeds are
used for many social, community and cultural good causes all around the State, particularly in the areas of health, sport and
language. The Departmental budget head, Ciste na Gaeilge (Fund for Irish), receives over 60% of its income from the lottery.
As a result many organisations and initiatives receive grant-aid listed in a statement from Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge.
They include: funding for universities abroad; funding for courses (towards skills required for Irish in the EU) and initiatives
(RIA dictionary project; Fiontar EU terminology project) at home; funding for business-oriented projects through Irish, e.g.
Gaillimh le Gaeilge, Gn Mhaigh Eo; funding for organisations: Gael-Taca, An Cumann Scoildrmaochta.
Politically, the reasoning is that the sale of the contract would fund, inter alia, the proposed new childrens hospital which
has been in the pipeline for so long. However, there is also some substance to the counter-arguments that, on the one hand,
the sale is not at all a wise investment in the long-term view or, on the other hand, if the sale does go through, that the good
causes condition should remain, even on reduced funding, to allow for the childrens hospital. Another view holds that too
many of the good causes arose from local pressure on local politicians and that a clear overarching policy is required, clearly
articulated on the States ideology for the future well being of the nation.
SUMMARY ON THE STATES EVOLVING PROVISIONS FOR IRISH

INTEGRATED LANGUAGE PLANNING OR MANAGEMENT
The concept of integration, at official level at least, comes through both in the Fiontar report prepared for the Department with
responsibility for the language and the subsequent 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 (Draft). The extent to
which this may be realised remains to be seen in the actual implementation of the proposals and provisions of that Strategy.
Integration between the official agents of implementation and voluntary grassroots agencies was not sufficiently clarified in the
Strategy and currently appears somewhat disrupted, if it was ever anything more than a funding relationship, in the continuing
(late 2012) discussion between Foras na Gaeilge and the voluntary grant-aided sector on the issue of schemes.
Similarly, the principle underlying the Priseas Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Process), whether within or outwith
the Gaeltacht, while giving some credence to planning from the bottom-up, to community planning, appears to do so in the
view of some commentators by leaving the said community to its own devices almost on the one hand, but within criteria
set down from above, on the other hand. Nevertheless, a special grant of 1m was sanctioned in late 2012 by the Department
with responsibility for the language for Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG) for the purpose of providing courses in
language planning for those who require them to embark on community language planning.
Co-planning between all the actors on an equal basis is yet to be reached.
IDEOLOGY
The most recent statement from Government is found in statements made in June 2011 on changes to the 20-Year Strategy
for the Irish Language 2010-2030 of 2009 (above). No indication was given at that time that any further major changes were
contemplated. It is then assumed that the objective and aim of Government policy is still that unequivocally stated under Vision.
The objective of Government policy in relation to Irish is to increase on an incremental basis the use and knowledge of Irish
as a community language. Specifically, the Government aim is to ensure that as many citizens as possible are bilingual in
both Irish and English.
Four other aims are also stated in further refinement of this general statement: increasing family transmission of the language;
supporting the Gaeltacht as a linguistic community; ensuring linguistic choice for the citizen in public service and discourse
(although with the proviso as far as practical) and that more people avail of the services as a result; ensuring the visibility of
Irish in society. Apparently, the creation of a supportive framework is the overall approach. That people will subsequently make
a positive choice to avail of the opportunities to be created is the hope.

Ireland is also clearly stated under Vision: promotion and protection of the language there is also a priority for the Government
press for the introduction of a Language Act, inter alia.
All documents relevant to the Strategy are available on the departmental website. Oireachtas Joint Committee proceedings
may be found at www.oireachtasie.
While the 20-Year Strategy constitutes, on the one hand, a statement of official ideology, other actions in relation to Irish
are indicative of political intent. The two do not in all cases appear entirely compatible. The gravity of the changes made to
the Official Languages Act including to the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga are hardly cancelled out by whatever structural
progress has occurred with regard to the official framework for the eventual operation of the 20-Year Strategy. The account
given by An Coimisinir to the relevant Oireachtas Committee on his report for 2011 was more indicative of an uncaring than
of an enabling State.
In the case of Northern Ireland, the consultation document issued in July 2012 by the Minister for Culture, Arts and
Leisure, Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language (http://www.gaelport.com/nuacht/Tuairiman-Phobail-ag-teastail-do-sheirbhisi-Gaeilge-o-Thuaidh/), is quite comprehensive and fairly inclusive with regard to the needs
and demands of the Irish community. Whether it will reach all communities is being questioned. However, feedback from the
consultation and subsequent decision by a fairly divided Assembly will show how much of a consensus will emerge from what
are conflicting ideologies. That a Strategy for Ulster-Scots is also on public consultation may prove of benefit when political
decisions will need to be made. An Act for Irish in NI is still an aspiration years after it was first mooted in spite of sterling
preparations at grassroots and voluntary level.
APPENDIX

ORGANISATIONS: DETAILS
CONTEXT
Given the scale of change initiated by Foras na Gaeilge in its arrangements with the core-funded language sector between May
2010 and September 2011 and into 2012, a brief rsum of events was given above in Chapter 3 and here - in this Appendix - a
more complete recital of how the current situation was reached, giving the early stages of the process in particular. The two accounts
may contain some repetition. Some expression of opinion may also occur.
THE NORTH/SOUTH BODIES UNDER THE AEGIS OF THE (THEN) DEPARTMENT FOR COMMUNITY,
EQUALITY AND GAELTACHT AFFAIRS
As one N/S body, Waterways Ireland, embarked on a process of new regulations in its field of operations (as described above),
the other body under the department with responsibility for Irish, FNG, looking to its own activities within a reducing budget,
began a process which would have grave consequences for the voluntary organisations it had long funded. The actions of this
body, FNG, must be considered within the political context of the British-Irish Agreement (1998) and the ensuing Act (1999)
and the structures arising, primarily the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) to which FNG is subject. Directives
emanating from the NSMC will probably, as is usual in politics, be initiated in policy discussions between the staffs of both
Ministers, the NSMC Secretariat which comprises civil servants from both jurisdictions, and whichever of the North/South
bodies is involved. Normally, budgetary considerations will form part of those deliberations. Foras na Gaeilge then was not
totally immune from the cutbacks being generally imposed although some protection may have been expected from its status
as a North/South body under international law (involving the governments of two states, Ireland and the UK).
DETAILS: FORAS NA GAEILGE (FNG)
It is incontrovertible that recent downward changes in the economy led to reduced annual budgets for Government departments
and consequent retrenchment in the state-aided voluntary and community sector. This is also true to some extent of the Irishlanguage sector, for Foras na Gaeilge and particularly for those nineteen organisations funded by Foras na Gaeilge, one of the
cross-border bodies which arose from the British-Irish Agreement (1999). However, a much deeper level of change than
reduced funding was now envisaged for these organisations as is clear from the documentation given below.
Beginning of a process: FNG Board Minutes 2007 & 2009 - strategic aims and funding priorities
In understanding the process initiated by FNG with regard to the voluntary sector it funded, the following sequence of events
may be read in relevant extracts from those minutes of the Board of FNG which are published on the bodys website (at an
earlier period minutes for 2007 and 2009 were available, although none for 2008; latterly 2010 and 2011 were published and
2008 also).
- April 2007: Articulation between the strategic aims and funding priorities of FNG with the priorities of the
funded organisations as put forward in their funding submissions; decision to discuss further at June meeting.
Presumably the strategic aims of FNG would determine the funding of the aided organisations.
- June 2007: Discussion on a submission on the matter from the CEO. It was agreed to give discretion to the
Chairperson and the CEO to appoint a person to conduct a review of the funded organisations.
- September 2007: The CEO reported that he was having discussions with the ceannasaithe [equivalent of CEOs]
of the core-funded sector.
No minutes appeared to be available on the website for 2008 until a later period. Matters apparently proceeded, however, as
the next entry shows.
- January 2009: The second phase of the review of the core-funded sector was agreed and discretion given to the
executive to sign the contract when the interim report was received in accordance with the agreed terms. It was
decided to invite the consultants to make a presentation at the February meeting.
As occurred in other examples from the state sector cited above, the first step in the process, following deliberation by FNG on
its own funding and strategic priorities, was to commission a review of the core-funded sector from consultants.
- February 2009: The presentation occurred. A full report containing a chapter on the larger picture was
intended for April. It was decided to wait until the May 2009 meeting to discuss the future in relation to the
core-funded sector. [In the later expanded 2011 iteration of the eventual New Funding Model of May 2010,
reference is made to this having occurred].
A preliminary paper was presented from the executive on aligning the various schemes of FNG with its strategic priorities; a
table to be prepared outlining main strategic aims, secondary aims, current operations, and recommendations on priorities.
The approach outlined in the second part of this entry would be considered usual good practice in organisational terms. In the
meantime, within the corporate structure of FNG, three of the core-funded voluntary organisations (Comhluadar, Gael-Linn,
Coliste na bhFiann) were internally transferred from the Services Development Division to the Educational Services Division.
In fact, in a later iteration of the original document Samhail Nua Mhaoinithe May 2010, now with an expanded
introduction and entitled Samhail nua mhaoinithe do na heagrais bhunmhaoinithe (New Funding Model for the core-funded
organisations), FNG alludes to the following information not previously in the public domain (in versions of FNG Board
minutes or in NSMC communiqus):
- In response to a specific request from the Sponsor Departments [North and South] reference to the review of
the organisations was included in the 2009 Business Plan of FNG in the following terms: FNG will continue
to provide core funding and funding for projects to a range of organisations pending the results of the review
[translation from Irish].
- The Minister with responsibility for language affairs in the Republic discussed the matter at the FNG Board
meeting of 19 June 2009 and again referred to it at the NSMC meeting of 9 July 2009 [translation from Irish].
Reports from FNG and consequent NSMC decisions: Review of the core-funded Sector
In line with developments elsewhere in the state sector, FNG began then with a review of its core-funded organisations. This
was duly reported to the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC), under whose remit FNG comes.
NSMC agreed decision 16 January 2009, not issued by way of communiqu, but reported by FNG in the public
Consultation Document later issued in March 2011
at its meeting in January 2009, the NSMC set as a key ministerial priority the completion of [this] review early in
2009, with a view to achieving significant benefits in relation to value for money and the effective delivery of Foras na
Gaeilges statutory obligations.
The actual communiqu notes the following information.
NSMC joint communiqu 16 January 2009
Business Plans 2009
The Council noted the draft 2009 Business Plans for the North/South Language Body and its Agencies which are
under consideration by both sponsor Departments and Finance Departments in line with budgetary processes in the
two jurisdictions. The Council agreed that these plans will focus on key Ministerial priorities in respect of each of the
Agencies. Both sponsor Departments will work together to finalise the Business Plans and bring them forward for
approval at a future NSMC meeting.
In any event, by the end of 2009, FNG had presented its report of the review of the grant-aided organisations to the
NSMC. However, the review took an unexpected future policy turn in relation to the core-funded sector as recounted further
below. Following this review commissioned by FNG, and in which the Sector states that it cooperated fully, FNG made several
more reports to the NSMC. As a consequence, as recounted in the following sections below, a series of agreed decisions were
made (December 2009, May 2010, November 2010, February 2011 reported by FNG, July 2011) by the NSMC. The
results appear to show that Foras na Gaeilge had, apparently unilaterally, changed the funding model in use to date for the Irish
language state funded voluntary sector, and, more significantly, the relationship between State and Sector as a consequence
since the changes proposed affected not only the funding mechanism but appeared to use the funding mechanism to effect
radical change to grassroots voluntary organisations. From the perspective of the Sector, given further below, the entire process
by which FNG reached their decision affecting 19 organisations was viewed as flawed and undemocratic.
Reports from FNG and consequent NSMC decisions: Reconfiguration

Extracts from joint communiqus on language issues, issued after meetings of the Council and published on its website, are then
very pertinent. Between December 2009 and July 2011 four communiqs made reference to the FNG plans in relation to the
core-funded sector; the first appeared as an item under the heading Foras na Gaeilge; the other three under a separate heading
Foras na Gaeilge Review of Core-funded Bodies. Coincidentally, the Draft Strategy for Irish 2010-2030 was published by the
Minister in the Republic on 29 November 2009, days in advance of the first crucial NSMC decision, outlining an unexpected
policy turn, agreed at the NSMC meeting of 2 December 2009 and which is given below.
NSMC joint communiqu, issued on 3 December 2009
The Council welcomed the Foras na Gaeilge review of its core-funded organisations. Ministers agreed that core
funding of the Irish language voluntary sector by Foras na Gaeilge be reconfigured on the basis that Foras na Gaeilge
will set high level strategic priorities. Applications for funding will be invited from the voluntary sector, within these
strategic priorities, for one or a limited number of organisations with a representational, information dissemination,
resource and support provision and advocacy role for the sector as a whole; and at local area level, groups that take an
integrated approach to promotion of the Irish language, including working in community, family, educational and
youth settings. This reconfiguration is to ensure a more effective, streamlined and cost effective approach to funding
of the sector.
Comment was not lacking on this statement and on this decision. It would not be untimely to expect high level strategic
priorities from a body established some 10 years at that point. Reconfiguring of the Irish language voluntary sector as was
intimated in the decision on reconfiguration of funding was a rather ambitious if not impossible - aspiration, given the very
many groups involved across the two jurisdictions in which FNG has responsibility to further the language. Several implicated
points did, however, become clear:
- FNG would set the priorities within which funding would be available.
- These priorities were not as yet clarified, although they could well be those internationally accepted language
planning parameters expressed in the existing FNG Corporate Plan 2005 - 2007 (above) or in the descriptions
attached to organisations in the communiqu, all of which descriptions were in actual operation by the
voluntary sector. These particular priorities were also available in the (then) 20-Year Draft Strategy just
published for the Republic and applicable in any jurisdiction serious about language planning.
- No more than a small number of organisations could now expect to be funded whether nationally or locally,
whether as one integrated body or through local groups.
- No analysis was provided of any existing lack of effectiveness in the approach to funding then in operation by
FNG, nor proof of future improved effectiveness in that now envisaged.
- Reducing the number of organisations to be funded might, however, be considered as a saving in cost and to
some extent considered as a form of efficiency, whether effective or not from the viewpoint of actual effects,
effects which need not necessarily result in streamlining. Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses are more
sophisticated than mere cost analysis, but more complex in language affairs.

Under this first decision of the NSMC (December 2009), the status quo appeared to be unchanged, that is core plus specific
project funding (even if with continuing reduction due to the financial circumstances of FNG). However, this continuing
arrangement would be available in future only to one or a small number of organisations or local groups. On close reading,
the wording of the decision holds ambiguities. Despite the implication in this first decision, given above, that the voluntary
organisations (of which there were 19) being core funded by FNG should come together as one, or as a small group of
organisations, a position mooted by the previous Minister for language affairs, reconfiguration refers not to organisations but
to core funding. Nevertheless, a link does appear to be made between reconfiguration of funding and reconfiguration of the
beneficiaries of that funding.
In addition, since high level strategic priorities were to be set by FNG, existing iterations of such priorities by FNG are
discussed further below in light of some subsequent changes, FNG and strategic priorities 2005 2011. Firstly, however, the
continuing deliberations of FNG in relation to the core-funded Sector are examined.
FNG Board Minutes 2010: rationalisation and new funding model

Parallel with the sequence of events outlined in the press release issued by FNG following public debate of the NSMC
December 2009 decision, of which the sector had a differing interpretation as outlined below, Response of the Sector, FNG
was continuing its own internal process. In the absence of minutes in the public domain for 2008 until quite recently, the next
relevant entry from the version of minutes published on the FNG website appears almost a year after the entry of February
2009. In January 2010, soon after the December 2009 communiqu, an extract and Appendix 1 from the minutes of the Board
give further information on what is now described as the rationalisation of the organisations.
- January 2010. Amendments to the draft letter from the Chief Executive to the Department of Community,
Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on the rationalisation of the organisations were agreed upon.

Amendments to the terms of reference for the appointed adviser to recommend a new funding model to Foras
na Gaeilge were agreed upon. It was agreed that the Development Committee would appoint an adviser and
that a budget of no greater than 15,000 be available for the work. It was agreed that the deadline for the
report from the adviser would be 16 April 2010.
In fact, the Appendix shows that an Advisory Board had been appointed to recommend a new funding model.
Following the review agreed in January 2009, a year later, in January 2010, FNG is now referring to rationalisation, has
set up an Advisory Board to recommend a new funding model, and is appointing an adviser on a budget of 15,000 to report by
16 April 2010 on the matter. The date is of significance as the next NSMC meeting would take place in May 2010.
Reports from FNG and consequent NSMC decisions: New Funding Model [Mark I] based on Schemes
Despite reference to direction to FNG from the NSMC as inferred from media comments, it appears from the language
used in communiqus that proposals emanated from FNG in all cases and that the NSMC could either accept or reject them.
Rejection was hardly an option since officials from the relevant departments would also have been involved in preparation
of NSMC meetings. If the agreed decision of December 2009 was to some extent unexpected, the next agreed decision
issued by communiqu proved to be in a different category entirely. The proposed reconfiguration of December 2009 became
actuality in this second NSMC agreed decision of May 2010. Review and Reconfiguration have now together become
Transformation of a different order.
NSMC joint communiqu, issued on 26 May 2010: Foras na Gaeilge Review of Core-funded Bodies
The Council noted proposals that future funding to the Irish language sector would be provided on the basis of a
number of discrete schemes. They agreed in principle that these proposals are within the parameters of the NSMC
decision of December 2009. Ministers decided that officials from the sponsor Departments should now work with
Foras na Gaeilge to agree by end-June 2010 the detail of these proposals and a timescale for their implementation. In
the context of such agreement being reached by end-June, Ministers agreed that interim funding may be provided by
Foras na Gaeilge to existing funded organisations to end-December 2010. The question of further interim funding
after end-2010 will be considered at the next NCMC meeting in Language format in the light of the progress made
in the interim on implementation. Foras na Gaeilge consulted with the sector in the course of undertaking the review
and there will be continued consultation during the course of the implementation process.
Date of Next Meeting
The Council agreed to hold its next meeting in Language sectoral format in Autumn 2010.
The fact that this decision apparently came as a bolt from the blue to the Sector (Response below) appears to some extent
an indication of the level and quality of the process of consultation mentioned in the communiqu between the two parties,
funder and recipients. The NSMC also, given their decision of the previous December on limiting FNG organisational funding
to one (presumably co-ordinated group of organisations) or to a limited number, having specific functions, now apparently
justify these entirely new proposals on the basis that they lie within the parameters of their previous decision. This may, or may
not, mean that application for funding for these schemes would be accepted solely from organisations in block, as envisaged in
the December decision. The most salient outcome was proposed total change for the Sector.
For FNG, on the practical level, the new approach could mean a much larger budget to dispense on all that bodys
schemes, the multiplicity of which may be gauged from the FNG website. Indeed, in minutes of the Board, given the sums
already being granted to various requests from both voluntary-run community groups and from educational institutions in
receipt of State support, it was agreed in December 2010 to prepare a Scheme for Irish Language Centres (sic) and in January
2011 a scheme for Irish Societies in 3rd level colleges (sic).
Other points of note on this NSMC decision of May 2010 include:
- Core funding has been dispensed with in favour of discrete schemes.
- No possible articulation is mentioned either with the as yet unpublished strategic priorities of FNG itself [unless
discrete schemes are the future strategic priority] or with the 20-Year Strategy in the Republic or with any
possible or planned official moves in Northern Ireland.
- Discrete schemes and coherent strategy sit uneasily together in the absence of overall context.
- A very brief timescale of one month is given for providing details and timescale for implementation of this
proposal of discrete schemes. However, officials from both departments would work with FNG towards this
deadline.
- If this proved successful, organisations could expect funding to last until the end of 2010 and possibly longer.
- It is not entirely clear by whom progress must be made in the interim.
Steps in a process: FNG 2008-2010

The actual steps outlined below in the process conducted by FNG in relation to the voluntary funded organisations derive from
two sources provided by FNG which are in the public domain: to some extent from information in a media letter (18 June
2010, Gaelscal) from the body and from both the press release of 26 May 2010 and the accompanying document, Samhail
Nua Mhaoinithe (New Funding Model); also from a later expanded version of this Model on the FNG website which is
undated. In line in general with official thinking and terminology, it is clear that FNG viewed the underlying issues primarily
in terms of the value for money deriving from the particular fund within FNG resources from which these organisations received
core funding together with the related issue of identifying the funding mechanism which, in the view of FNG, would offer
most efficiency in delivering services to Irish speakers and others. The board of FNG tasked its Development Committee (Coiste
Forbartha) to report to it on this, as on other policy matters.
In the first source, the FNG letter published in the press on 18 June 2010, FNG places the beginning of the process in
April 2008, stating that from 2008 onwards FNG engaged regularly with the core-funded sector to encourage their input
into the process through questionnaires and requests for ideas, particularly in July, September and November 2009 and at a
meeting in February 2010; two representatives from the organisations were invited to attend at meetings of Coiste Forbartha
(Development Committee) and to act as go-betweens between the sector and FNG. The Response from the Sector below
gives the Sectors account of these same events.
In the second source, the final report of FNG on their preferred funding mechanism for the future (Samhail Nua
Mhaoinithe, Annex I, May 2010, and the later expanded iteration), the sequence of events internally in FNG in the process
towards this New Model are given:
- Documents (Draft 1 presumably) were received by the Coiste Forbartha in mid-April 2010, terms of reference
agreed and rationalisation [of the sector] discussed. From reading of this final report of May 2010 (Samhail
Nua Mhaoinithe), it is assumed that these documents were provided by a commissioned consultation group (or
adviser, as stated in the Board minutes of January 2010) or by the executive of FNG or by both parties.
- The board of FNG then had discussions.
- This was followed by a workshop of the executive on four possible strategic choices [presumably with the
commissioned adviser(s)] leading to Draft 2, prepared for the Coiste Forbartha. The four strategies were (in
translation, and in bold which was not in the original):

Continue as at present without change.
An approach based on shared services.
o FNG to define the strategy and the framework of the funding.

FNG to function as implementation agency or, instead, to fund organisations as operating agents.
- Draft 3 of the funding model, incorporating the input of Coiste Forbartha and an operational plan for the
implementation of the new mechanism, became board policy on 21 May 2010, in time for presentation to the
North/South Ministerial Council on 26 May, when it was accepted in principle.
Interestingly, no mention is made of input at any stage from the Sector into the process (despite references in the press
statement above) but a reference at the end of the document states (in translation, and in bold not in original):
In the case of any form of change, there is need for a clear plan and an appropriate framework to manage change
in order to give assurance, and in particular, to ensure that the main strengths or advantages of the current state
of affairs are not put at risk in the process.
It was a statement with which the Sector was in full agreement.
In a later document, the Draft Equality Impact Assessment issued in January 2012 by FNG to accompany the third public
consultation document, these four possible approaches are rendered as follows in English:
- keeping the status quo;
- adopting the shared service approach;
- undertaking the functions in-house; or
- through setting out strategic priorities.
This EQIA document also states:
at its meeting in January 2009, the NSMC set as a ministerial priority that this review be completed early in
2009, so as to achieve significant benefits in relation to value for money and effective fulfilment of Foras na Gaeilges
legislative obligations. The independent external review was conducted by Mazars and was completed during 2009.
This concluded that there were several different methods available to Foras na Gaeilge in relation to promoting the
strategic management of the core-funded bodies:
The last option, through setting out strategic priorities or FNG to define the strategy and the framework of
the funding, was the approach which the Board of Foras na Gaeilge proposed to the NSMC (bold print not in
the original).
In the event, the actual NSMC decision of May 2010 was that specifically (even solely) FNG define the strategy, the very
option chosen and presented by FNG. Even within this constraint, however, many methods of definition remained available,
although not apparently deeply considered, to FNG.
FNG then appears to have developed its own version of a New Funding Model for presentation to the NSMC, one which,
in fact, would prove highly contentious, seemingly without any material input from those who would be most affected by the
change, although their views had been provided in two discussion documents in early 2010.
The Sector, it would appear, were required to function in a knowledge vacuum: neither the results of the review of them
nor the evolution or content of the proposed funding model were shared with them by FNG although opportunity to do so
had apparently been available in the various meetings and in the brief contacts with Coiste Forbartha, even as FNG continued
to develop its own model for the future.
In summary, the press release issued simultaneously with the first explanatory document on the New Funding Model
document on 26 May 2010 directly following the NSMC meeting, gave the bodys interpretation of events and of the NSMC
agreed position in the following terms. These general points were reiterated in the letter of 18 June 2010 to the Irish newspaper,
Gaelscal which FNG later issued, given the ensuing level of continuing organisational and public comment.
- Discussion on this issue of core funding had been ongoing for some time. Indeed, as far back as April 2008
FNG advised the organisations to set up co-ordination committees. Unfortunately [in the view of FNG], this
did not occur.
- FNG had been directed by the NSMC on 2 December 2009 (date of the NSMC meeting) to restructure the
method by which the core-funded sector received funding and to accomplish this task by 30 June 2010.
- Towards this end a meeting had been called with the organisations on 12 February 2010 both to explain the
process and to invite their proposals towards restructuring
- It was agreed at this meeting that two representatives would be chosen by the sector to represent the sector; these
would attend meetings of the Development Subcommittee (Coiste Forbartha) of FNG which was in process of
preparing the proposals of FNG on the restructuring

- On 5 May FNG received a discussion document from the organisations.
- This document was to be taken into account in the proposals being prepared for the departments north and
south and for the NSMC.
Steps in a process: NSMC November 2010

Not surprisingly, the May 2010 positive decision of the NSMC on the FNG policy to replace core funding with a system of
schemes (New Funding Model) caused a great deal of public comment. The Core-funded Sector used all its lobbying skills. The
result was not change but the establishment of structures at the next meeting of the NSMC in November 2010. Nevertheless,
core funding was continued for a further six months and, subsequently, three seats on the Advisory Committee for the
proposed projects were offered to the Sector.
NSMC joint communiqu, issued after meeting of 3 November 2010: Foras na Gaeilge Review of Core-funded Bodies
11. The Council noted the current position in regard to the review of the core funded organisations undertaken by
Foras na Gaeilge. Ministers noted proposals in regard to the enhanced implementation arrangements, including the
appointment of a project manager and establishment of a steering committee and an advisory committee. They agreed
that, in the context of satisfactory progress on implementation being achieved, interim funding may continue to be
provided by Foras na Gaeilge to existing funded organisations to end May 2011 and progress will be reported at the
next NSMC Language meeting.
The project manager was not, in fact, appointed at this stage but the two committees functioned. At the March 2011 meeting
of the board of FNG, the CEO spoke to the report from the Development Committee giving this information: there had been
no applications for the post of project manager for the schemes; however an Assistant Principal Officer from the Department
of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs would undertake the work.
Public consultations and information on schemes 2010 to 2011

Between May 2010 and June 2011, two public consultations on the system of schemes were run by FNG: the first advertised
on 10 September 2010 for which the closing date was 30 September 2010 (a period criticised by the Sector as being too brief
and not sufficiently publicised); the second of longer duration advertised in March 2011 with a closing date of 14 June 2011.
The date for submissions from the 19 organisations was extended to end June. The brief English language version of the
invitation for comments runs as follows:
Foras na Gaeilge wishes to announce a public consultation period for New Funding Model.
Using the New Funding Model it is proposed to replace the existing structure whereby 19 named organisations
receive annual core-funding with a publicly advertised scheme based funding structure where any organisation or
group can apply. The schemes will run on a three year cycle.
We would like the publics opinion on this.
Further informationavailable below.
Proposal I for comment in the consultation document is as follows:
Foras na Gaeilge is proposing to move from a core-funded approach (in which 19 organisations receive funding) to a
more thematic approach where any Irish language Third Sector Organisation is eligible to apply for project funding,
made available via a set of discrete subject headings which may vary from year-to-year.
Under Proposal 4 is made the following statement:
The competitive funding model is deemed to be the most equitable approach.
Even as this second consultation was under way, variation occurred. FNG increased the number and type of schemes from
seven to ten. These were (as reported in the Official Report in Hansard of the Scrutiny Committee for Culture, Arts and
Leisure, Northern Ireland, of 9 June 2011):
advocacy and research, education; community empowerment, family support, youth, arts, community radio; PLUS
educational support sub-themes; early years educational support; teaching materials and lifelong learning.
The March 2011 consultation document also gives more complete information on the operation of the proposed schemes.
Significantly, those chosen to operate certain projects are to function in both jurisdictions, North and South. Organisations in
Northern Ireland argue cogently that there is little possible comparison between the linguistic circumstances prevailing in the
Republic and in Northern Ireland. However, a successful applicant may be allowed staff in both jurisdictions if appropriate.
Implementation would take place over the period to mid-2012, if, when and as all the details are agreed between officials of the
departments involved, North and South. The timetable is set out in the minutes of the Steering Committee (on the proposed
schemes, a new structure) of 11 April 2011:
- Criteria for all schemes to be completed for presentation at Information Session mid-2011.
- Sifting of submissions from Public Consultation during June/July 2011.
- Discussion at Board meeting of 22 July 2011 followed by amendments.
- Advertising of schemes September 2011 for replies by November.
- Internal assessment of submissions November 2011 January 2012.
- For approval by FNG Board February 2012.
- Schemes to begin July 2012.
Despite these developments towards restructuring, however, as late as December 2010 and January 2011, as noted above,
arising out of the level of requests for funding, minutes of the Board of FNG reveal agreement on a Scheme for Irish Language
Centres (physical structures also mentioned in the 20-Year Strategy) and investigation of a scheme for Irish Societies in 3rd
level colleges. To the Irish lobby, such an approach represented further evidence of discrete as opposed to integrated levels of
language planning.
Information Sessions on the New Funding Model and associated schemes were provided to the core-funded organisations
by FNG on 30 March and on 2 June 2011. The proposed criteria for the various schemes came under intense discussion as did
articulation between these schemes and the operation of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. Ironically, this input from the Sector
with experience on the ground may have served to improve the presentation and content of the schemes for FNG.
By September 2011, the ten schemes to which reference was made in June at a meeting of the Committee for Culture,
Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland, had become eight. This information (available on FNG website) was contained in the
documentation supplied at such short notice for the meeting of the Advisory Committee on 22 September which the Sector
representatives found themselves unable to attend not only on the basis of short notice but because of what they described to the
Irish-language media as the empty offer of FNG. These eight schemes were duly accepted by the Board of FNG the following
day, Friday 23 September 2011, as reported in Tuarascil (The Irish Times) of 28 September 2011. They were as follows:
Scheme
Indicative Budget million
1.
Advocacy
2.
Learning Resources
1.8
3.
Arts
1.9
4.
Youth
1.6
5.
Community Radio
1.6
6.
Educational Support
1.9
7.
Preschool
2.1
8.
Community Support
3.5
Total
16.4
5.466 per annum
Budgets are on a 3-year basis. Yearly budgets are contingent on success in reaching agreed targets. The total indicative yearly
budget of 5.466 million for eight schemes compares with the total 7.58 million 2010 budget which FNG shared out
between the 19 core-funded organisations. Comparison of results and the declared efficiency of the new approach would, of
course, be impossible without pre-existing empirical data.
A later iteration of the same Schemes, which appeared on the FNG website at the end of September clearly labelled draft,
is more detailed. A summary version is given below.
Schemes @ Sept/Oct
2011
Funding
Staff complement of
20-Year Strategy
Articulation with Areas
Advocacy etc.
1,974,355
Administration, Services
& Community
Learning Resources
1,829,452
Education
Arts
1,949,008
Media & Technology
Youth
1,590,164
& Community
Community Radio
1,592,592
Media & Technology
Education Support
1,922,321
Education
Preschooling
2,135,691
6 + 8 (nine-month)
Education
Community Support
3,527,420
18
& Community
[Family Transmission]
Total
16,521,003
61 overall
5,507,001 p.a.
While the number now appeared stable at eight schemes, the comment from a Sector participant at the 22 September
2011 meeting of the D/CAL Scrutiny Committee (NI) on the continuing change in the number of Schemes, from 10 to 9
to 12 to 9 to 10 to 8, revealed the context from the Sector viewpoint. The previous meeting of the Scrutiny Committee on
15 September with FNG provided information on the political path to be followed: the FNG Board would consider the latest
proposals on 23 September 2011 as occurred, these would then go to the officials of the sponsor Departments, then to the
respective Ministers and also to the Finance Departments.
The 2012 version of schemes (almost identical with that given above) is found below, Public consultation 2011-2012.
Continuing steps in a process: NSMC 2011-2012

By July 2011, it appeared that the process of progressing by a system of schemes in place of core-funded organisations was
almost complete - although interim funding on a half-yearly basis was still being granted - to judge from the tone of the joint
communiqu from the July 2011 meeting of the NSMC.
NSMC joint communiqu, issued after meeting of 7 July 2011
FORAS NA GAEILGE REVIEW OF CORE FUNDED BODIES
6. The Council noted that all the draft schemes required to implement the recommendations of the Review have
now been drawn up. Following consideration of the comments made during the recent public consultation
exercise, the approval of the Board and the Finance Ministers will be sought, prior to submitting the schemes to
the next meeting of the NSMC for approval.
7. The Council agreed that, in the context of continuing to achieve satisfactory progress, interim funding may
continue to be provided by Foras na Gaeilge to existing funded organisations until end of June 2012. A further
progress report will be made at the next NSMC meeting in Language Sectoral Format.
This optimism on submission of schemes for approval appears somewhat muted in the next communiqu which seeks a third
comprehensive consultation exercise, refers to possible change as a result in the portfolio of draft schemes already presented,
and requests that Foras na Gaeilge now prepare a detailed business case to support the system of schemes. Once again, funding
for the organisations is extended but an Order is proposed also to exclude those listed in the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999.
NSMC joint communiqu, issued after meeting of 12 October 2011
FORAS NA GAEILGE - REVIEW OF CORE FUNDED BODIES
significant benefits in relation to value for money and the effective delivery of Foras na Gaeilges statutory
obligations.

core-funded bodies;
draft schemes; and
Agreement Act 1999 (No. 1 of 1999) to delete the reference to the organisations listed in the table to the
section.
13. Ministers requested a further progress report at the next NSMC Language Body meeting.
Given that the requested third consultation was underway, the next February 2012 communiqu was brief but, to the Sector,
very welcome. Staff and operations were reasonably secure to June 2013 although precise core funding was not spelt out.
NSMC joint communiqu, issued after meeting of 14 February 2012
FORAS NA GAEILGE - REVIEW OF CORE FUNDED BODIES
8. Ministers noted the progress that has been made to date by Foras na Gaeilge with regard to the development of
a new competitive funding model with the objective of achieving significant benefits in relation to value for
money and the effective delivery of Foras na Gaeilges statutory obligations. The Council agreed that, in the
context of continuing to achieve satisfactory progress, interim funding may continue to be provided by Foras na
Gaeilge to the existing core funded bodies to 30 June 2013. A further progress report will be presented to the
next NSMC Language Body meeting.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING
12 The Council agreed to hold its next Language Body meeting in summer 2012.
Public consultation 2011-2012

Context
The 19 core-funded organisations may not have been so successful in their efforts to influence FNG reviews and reports to
the NSMC. However, their continuing resistance as their lobbying on well-based argument, coupled with political changes of
personnel on the NSMC from both jurisdictions, were apparently having some effect at least. The NSMC, at its October 2011
meeting, by seeking another consultation exercise, further delayed implementation of the system of schemes under FNGs sole
direction which the agency was proposing in place of core funding independent organisations.
Items 10-12
significant benefits in relation to value for money and the effective delivery of Foras na Gaeilges statutory
obligations.

core funded bodies;
draft schemes; and
Agreement Act 1999 (No.1 of 1999) to delete the reference to the organisations listed in the table to the
section.
This third consultation exercise followed two previous consultations that had proved fairly disappointing from the official
viewpoint. It got off to a slow start but was eventually announced by Foras na Gaeilge to run from 9 January 2012 to 2 April
2012. As reported in the Irish media on 11 January, it was the view (translated from the Irish) of Foras na Gaeilge that:
- there was no need for concern on the part of the Irish organisations with regard to the ongoing review;
- Foras na Gaeilge was attempting to find the best method of promoting the language; what should be kept and
what should be changed;
- efforts to ensure daily use of the language by the majority of the public, whether in the Gaeltacht or outside,
were not succeeding;
- the process underway was to ensure that available funding was used in the most effective manner to prevent the
slippage of the language reaching the point of no return.
There appears some lack of continuity of logic between the first two points of the argument with the latter two. The organisations
in question did not feel reassured, however, and continued their path of resistance as recounted below, particularly since
effectiveness was proving an elusive concept to prove or disprove.
Arrangements
A comprehensive 54-page consultation document was made available for written replies from respondents to the consultation
and an internal response co-ordinator appointed from FNG staff. Given the length of the document, the body clarified to the
Sector that opinions would also be sought in a variety of other ways: submissions (individual or organisational); meetings with
parties of interest; focus groups; short-email questionnaires, public meetings. Five of the latter were arranged (to ensure one
in each province): Maynooth 25 February (in conjunction with the annual national awards ceremony of Glr na nGael, one
of the 19 core-funded groups); Tralee 5 March; Belfast 8 March (in the Irish cultural centre, Cultrlann); Galway 12 March
(hotel); Dublin 14 March (Foras na Gaeilge headquarters). In addition, some contact with youth was envisaged through a
recognised facilitatory group. Finally, a six-month consultant post was advertised at a salary of 30,000 maximum, again on
www.etenders.gov.ie, as was a previous proposed post (of project manager for the system of schemes, after NSMC meeting 3
November 2010), in order to analyse the feedback from all consultation sources. It could then be October 2012 before the
results became available to go to the Foras na Gaeilge board and to the NSMC for any amendments to the existing proposal
of schemes.
The introduction to the 54-page document gives background and the history of the process to date. The aim of the review
of the core-funded bodies is stated as:
- to ensure that the way services and information are delivered for the Irish-language community as well as the
English speaking community throughout the island of Ireland is improved, to ensure a viable and capable sector
and, at the same time, to ensure better value for money.
There could be little quarrel with such a review or such an aim if the way had not been already unilaterally decided by Foras na
Gaeilge through their proposal on competitive schemes, without any indisputable proof that this meant not only improvement
but also a viable and capable sector, without any secure basis for such assertions. Information on the expenditure of Foras
na Gaeilge on the core-funded Sector is included as is the expenditure of the Sector on salaries; no other information is given
on Foras na Gaeilge expenditure in other areas as a basis of comparison, particularly with the other existing schemes which it
organises. This led to media comment on total Foras na Gaeilge expenditure being subjected to the same treatment as that of
the core-funded Sector in order to provide a more complete assessment. Interestingly, the 2012 consultation document carries
a comment in bold type on previous consultations which was disputed by some:
A consultation process on the concept of the New Funding Model itself was organised between March and June
2011. The results of that consultation were considered and amendments made accordingly. Therefore this current
consultation process concerns the content of the Draft Schemes not the funding model itself (on which
consultation has been previously carried out, as described above).
As one possible example, minutes of a meeting of the Scrutiny Committee of the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
(NI) from 9 June 2011, which mention, inter alia, the consultation then due to end in NI, would seem to give the impression
that the system of schemes and the New Funding Model are synonymous. However, Recommendation 1 in the previous
consultation questionnaire was:
Move away from core-funded approach towards more themed approach.
In the independent analysis of responses conducted for Foras na Gaeilge, the answer to this Recommendation was unequivocal,
but the number of responses overall was very small:
- No organisation agreed with this.
- Four flatly rejected it all of them based in the North.
- Two (branches of an organisation) agreed but only conditionally.
This option of considering possibilities other then discrete schemes is no longer available to respondents in the third consultation.
Neither does the previous reaction to schemes appear to have had much official impact.
The 2012 consultation document provides a list of measures (in the form of questions) which are designed to assist those
in receipt of public monies in the field of language, including Foras na Gaeilge itself, to ensure, and to prove, value for money.
In fact, the actual responses of the consultation process proved interesting when they became available.
The layout of the document is similar under each scheme:
- Basic aim
- Strategic objective (refers to 20-Year Strategy or status/competence/use nexus)
- Main aims of the scheme
- Administration and approach including staffing
- Expected results
- Type of funding available and Fund for the specific scheme.
Question boxes with space to write accompany each of these six areas seeking improvements or proposals or suggestions.
Funding includes programme costs and other necessary costs as well as staffing costs.
The expected results as provided in the document are in some instances unexpected. The Advocacy scheme includes an
inventory of lifelong learning courses as well as a system for implementing current laws in certain areas in the case of providers
and a marketing strategy to publicise such courses. The Arts scheme is basically for a programme of festivals but also includes
encouraging Irish-language publishers to participate in the field of arts and new media. Education has three strands: Irishmedium education; Irish in English-medium schools and Interschool events.
Information on schemes
The only change of substance to the previous fairly definitive version of schemes given above (Public consultation and
information on schemes 2010-2011) are: Learning Materials for Learning Resources and Education for Educational Support.
Articulation is now made under each scheme with a section of the 20-Year Strategy and also with the basic general aims of
status, competence, use. Close co-operation is expected between successful applicants in all schemes. It is also assumed that any
existing infrastructure will be put to the benefit of schemes. Schemes are for appropriate operation in both jurisdictions (and
in the Gaeltacht where applicable). Staffing, and pay grades presumably although scale points are not indicated, are couched
in public/civil service terminology: Higher Executive Officer (HEO), Executive Office (EO), Clerical Officer. Finance Officer
or Technician or Editors or Regional Administrators or Development Officers all fit into this terminology. In all schemes
except Community Radio, the person heading the scheme and the staff is titled Programme Manager. Radio has a Station
Administrator. For those applying to the Radio scheme, a license must be in place. Under the Youth scheme, individual
clubs will not be funded. Many clubs are currently in receipt of small grants as seen in the minutes of Foras na Gaeilge board
meetings. Perhaps it is intended to continue this type of funding. Learning Materials are primarily for the NI curriculum and
reprints are allowed only by permission.
Schemes @ January 2012
Funding
Staff complement
Advocacy
1,974,355
Learning Materials
1,829,452
Arts
1,949,008
Youth
1,590,164
Community Radio
1,592,592
Education Support
1,922,321
Preschool
2,135,691
6 + 8 (nine-month)
Community Support
3,527,420
18
16,521,003
61 overall
Total
5,507,001 p.a.
Funding and staffing

In comparative terms, the annual funding for these eight schemes with a staff complement of 61 staff is not far off the figure
of approximately 8m for 19 organisations (with a staff of approximately 80) in 2008 quoted in the consultation document.
The decrease in funding for the organisations since 2008 is not given in the consultation document: from 40% of the FNG
budget in 2008 to 38% in 2011.
Speaking on the proposed system of schemes before the relevant Oireachtas Committee on 8 February 2012, members
of the Sector (Aontas Pobal na Gaeilge) gave the following comparative figures: approximately 80 staff in 19 organisations and
thousands of volunteers; 60 staff in Foras na Gaeilge.
The issue of outcomes and value for money may only be asserted since no empirical qualitative data exist (or comparative
benchmarks or performance indicators) for either FNG or the core-funded organisations. Quantitative data for the Sector is,
of course, available: the number of preschools, schools, courses, clubs, branches, events, local development committees and
associated apparent impact (particularly with regard to competence and possible use) on individuals, families, communities is
reasonably clear. Quantitative results for FNG expenditure on its own activities is also available, e.g. Summer Camps, Bilingual
Marketing materials. However, FNG in most cases funds others to accomplish the actual activity.
Draft Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)

A consultation document on equality impact assessment in relation to Foras na Gaeilges funding of the Irish Language Third
Sector Organisations was issued simultaneously with the consultation document on draft schemes, available in print or, on
request, in Braille, large print or audio format. It is incumbent on Foras na Gaeilge under section 75 of the Northern Ireland
Act 1998 to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity:
- between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, race, age, marital status or sexual orientation;
- between men and women generally;
- between persons with a disability and persons without;
- between persons with dependents and persons without.
Views were sought on the impact of the portfolio of eight schemes on these issues of equality. Information was given on the
background to the schemes, financial and otherwise, including quotes from the Mazars consultation document on the corefunded Sector prepared for Foras na Gaeilge.
The draft contains the considerations of Foras na Gaeilge on each scheme including the finding that mitigation or
adjustments were not necessary in relation to service users of the proposed schemes. In relation to staff working in the corefunded Sector, an interesting comment is made:
our analysis and consultations with the sector have indicated that staffing levels may be reduced. In the current
draft Schemes a 20% reduction in employment across all of the 19 organisations is proposed. It cannot be estimated
at this time which region of the island this will impact on. A group in any region offering all-island services have the
opportunity to maintain and, depending on the scheme, increase employment. There will however be an enhanced
level of services and an improved geographical spread of employees throughout the island of Ireland. Although the
overall numbers employed in the sector are low in relation to the size of the communities, Foras na Gaeilge felt it
important to take account of any equality implications, alternatives or mitigations in determining how best to manage
the change. Staff redeployment may not be an option, given the remit of the policy of the NSMC decision of 2
December 2009.
Foras na Gaeilge, having considered the section 75 categories within the staff profile of the core funded groups, concludes that
there are no other differential impacts, other than that those most likely to be affected are Roman Catholics. This reflects the
general religious profile of the organisations.
This equality impact on staff appears to be grounded in some assumptions, the most significant being that those currently
working in the 19 organisations, or at least 80% of them, will more or less automatically transfer to working in the future on
this draft portfolio of schemes. There are 61 posts anticipated by FNG across the schemes. At the 8 February meeting of the
relevant Oireachtas Joint Committee, a figure of 80 posts (apart from volunteers) was given across the organisations; 80% of
that number would be 64. However, these schemes are competitive and open; there is no possible guarantee that current Sector
organisations would be successful in bidding for participation in any or in all schemes, hence the strong possibility of heavy
staff losses, particularly since 3-year contracts may not be to everybodys satisfaction. The assumption that these schemes are
more or less meant for the core-funded organisations appears to underlie the statement above from the draft EQIA.
The final EQIA would be published taking any comments into account at the end of the consultation process. The draft
EQIA document also refers to 40% of the 2008 budget of FNG having been expended on the core-funded Sector. In some
other statements, a figure of 42% had been quoted.
Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)

An all-party scrutiny committee, somewhat similar to the Joint Oireachtas Committees in the Republic, is attached to each
Assembly Department in NI. Each is chaired by a party different from that of the Minister of that Department. The Department
of Culture, Arts and Leisure (D/CAL) Scrutiny Committee concerned itself with reactions to the New Funding Model to
which the Department had agreed in principle through the NSMC. The various meetings of this Committee, reported in
Hansard (official record, in printed transcript, of UK and NI parliamentary proceedings), are fairly indicative of the continuing
concerns. A factual briefing paper, Paper 67/11 dated 3 June 2011, was prepared for the Committee by the Research and
Library Service of the NI Assembly. In part, it reiterates those concerns of the Sector, particularly in relation to NI, and lays
out a useful table of the legislative and status differences with regard to Irish in the two jurisdictions.
Annexe 1 to this research paper notes the various appearances before the D/CAL Committee of representatives of both the
core-funded Sector and of officials from FNG and from D/CAL itself. Among the references are:
The Sector
21 October 2010
Appearance and written submission on concerns about Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and Equality Impact
Assessment (EQIA) with regard to the proposed changes.
In addition, a later appearance by the Sector also occurred after the issue of the research briefing paper. The RIA again comes
up almost a year later.
22 September 2011
Appearance and written submission from three NI organisations on the unsatisfactory nature of the process in general
(described by one participant as appalling); the [lack of ] of conduct of both Impact Assessment Regulations.
Foras na Gaeilge
25 November 2010
The scrutiny Committee was briefed on the ongoing review of core-funded organisations. Some Committee members
made known their concerns on the consultation process. It was agreed to seek details of the Equality Impact Assessment
(EQIA) from the D/CAL.
9 June 2011
The EQIA was carried out by FNG and did not highlight any adverse impacts; the position on the RIA was not clear
but would be checked.
15 September 2011
Work on the RIA was progressing but was still in draft form; however, of the options (including the costs and benefits
of each) identified for achieving desired change, the draft supported the approach taken by FNG. The RIA would be
finalised and presented to the Minister when considering approved schemes from FNG.
At the 8 March public consultation meeting in Belfast, participants were given to understand that preparation of the RIA
awaited the final recommendations to be produced by Foras na Gaeilge arising out of the consultation.
Preparation of business case for FNG New Funding Model through schemes
At its meeting of 12 October 2011, the NSMC, inter alia, had required of Foras na Gaeilge, in connection with the (then)
proposed third public consultation that the body:
c) amend the portfolio of draft schemes as necessary and appropriate, having regard to the extended consultation
process;
d) prepare a detailed business case, if necessary with independent assistance, in support of the portfolio of draft
schemes.
At the 8 March public consultation meeting in Belfast, participants were given to understand that this business case would not
be prepared until the final recommendations arising out of the consultation were produced by Foras na Gaeilge.
FNG and strategic priorities 2005 2011

It is of note, in relation to the reference in the NSMC decision of December 2009 to high level strategic priorities for FNG, that
a Corporate Plan had been issued by FNG for 2005-2007 in which the key strategic challenges for the language and the body
had, not unsurprisngly, been identified as:
- Status
- Acquisition
- Usage
- Communications
- Policy and Planning
In funding criteria and in publicity material, these appear as (translated from Irish):
- Raising the status of Irish in every social domain.
- Supporting the acquisition of Irish in the education systems (both jurisdictions are intended) and outside them.
- Creating opportunities for usage and ensuring their permanency.
- Strengthening and empowering Irish communities and ensuring their permanency.
- Supporting the inter-generational transmission of Irish.
Nevertheless, reference is made in a joint communiqu from the North/South Ministerial Council meeting of 3 November
to Foras na Gaeilge Corporate Plans for 2011-2013, including the emerging strategic objectives, priorities and efficiency
proposals. Whatever the actual high level strategic priorities for FNG, it was clearly the way in which the FNG budget would be
controlled and expended that was the main focus of what was described as strategic intent.
This was set out to some extent in what was described as the New Funding Model (May 2010). In the public consultation
(below) document issued in March 2011, the strategic priorities now listed appear very close to the operations of the 19
core-funded organisations: advocacy and research; community development; family support; youth; arts; community radio.
Before the consultation period closed in mid-June 2011, three more priorities had been added (some from specific core-funded
organisations and others in the area of education support from FNG), giving an eventual full list of:
advocacy and research, education; community empowerment, family support, youth, arts, community radio; PLUS
educational support sub-themes; early years educational support; teaching materials and lifelong learning.
Despite being described as strategic priorities for a 3-year cycle, the consultation document also advises that the listed priorities
are subject to change.
Eight schemes, and indicative budgets for them, were finally accepted as board policy by FNG on 23 September 2011.
However, comment from a Sector participant at the 22 September 2011 meeting of the Department of Culture, Arts and
Leisure Scrutiny Committee (NI) on the continuing change in the number of Schemes, from 10 to 9 to 12 to 9 to 10 to 8,
revealed the context from the Sector viewpoint. Strategic priority appeared both a changing concept and a moving target.
Scheme
1. Advocacy
Indicative Budget million

2
2. Learning Resources
1.8
3. Arts
1.9
4. Youth
1.6
5. Community Radio
1.6
6. Educational Support
1.9
7. Preschool
2.1
8. Community Support
3.5
Total
16.4
5.466 per annum
These strategic priorities, however, constituted no more than part of the funded schemes of FNG, which, at various periods,
included, inter alia:
- Publishing (An Gm), book distribution and sales, Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge schemes (commissions; tutors;
literary projects); weekly newspaper, two magazines (Feasta and Comhar), inhouse electronic newspaper (Saol),
online magazine (Beo)
- Dictionary preparation
- Accreditation courses for translators (and later for editors)
- Community schemes to promote the language
- Community events
- Irish Language Officers Scheme (Public Sector, currently NI)
- Providers of specialised Irish language training for the Public Sector
- Drama companies and Festivals
- Bilingual signage and materials for business
- Youth events and Summer Camps
- Gleo award for spoken Irish in schools
- Colmcille initiative with Bord na Gaidhlig in Scotland, and
- Core funding for 19 organisations
The Core-funded Sector had criticised the schemes system as not being set within a coherent strategic framework and not
being aligned with the 20-Year Strategy in the South or the emerging Strategy in the North. Additionally, they had offered
criticism during the information sessions offered by FNG. Some suggestions were also made during the 2010-2011 public
consultation processes. All this may, or may not, have served to enhance the eventual layout of the eight schemes in the 2012
public consultation document. These were now allied to sections of the 20-Year Strategy and are also marked as pertaining to
the trinity of status, ability or use of Irish.
References were being made to FNG and a new strategic plan (late 2012). This may perhaps be involved with the New
Funding Model Mark II as well as with the facilitatory role of FNG with respect to the networks seeking statutory status
outside the Gaeltacht as envisaged in the Gaeltacht Act 2012.
Schemes and comparisons

Given the constantly evolving situation with regard to FNG and its system of schemes instead of core funding, an attempt is
made below towards clarification.
In the first instance, until the second decision of May 2010 was made, organisations could apply, as independent entities,
whether in amalgamation or otherwise, for both core operational funding and project funding.
In the second step, under the New Funding Model Mark 1, based on clarification in documents placed on the FNG website
since May 2010, clarification sought by the voluntary sector, project funding alone would be made available, with some
allowance for salary and operational costs. In addition, this new type of project funding would be available to all applicant
groups (operating through Irish) and, in the case of organisations, to one composite organisation or to a small number of
organisations (per the decision of December 2009). The schemes for funding were decided by Foras na Gaeilge and were
open to all applicants, not just to the organisations funded to date although it was largely these organisations which currently
operate in the areas loosely defined in the schemes. In many instances, the organisations arose out of necessity in the absence
of sufficient or lacking State activity.
This is clear when comparison is made between the broad spheres of activity of the organisations and the schemes, as
described by FNG in their public consultation document of March 2011, as in the table below. The abbreviations (I = Ireland)
and (NI = Northern Ireland) are used to denote location of activity. It is, of course, a matter for the organisations to accept
or reject these ascribed broad spheres; some may be self-ascribed, arising out of annual submissions for funding or the first
questionnaire of the review conducted by FNG which sought detailed information from the organisations. It was, however,
largely the omissions in the FNG descriptors of the work of the organisations that raised comment.
FNG Schemes and Organisational Activities: Loose Comparison

Organisation
Activity
FNG Schemes
Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge (I)

Conradh na Gaeilge (I)
Pobal (NI)
Iontaobhas Ultach (NI)
Comhaltas Uladh (NI)
Advocacy
Advocacy & Research
Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (I)

Forbairt Naonra Teo (I)
Gaelscoileanna (I)
Altram (NI)
An tisaonad (NI)
Education
Education
Glr na nGael (I)

Forbairt Feirste (NI)
Community Development
Community Development
Comhluadar (I)
Family Support
Family Support
Cumann na bhFiann (I)

Gael-Linn (I)
Youth
Youth
Oireachtas na Gaeilge (I)

An Comhlachas Nisinta
Drmaochta (I)
Arts
Arts
Raidi na Life (I)

Raidi Filte (NI)
Radio
Community Radio
New Funding Model (Mark II)

Twice during February 2012, presentations had been made to the relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee by representatives of the
The next iteration of the scheme system followed the third consultation process.
FNG employed the company, Seirbhs Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Services), to produce a composite account of the
third consultation process. The report, when it came, in fact gave a clear picture of the Sectors concerns.
Given the negativity expressed at the public consultation meetings organised by Foras na Gaeilge from 25 February to 14
March 2012, (Maynooth, Tralee, Belfast, Galway, Dublin), comments from FNG representatives ranged from possible change
but no end to the New Funding Model to acknowledgement of problems with the Model and the possibility of having to
come up with another Model. FNG then, in quick succession, announced an end to the New Funding Model in its current
form (29 June 2012) and presented its new Implementation Plan on the review of the core-funded sector to the NSMC on
9 July 2012. This new Plan was eventually published on the agencys website following sustained requests for sight of the
document by An Fram as input into any joint meetings on the co-operation of the future as cited in the statement of 29 June
2012. A series of meetings occurred as part of the ongoing consultation as stated by FNG.
Contacts between the organisations and Foras na Gaeilge on what was described as the way forward were reported in the
press (Gaelscal, 29 August 2012; Tuarascil, The Irish Times, 3 October 2012) as follows:
- FNG had decided on six themes as the basis for future language activity:
Irish-medium education; Irish in English-medium education and adult education; language awareness raising,
language protection and contact with the two jurisdictions, North and South; community development; youth;
support activities and occasions for use of Irish.




but that the Sector might have succeeded in its lobbying to maintain core funding.
More inclusive invitations followed in November 2012 (in advance of the NSMC meeting) from FNG to the Sector but still
towards discussion on the theme-based approach, or New Funding Model Mark II. The distinction between scheme and
theme apparently lay (a) in themes being part of the new strategy of FNG, or perhaps the high-level strategic priorities
sought by the NSMC; (b) in the choice of organisations to invite for discussion; (c) the funding method being proposed.
Nevertheless, not all the concerns of the Sector were still being met and the outlook, while still far from clear, was perhaps a
slight improvement on the New Funding Model Mark I. The actual content of thethemes was very close to that of the original
schemes, however.
The NSMC meeting took place on 12 December 2012. The new approach put forward by FNG did not receive immediate
In summary, overall the future was still not yet entirely clear at end 2012.
FNG: possible rationale for schemes

The main function of Foras na Gaeilge as an all-island quango is the promotion of the Irish language, whether through advice
to Governments, through dictionary and terminology projects, through supporting voluntary organisations across a range
of activities or through its own many differing projects including publishing, some projects being more long term than
others. Much of the Boards time seems to be spent (from published minutes) on considering the recommendations from
its committee (Coiste na nDeontas) dealing with grant applications while assessing applications must, undoubtedly, consume
much staff energy. It did mean, however, that a level of expertise was developed in the area of project and grant assessment. On
the other hand, it was the State (through the Department for Community Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs), not the advisory
Foras na Gaeilge, which independently developed the 20-Year Strategy for Irish 2010-2030 in the Republic as an attempt at a
comprehensive language planning exercise.
Undoubtedly, given the multi-faceted scale of its operations and the relative significance of some of its operations as
compared with others, Foras na Gaeilge needed some over-arching strategy within which to encompass its many funding
activities. This it had now apparently accomplished by adapting its existing funding model of multifarious open project
funding to an additional range of fixed term schemes (apparently eight in number finally in the New Funding Model Mark
1 or these basically reconfigured as six themes in the New Funding Model Mark II). The funding model for both projects
and schemes supported by FNG were essentially the same. The new aspects of schemes were two: schemes come under a list of
delineated strategic priorities, it is not clear if projects also will be similarly categorised in the future; these strategic priorities
were, in fact, more or less the current areas of operation of the 19 voluntary organisations which would no longer receive corefunding individually from FNG but were free to apply for the new 3-year schemes, changed from the original one-year (as
reported in the Official Report in Hansard of the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland, of 9 June 2011),
either in amalgamation or otherwise.
Any changes in the post-third consultation resulting in the New Funding Model Mark II based on themes related more
to the absence of the open competitive element.
The underlying repeated argument for this change of emphasis from core funding in FNG documents is posited on value
for money and increased efficiency of delivery of services to the public as a result. In whichever manner these particular reasons
are currently logically understood or defined, in the absence of supporting analysis their realisation can be gauged only in the
future. This, of course, will prove a difficult task on two counts: the absence of an existing barometer or benchmark of efficiency
for comparison purposes; the difficulty of assigning results or effects to any one cause.
Nevertheless, on a purely cost basis, in a recession situation, there appears to be substance to the reasoning put forward by
FNG that organisational funding was taking up to 40% of its annual budget and, of that sum, that organisational salaries as
opposed to services for the public, in the view of FNG were using up 50% of the annual grant. In fact 42%, or 7.58m, of
the FNG budget for 2010 was expended on core funding; down to 38% in 2011 (Official Report in Hansard of the Committee
for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland, of 9 June 2011). On the other hand, language activity on the ground is
a very labour-intensive exercise and, in addition, no monetary value has been assigned to the large numbers of volunteers
who service organisations without any cost whatsoever. In addition, no analysis is available, apart from the anecdotal, of the
actual outcomes of that language activity, any more than any analysis of what might be the results of its absence. While some
indication is given as to the salary and overhead costs of the proposed schemes, none is given as to the relationship between
work and the results of that work. Worthwhile criteria to assess efficiency in the dynamic of language promotion are still
lacking. Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness may have been jettisoned in favour of cost-efficiency or cost-cutting. Consequently,
the value for money argument, in fact, remains unproven, whether in the case of the funded organisations or of FNG itself.
An impact assessment might reveal that results hard won over years of patient groundwork by organisations either with
communities or on long-term projects may be the initially unseen casualties of the new Funding Model. Interestingly, an aspect
of this point was discussed at the 9 June 2011 meeting of the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Northern Ireland on
the FNG review and implementation thereof. The representative of the NI Department, in answer to questioning on whether
a regulatory impact assessment (RIA) was conducted, or even considered, in respect of the funding changes, replied:
We will check and get back to the Committee. I am not sure. I inherited this project halfway through its existence,
so I am not sure whether that was addressed and considered unnecessary. However, I will check that, and what needs
to be done will be done.
Possibilities other than the FNG schemes/themes

Nevertheless, money is scarce and ways must be found in all spheres of activity to find savings whether in salaries or in
overheads or in shared services, a view understood and accepted by the core-funded organisations. One possible solution
proposed was a block grant or grants within the budget resources of FNG for a range of targeted activities with conditions
attaching as to results expected. Such a grant might have been allocated to the sector as a whole (this might fit with the one
organisation stipulation in the December 2009 NSMC decision) or to each individual organisation (in this case a condition
on combining some types of resources with several other organisations could be a prerequisite). A third possibility might have
been a ceiling on the percentage of the grant allowable against salaries and operational costs. Such approaches would leave the
organisations the autonomy to tailor salaries and overheads to ensure expected outcomes. In this scenario, ongoing monitoring
of the expected outcomes by FNG might be a more profitable investment of staff time than assessment of many submissions
as at present and in the future in the case of open schemes. FNG could still set the parameters of the desired outcomes. Coplanning, whether within the sector or between funder and beneficiaries, on how a block grant might best be expended, might
be another desirable outcome of this type of approach, which combines both control over State monies on the one hand and
preserves a more acceptable form of State/Voluntary Sector (or Citizen) interaction in a modern democracy.
There are then two elements to the changes being imposed by Foras na Gaeilge: the purely financial and the process of
interaction with the funded. Even more crucial than either was the lacking third element: the overarching comprehensible
and coherent language planning strategy that might serve as context for all the various funded activities and schemes of Foras
na Gaeilge. Whether the theme-based approach of the New Funding Model Mark II may eventually fulfil this lack is not
immediately clear.
Political decisions have, of course, their own importance as has the expenditure of State monies. But even more important
perhaps in a democracy is the process by which these publicly funded decisions have been reached. This is now considered below
from the perspective of the core-funded organisations. It formed the basis of their continued lobbying throughout the period.

In retrospect, the Chairpersons Introduction to the annual report of FNG for the year 2009, not published until December
2012, is of interest. It comments as follows:
Because the Board felt that it was necessary to pay particular attention to the rationalisation of the core funded sector,
another Committee, the Development Committee, was set up in the middle of the year [2009] for that purpose. Foras
na Gaeilge believes that there are opportunities for the Irish language organisations ourselves included to co-operate
with one another and co-ordinate work to a greater extent than is the case at present. It is worthwhile reviewing the
wider context as opposed to the organisational context at regular intervals to identify whatever opportunities might
have arisen and to avail of them together. The decision of the North/South Ministerial Council in December [2009]
in respect of the rationalisation of the core funded sector has added urgency to [t]his work.
DETAILS: RESPONSE OF THE CORE-FUNDED VOLUNTARY SECTOR
Such a sea change as that described in the preceding section inevitably caused a plethora of problems for the core-funded
Sector. The list is, however, dominated and permeated by what was perceived to be the lack of proper process as matters
developed. Information on events were published on an ongoing basis by the media in general (in both languages) and on the
public website maintained by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge, www.gaelport.com.
Review by FNG; Report by the Sector

The first action was co-operation by the Sector with the review of them begun in 2008 by FNG: both in completing the
10-page detailed self-assessment survey provided by FNG, the subsequent FNG questionnaire (which included request for a
SWOT analysis) on forms of collaboration or amalgamation and in meeting with the consultants commissioned by FNG. At
the outset, given the general environment, the demand appeared to be for enhanced co-operation or collaboration towards
efficiency in a much reduced funding context. As organisations, there certainly existed what might appear to be some overlap,
but that largely at the level of volunteer input since the same persons often were members or volunteers of more than one
organisation. Additionally, organisations directed at a particular domain of activity or at a particular group in society, might
each be dealing with a different aspect of that activity or of that group. Complementary but differentiated activity could appear
as overlap to the uninformed outsider. There also existed examples of informal co-operation for specific ends or for defined
periods, particularly on the ground: providing the impetus for a naonra (playgroup) or gaelscoil (Irish medium school), for
example. Glr na nGael (competition based organisation) provided examples of good practice in local co-operation of different
interests towards the development of committees for the promotion of the language locally. Conradh na Gaeilge has always
been based on a system of local branches and had initiated several of the local development groups funded by Foras na Gaeilge.
The arts organisations and local radio drew on local participation. The majority of the nineteen core-funded organisations
served specific purposes or publics, largely on an area or local basis, although with central administration from Dublin. Two,
one in the Republic and one in Northern Ireland, were umbrella organisations, whose remit was largely advocacy and research
and ensuring a common voice for the member organisations, practical assistance when required and initiating projects of
common benefit either to members or to the Irish language. That in the Republic, Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge, despite
being itself one of the core-funded organisations, and with the full co-operation of all nineteen autonomous organisations
which comprised the core-funded sector, set about the process of examining the demands being made. Not all the nineteen
core-funded organisations were among the twenty-four on the Board of the Comhdhil. Some of the members of Comhdhil
received no State funding. Nevertheless, assent to the process of examination was unanimous. In Northern Ireland, the affected
organisations also discussed the new developments as a group.
In early 2009, two meetings of the entire core-funded Sector were organised by Comhdhil in February and April in order
to facilitate the examination of possibilities for new forms of co-operation and the best use of the resources and skills available
in, and to, the Sector. Both meetings were given external assessments of how collaboration might function. Actualisation
was, however, a matter for individual organisations. Later the same year in September, FNG formally requested Comhdhil
to organise a meeting of the core-funded Sector with the purpose of elicting the views of the Sector. A questionnaire was
also issued by FNG to the organisations to be completed by mid-November 2009. This questionnaire concentrated more
on examples or experience of either co-operation/collaboration with other organisations and the results thereof (advantages,
obstacles); in addition the issue of amalgamation was raised. In response to the request made of it, Comhdhil established
a small Working Group with an independent chair and clear terms of reference which included vision for the future with
regard to the Irish language and the entire voluntary sector, in addition to the more managerial and administrative aspects of
interest to FNG. With funding from FNG this voluntary Group oversaw the production of a report based on interviews with
a large very representative sample of some forty voluntary groups involved with promoting the language (the 19 core-funded
organisations plus 21 others), the results of which were accepted by the Board of Comhdhil and then presented at a meeting
of the Sector in mid-December 2009. This completed the task of the Working Group.
This meeting of the 19 organisations to receive the views of the researcher was, however, overtaken by the NSMC decision
of 2 December 2009 given above. Two processes appeared to be operating totally independently to differing demands and
timetables; one managed by a sole body, FNG, the other a much more complex process involving nineteen autonomous
groups. Clearly, a more integrated joint planning process between FNG and the Sector might have been useful, particularly
given the fairly unrealistic timescale initially set out. Among the salient issues arising from the Sectors independent report (as
given in a later document, I dTreo na Fse, available online) were, in translation:
- High level of agreement among participants.
- High acceptance of change both within the Sector and in FNG itself.
- Acceptance of the need for forms of restructuring within the Sector and in FNG and particularly in the
relationship between the Sector and the State, North and South.
- Need for reaching new level of understanding among all the stakeholders with regard to the importance, the
standing and the image of the Sector.
- Need for autonomy, co-planning and a new approach to funding, (but also of the concept of investment in the
language and not losing the outcomes of investment to date, in people, in skills, in communities).
- Need to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the Sector, as well as those of FNG and the two States.
Discussion documents from the Sector to FNG

The outcome of the mid-December meeting of the Sector, given the circumstances then pertaining, was the establishment
of another Group from within the Sector to consider the report and move matters forward. This was done throughout the
first half of 2010 through the efforts of different groups internal to the Sector. Their work, in comparison to that of FNG,
was concentrated in two documents intended as both a response and a basis for joint discussion with the funder. The first,
I dTreo na Fse (Towards the Vision) February 2010, gave a baseline of guiding principles for the presentation later of the
Sectors various possible frameworks for future restructuring, Athstruchtr na nEagraochta Bunmhaoinithe, May 2010. These
discussion papers were distilled and collated from participants views, over a series of meetings, plenary and other. The possible
scenarios for restructuring were inclusive of some noncore-funded organisations as appropriate. These response documents
were forwarded to FNG in February and early May 2010, in the hope of either initiating joint discussion or inclusion in FNG
thinking on the issue.
I dTreo na Fse [In translation from the online version in Irish]

The introduction to this document seeks ab initio a vision for the future of the language agreed between all the parties involved
- States, state agencies, Voluntary Sector, the Irish community - and then a policy of long term investment in the working out
of that vision, not merely yearly grants. Such an approach would entail multi-annual funding and a fund for one-off projects
as appropriate.
In the interests of efficiency and effectiveness, the Working Group (Meitheal Oibre) set themselves the task of setting out
the guiding principles and criteria for the desirable form of interaction between the Irish Language Voluntary Sector and the
State, North and South, in relation to:
- The funding system of the Irish language Sector.
- Methods of communication in the sector.
- A structure for co-operation.
The following desirable principles were agreed within the Sector on the funding process with FNG; the principles to apply to
both funder and funded, towards the development of a model of mutually agreed best practice.
- Good practice norms within which both funder and funded would function.
- Responsibility on the part of both sides for efficient functioning and reporting.
- Complete transparency.
- Value for money through funders duty to apply funding in the most non-wasteful manner possible and the duty
of the funded to get maximum value from funds provided.
- Equity and non-bias funder subject to basic legal requirements to act in a fair and reasonable manner.
- Integrity by both funder and funded in the uses of public monies.
- Focus on development - through research on problems if required.
- Associations/Partnership among organisations but through appropriate encouragement from funder.
- Autonomy independence of organisations while fully responsible for agreed delivery of commitments.
- Recognition by the funder particularly of the community role of the Sector in the delivery of strategic targets.
- Timeliness particularly of the delivery of agreed funding before commencement of operations.
- Monitoring and Evaluation on the basis of performance indicators agreed with funder together with
independent monitoring of clear measurable targets.
On the issue of communication, the document sought an agreed communications strategy between all parties, State North
and South, state agencies, and the Voluntary Sector in order to demonstrate partnership towards common goals and thus
ensure influence in all sectors of the community.
With regard to a structure for joint co-operation, the document calls for some mechanism to allow what are essentially
partners in the same linguistic endeavour to ensure a joint but differentiated strategy recognised by both States, including a role
for the Sector in strategic funding decisions. The Sector views itself as an essential component of the operation of State policy
in the area of language and community.
Finally, the document calls for a contract between funder and funded to ensure clarity of complementary but
differing roles.
This discussion document was forwarded to FNG in February 2010 but apparently received no active acknowledgement.
Athstruchtr na nEagraochta Bunmhaoinithe (Restructuring of the Core-funded Sector)

The working groups continued their deliberations and collated the various possibilities towards restructuring provided by the
participants into a further document for discussion which was sent to FNG early in May 2010. This document is not in the
public domain. Clearly, given the FNG report and the NSMC decision of later that same month, none of the joint planning
work of the Sector appeared to have had any effect. It would seem that it was not even appropriately discussed with the Sector.
An Fram Comhphleanla (Joint Planning Forum)

In May 2010 also, the 19 organisations had reached a stage where it was decided to formally constitute the core-funded sector
as what it had actually become over the previous months, a Fram Comhphleanla (Joint Planning Forum), service being
provided by the Comhdhil, within its appropriate role. By the end of that month of May, the NSMC had accepted the latest
report from FNG (above), the New Funding Model, based on open schemes which ended the concept of core funding. From
the Hansard Official Reports of the NI Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure (2011) and media sources, the history of the
process becomes clearer. Communications from the Sector were constantly being exchanged with both FNG and its sponsor
departments; in general these sought more complete contextual information on which to base the ongoing planning by the
Sector in response to FNG demands, in particular some indication as to the content of the review report commissioned by
FNG on the sector. The Sector viewed itself as functioning in a vacuum of information from the official side on something
as vital as its own survival or demise. Given the lack of feedback and the subsequent thrust of FNG thinking as revealed in
the New Funding Model, it was clear to the Sector that not alone was any form of co-planning with the funder not being
considered but that their documents appeared either not to have been taken into account or to have been dismissed without
explanation in the FNG process.
In the months following the May decision of the NSMC, as reported in the Irish media September 2010, one organisation
felt that the Forum was losing momentum and that organisations had to fight their individual case. This would, however, have
usually been the position in the sector generally insofar as the representative Comhdhil, for example, would have put forward
to the authorities the agreed common position on specific issues while each constituent member organisation would have made
the case particular to their area of operations. Later, a group within the Forum formed their own partnership, to some extent
in line with the NSMC decision of December 2009. This information appeared in the Irish language media in early August
2011 and later in the minutes of the then newly established Coiste Comhairleach (Advisory Committee) of 20 January 2011.
This group, named as Aontas Phobal na Gaeilge, APG, (Irish Community Union), includes the following organisations listed as
forming the unit: Conradh na Gaeilge, Glr na nGael, Comhluadar, Comhaltas Uladh (4 members of the Forum) and Seachtain
na Gaeilge (of Conradh na Gaeilge). By September 2011, APG were advertising their first public meeting for 30 September
2011, in Galway, with the aim of encouraging collaborative local groups towards both the all-Ireland schemes of FNG and the
regional plans of the 20-Year Strategy.
The Forum, however, representing 80% of the core-funded organisations, continued as forum interacting with officialdom
on behalf of organisations affected by the changes and naming representatives to speak, as appropriate, on their behalf at
meetings or committees convened by the funder: Coiste Forbartha (standing Development Committee) of Foras na Gaeilge;
Coiste Comhairleach formed specifically on developing schemes and criteria for schemes; Cruinnithe Eolais, two information
sessions held on 30 March and 2 June 2011 on the proposed system of schemes.
Demands of the Sector

For many reasons, individual organisations, as well as Comhdhil and Forum had engaged with independent facilitators at their
own meetings. The eventual outcome was a decision by organisations to seek three things: full sight of the FNG consultants report
on the Sector; a hearing (at least) if not participation in the deliberations of the Coiste Forbartha of FNG; and, more importantly,
a change management structure to enable transition on the lines of that apparently advised by the consultants and inserted at the
end of the document on the New Funding Model. These demands were eventually partly met: some of the original report was
made available and some representatives of the Forum were given representation on structures created by FNG.
Schemes and funding: views of the Sector

The concept of Schemes was criticised on the following general grounds in communication from the Forum with Irish language media:
- The difficulty in reconciling the concept of continuous and developing services as those currently provided by
the Sector with a system of occasional transitory schemes as envisaged by FNG.
- The absence of an overall strategy or language planning context for these schemes.
- Investment to date in services and sustainability of linguistic outcomes being put at risk.
- Assertion of future efficiency not proof of efficiency, particularly in the absence of criteria.
But uncertainty of funding led to other more particular challenges highlighted by the organisations including practical
problems involving existing staff. Several organisations had no other legal choice but to give redundancy notice until matters
clarified. In addition, eight of the organisations are specifically listed as funded organisations in a schedule of the British-Irish
Agreement Act (1999), a fact apparently not initially appreciated by Foras na Gaeilge. In fact, the minutes of the Steering
Committee - a newly constituted implementation structure reported in the NSMC communiqu of 3 November 2010 - from
its meeting of 23 May 2011, allude to the department with responsibility for the language in the Republic to be about to seek
legal advice on this provision of the 1999 Act (The legal position, below).
The pressing issue for organisations in a schemes system was that of current staff, specifically:
- Uncertainty with regard to existing contracts, which had been entered into in good faith, being honoured in the
absence of core funding.
- Uncertainty concerning the position of maintaining staff while applying for a scheme which might ultimately be
refused. If staff had been made redundant and a scheme was accepted, legal problems could then arise.
Even more unsettling was the difficulty of maintaining morale and organisational momentum, given the continuing statements
from the NSMC (below) on interim funding but for no more than a six months basis, which eventually proved a rolling
basis until June 2012 (and after). These six monthly reprieves were accompanied by reductions in funding and continual reassessment and redrawing of budgets and plans for lodgement with FNG (where staff had, in turn, to scrutinise them).
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, 26 May 2010
In the context of such agreement being reached by end-June, Ministers agreed that interim funding may be provided
by Foras na Gaeilge to existing funded organisations to end-December 2010. The question of further interim funding
after end-2010 will be considered at the next NCMC meeting in Language format in the light of the progress made
in the interim on implementation.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, 3 Nov 2010
They agreed that, in the context of satisfactory progress on implementation being achieved, interim funding may
continue to be provided by Foras na Gaeilge to existing funded organisations to end May 2011 and progress will be
reported at the next NSMC Language meeting.
NSMC agreed decision 9 February 2011, not issued by way of communiqu, but reported by FNG in the public
Consultation Document issued in March 2011
The NSMC noted the current position in regard to the review of the core-funded bodies. The Ministers agreed that,
in the context of satisfactory progress being achieved, Foras na Gaeilge could continue to provide interim funding to
existing core-funded bodies to end December 2011.
This NSMC meeting of 9 February was, in fact, not in Language, but in Transport, format. At this point in political and cabinet
matters in the Republic, the Transport portfolio had been added to the Department for Language Affairs. It is not unusual for
decisions regarding one sectoral item to be taken by ministers meeting under another sector in order to progress matters.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, 7th July 2011
The Council agreed that, in the context of continuing to achieve satisfactory progress, interim funding may continue
to be provided by Foras na Gaeilge to existing funded organisations until end of June 2012. A further progress report
will be made at the next NSMC meeting in Language Sectoral Format.
Information Sessions on the New Funding Model and associated schemes were provided to the core-funded organisations
by FNG on 30 March and on 2 June 2011. The proposed criteria for the various schemes came under intense discussion as did
articulation between these schemes, provision of a strategic overview from FNG and the operation of the 20-Year Strategy for
Irish in the Republic. These discussions may have assisted FNG in further refining their system of schemes.
Joint change management structure

While coping with these ongoing financial and personnel problems, the Sector had always sought, but more urgently from
May/June 2010 onwards, a joint change management structure or commitee of some kind as a forum to reach accommodation
with the demands of FNG and the organisations own multi-faceted concerns. The concern of the organisations had always
been primarily on the lack of appropriate process, in their view. In October 2010, an Advisory Committee on the suggested
schemes was proposed by FNG and three members invited from the Sector. The other members would be three from FNG and
one each from the two sponsor departments. This development in no way mitigated the surprise of the Sector on reading the
next agreed decision from the NSMC, despite the reference to continued interim funding to end May 2011.
NSMC agreed decision, issued by way of communiqu, 3 November 2010
The Council noted the current position in regard to the review of the corefunded (sic) organisations undertaken
by Foras na Gaeilge. Ministers noted proposals in regard to the enhanced implementation arrangements, including
the appointment of a project manager and establishment of a steering committee and an advisory committeeand
progress will be reported at the next NSMC Language meeting.
The post of project manager was advertised on 31 December 2010, in Irish only, on www.etenders.gov.ie, with a closing
date of 27 January 2011. (Little was heard subsequently of this post although at the March 2011 meeting of the board of FNG,
the CEO spoke to the report from the Development Committee giving this information: there had been no applications for
the post of project manager for the schemes; however an Assistant Principal Officer from the Department of Community,
Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs would undertake the work. Another research post on analysis of feedback from the 2012 public
consultation was advertised a year later, with a final date for applications of 20 February 2012, Public consultation 2012).
The structures, however, appeared to be proliferating:
- Coiste Forbartha (Development Committee) was the standing FNG committee which had been tasked with coordinating the planning on the New Funding Model.
- A steering committee (Coiste Stirtha) and an Advisory Committee (Coiste Comhairleach) were now being set up
for the sole purpose of implementing the NSMC decisions on schemes.
The minutes (some of which are available on the FNG website) of the Coiste Stirtha from its first meeting of 13 December
2010 reveal the following:
- Membership is confined to FNG (2) and sponsor departments (1 from each).
- Terms of reference include oversight of implementation and consultation with parties of interest; monitoring of
progress; agreeing on schemes as financial support schemes.
The Steering Committee also set out the terms of reference for the Advisory Committee:
- to enhance communication between FNG and the Sector;
- to ensure that the views of the Sector are taken into account in the process of change.
This arrangement perhaps provided one response to the demand since May/June 2010 for a joint change management
structure. Indeed, it was described as such by the representative of D/CAL as witness at a meeting of the D/CAL Committee
on 6 June 2011 in his view of the various structures set up.
To address delay in implementing the reviews recommendations and representations by some in the sector about the
level and nature of engagement on the proposed changes, the sponsor Departments established a steering group to
review progress towards the implementation of the review. The steering group meets regularly and comprises senior
officials from the sponsor Departments and the chairperson and chief executive of Foras na Gaeilge.
To ensure that the sector was fully engaged in the change process, the two Departments also instructed Foras na
Gaeilge to form an advisory group comprising the chief executive, officials from both Departments and the 19 core
groups. The purpose of the group is to provide a forum to consider the draft schemes and associated criteria. The
group builds on the existing arrangements with the sector. In addition, two public workshops involving the sector
sharing, discussing and receiving feedback from the emerging proposals have been held by the chief executive.
These workshops may be the Information Sessions on the New Funding Model and associated schemes which were
provided on 30 March and on 2 June 2011. The term workshop may be more appropriate than information session since the
former encapsulates better the intense discussion on criteria for Schemes and other issues raised by the Sector; the latter more
the position of FNG. What is quite clear is that the deliberations of the Sector did not in any material way influence the basic
recommendations of FNG to the NSMC; that consultation involved no more than information post decision-making and
decision-taking; that any input from the Sector at meetings was channelled solely towards content and criteria for the preferred
option, the system of schemes of FNG.

The D/CAL representative further referred to:

the criticism from some in the sector about the nature and level of engagement that there had been with Foras
The two sponsor Departments are satisfied that they have put in place a procedure that ensures effective engagement.
The actual effectiveness of that engagement would, in fact, soon be tested as shown in the following section. Nevertheless,
the constant lobbying of the Core-funded Sector was having an effect.
Three members were to represent the views of the Sector on the Advisory Committee. However, it might appear a little late for
Sectoral views in the process of change since the greatest change had already taken place and views could now influence solely
some aspects of that fundamental change, if at all.
The Sector declined to attend but FNG, nevertheless, held the meeting in their absence and, on the following day, put
the documentation to its Board which passed it, in time to present this draft portfolio of eight open schemes, hopefully for
acceptance by the NSMC at its October 2011 meeting.
Lobbying leading to third consultation

However, such was the level of concern North and South that the NSMC, at this October meeting, noted the progress by FNG
on the schemes but also directed the agency to conduct a further comprehensive twelve-week public consultation exercise. The
NSMC, at its next February 2012 meeting, also allowed core funding for a further period until mid-2013. In the meantime,
until the end of the third consultation on 2 April 2012, the Sector continued its lobbying and set up an online petition to save
the organisations which reached 1,000 signatures by 2 March 2012. However, since consultancy assistance was to be engaged
by FNG on a six-month contract, to analyse feedback from the consultation, it was initially feared that it could be Autumn
2012 before any further decisions took place. The employment of the company, Seirbhs Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning
Services), as occurred, could, of course, serve to shorten this period. The report, when it came, gave a clear picture of the
Sectors concerns.
Twice during February 2012, presentations were made to the relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee by representatives of the

Given the negativity expressed at the public consultation meetings organised by Foras na Gaeilge from 25 February to 14 March
2012, (Maynooth, Tralee, Belfast, Galway, Dublin), comments from FNG representatives ranged from possible change but
no end to the New Funding Model to acknowledgement of problems with the Model and the possibility of having to come
up with another Model. FNG then, in quick succession, announced an end to the New Funding Model in its current form
(29 June 2012) and presented its new Implementation Plan on the review of the core-funded sector to the NSMC on 9 July
2012. This new Plan was eventually published on the agencys website in October following sustained requests for sight of the
document by An Fram as input into any joint meetings on the co-operation of the future as cited in the statement of 29 June
2012. A series of meetings occurred as part of the ongoing consultation stated.
Contacts between the organisations and Foras na Gaeilge and the way forward were reported in the press (Gaelscal, 29
August 2012; Tuarascil, The Irish Times, 3 October 2012) as follows:
- FNG had decided on six themes as the basis for future language activity::
Irish-medium education; Irish in English-medium education and adult education; language awareness raising, language
protection and contact with the two jurisdictions, North and South; community development; youth; support activities and
occasions for use of Irish.



but that the Sector might have succeeded in its lobbying to maintain the concept of core funding in some form.
In the meantime, some organisations were requested to reduce once more their plans and funding for the first six
months of 2013 beyond what had been initially signalled. Discussion continued on the six themes and their possible
operation in the future during November 2012 between FNG and invited organisations chosen by FNG in advance
of the last meeting of the NSMC for 2012.
This meeting took place on 12 December 2012. The new approach put forward by FNG did not receive immediate
While it appeared that some slight reprieve had, in fact, been granted to continue with current structures for the moment,
overall the future was still far from clear at end 2012.
As outlined above under Developments to end 2013, the future was indeed clarified during 2013. Whether that will lead
to a bright new future for Irish speakers cannot be assessed until sufficient time has elapsed to enable comparison to be made.
ACQUISITION
PLANNING:
EDUCATION
In this chapter, an account is given of the current status and position of the Irish language in the education system
including statistics, together with any recent policy changes or proposals which might affect that status.
IRISH EDUCATION IN CONTEXT

GENERAL CONTEXT 2007-2012
The title of the Department of Education was changed to the Department of Education and Science in 1997 (Statutory
Instrument 430 of 1997). It remained unchanged until mid-2010 when it became the Department of Education and Skills
(SI 184 of 2010). The next Coalition (March 2011) made no change of title. The addition of Skills may, however, have led
eventually to changes in the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, as detailed below.
Speaking at a joint Higher Education Authority (HEA)/National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)
conference on 21 September 2011, the Minister for Education gave the current general context as follows:
Recently released OECD figures show that in terms of successful completion of upper secondary programmes, Ireland
is ranked first amongst all OECD countries. Many of those who successfully completed second level will continue to
further studies and up to 70% will enter higher education programmes. This expansion of opportunities and access
to higher education translates into impressively high tertiary attainment rates for the Irish workforce. Latest data
shows that 48% or almost half of all 25-34 year olds in our population have a third-level qualification, placing us
significantly above OECD and EU averages in this regard and fourth in the overall rankings.
In the Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2009-2011 from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland is ranked
joint first in the EU for third-level education attained by the age group 25-34, at 48% (EU average 33%). Census 2011 figures
made available in November 2012 showed a similar picture of increasing educational attainment levels over the years: those
with a third-level qualification rose from 14% to 31% since 1991; the average age of completion of education was just over 19.
However, more women than men had a third-level qualification, 33% to 27%. There was also regional variation in the level of
education attained and the level of parental education was a significant factor.
Nevertheless, debate was not lacking on several related aspects of this same system, instigated in some instances by
employers (particularly of multinationals) and comments to the effect that higher order thinking skills were lacking in those
coming out of the system. Some university staff concurred in relation to first year undergraduates. Blame was apportioned
across a range of variables including rote learning, cramming for examinations, grade inflation, and the points system for entry
to third level. Criticism received a further boost with a fall in performance from 15-year-olds in literacy and mathematics in
the OECD tests as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA, 2010-2011). All these factors led to
discussion on both policy and curricular changes, detailed below. Information on recent legislative changes, on statistics and
on expenditure is also found below, as is all current information relating to the Irish language in education.

Three factors in particular had, or were intended to have, far-reaching effects on the educational system in the period under
review. The first was, of course, the results of decline in State expenditure and the accompanying moves towards rationalisation
across the board; the second was more concerned with the nature, quality and governance of education in light of changing
demographics coupled with the perceived needs of the economy; issues of literacy and numeracy received much prominence
also. For the Irish language in education, much hope was pinned on the provisions of the 20-Year Strategy for the language.
LEGISLATION
The particular pieces of educational legislation which had most effect in the period 2007-2012 arose largely from two factors
of the recession: the Special Group (McCarthy or An Bord Snip) Report on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure of July
2009 together with the emphasis on rationalisation through reducing or amalgamating the number of public bodies as initially
advised by the OECD. Aspects of these matters are also discussed in Chapter 3, Funding. While eventual introduction of this
legislation occurred under the new Coalition of March 2011, preparation had already been to some extent in train under the
previous administration.
Vocational Education sector

The vocational sector, as part of the State sector, comprises vocational education committees (VECs) which are locally based
largely on a county structure and which tend to have a party political membership since some members are elected through the
county councils. The sector comes under the Vocational Education Act 1930 and other amendments made in the 1990s and has
statutory responsibility for providing vocational and continuation education and training. The 1930 Act was unusual enough at
its time in the Republic, occurring as it did during the Great Depression, as the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA)
pointed out in its submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education in September
2011. Recent statistics showed 254 schools, titled vocational schools or community colleges, serving almost 115,000 students
at second level. All schools at second level now have a common curriculum. The sector, depending on locality, will also be
engaged with further and continuing education, and especially with community and back to school education projects. Since
2008, some VECs (Dublin, Meath, Kildare) have been involved in community primary education (five schools). VECs also
administered the third level grants system for eligible students in their area; this is due for rationalisation (late 2011). The sector
is funded almost solely by the State although the shortfall is made up by initiatives of the VECs themselves.

The composition of VECs allows for elected and appointed members. With regard to Irish, there is provision in the amended
Act of 2001 for the appointment by the county/borough council of a representative nominated by voluntary organisations,
community organisations or Irish language interests, from among a list of categories of such community representatives.
There is a similar type reference under Composition in the proposed General Scheme of a Bill to establish new Education and
Training Boards (October 2011), which would subsume the VECs. It does not, however, in its present form, specify Irish
language interests:
(5) The Minister shall, for the purpose of subhead (1( (d), specify a number of bodies which, in his or her opinion,
have a special interest in or knowledge related to education and training.
The Bill (number 83 of 2012) was eventually introduced in Dil ireann on 2 October 2010.
The 38 existing VECs were reduced to 33 in the amendments made in the 1990s which amalgamated some city or town
VECs with the county VEC. The 33 comprised 27 county VECs (Tipperary having North and South Ridings), 5 city and
1 borough VEC. The July 2009 McCarthy Report had proposed reduction of these 33 VECs to 22. By October 2010, the
previous administration was proposing a reconfiguration to 16 VECs to serve the country. (At that time, the then Opposition
spokesperson on Education, who later became Minister, expressed his concern that another expensive entity would result as
had happened in the case of the Health Service Executive). Despite misgivings, the representative IVEA, by April 2011, had
eventually accepted rationalisation and proposed a revised figure of 20 VECs. On 29th June 2011, the decision of the new
Government remained at 16 entities but in a different configuration from that of the previous administration and containing
11 of the 20 proposals of the IVEA in April.
One of the main arguments of the IVEA against rationalisation had centred on the proposed regionalisation of VEC
structures as against local education authorities, closely aligned with their local communities; for the first time in 80 years some
counties would have no local VEC. The Departmental stance was made clear in an address to the Joint Oireachtas Committee
on Jobs, Social Protection and Education on 27th July 2011. Reduction was
consistent with the policy of seeking to reduce the number of agencies. It [was] also consistent with the strategic
objectives of the transforming public service agenda since it enables service delivery by a smaller number of agencies,
each benefiting from efficiencies through greater scale.
Recognition was given to the importance of consultation with stakeholders in relation to the detailed implementation of this
decision.
Commitment to consult the Joint Committee on the proposed legislation to implement the Governmental decision was
given and welcomed by the Oireachtas Committee:
Officials are also working on the preparation of new legislation that will through one bill bring together the provisions
of the existing 9 Vocational Acts. The objective is to have heads of bill for approval by the Government in the Autumn
and the Minister has indicated that it is his intention to provide the heads to this Committee for its consideration.
A press statement was issued on behalf of the Committee regarding this commitment.
This is a very welcome development and will allow members of the Committee to provide meaningful input into the
legislation, make observations and suggestions before the bill comes before the Dil and Seanad.
In fact, on 17 October 2011, the Minister announced the referral of the General Scheme of an Education and Training Boards
Bill to the Joint Committee, commenting as follows:
This is a new way of doing business on legislationTraditionally a Joint Committee would not have sight of proposed
legislation until the Bill, as drafted by the parliamentary draftsman and cleared by Government, became available.
The Bill was to be introduced to the Oireachtas in early 2012. It is on the list of legislation for 2012, expected mid-year. It
eventually reached First Stage in the Dil on 2 October 2012.
In relation to Irish, Several of the newer second level Irish-medium schools are administered by local VECs. Whether any
new arrangements may be made for them is a matter for discussion. In addition, useful general references to the language in
previous legislation now to be revoked may not necessarily find expression in the new Bill even after amendments, particularly
given the history of amendments in other debates on other legislation in very recent times.
On 1 November 2011, the Minister acted on another commitment of the Programme for Government, devolution of
responsibility for school building projects. Within budget parameters set by the Department, 28 new schools to cater for an
expanding school population will be project-managed by 13 existing VECs and one County Council.
Future Development of the Further Education and Training (FET) sector

The VEC sector is involved in the further education and training sector. The IVEA had then no small interest in the functions
of the proposed 16 new regional structures, particularly since it was understood that these might be called Local Education and
Training Boards. How expanded functions for these local education authorities might be expressed in the new legislation to
replace all nine vocational educational acts since 1930 was a particular concern. However, these views had also to be placed in
the ambitious context of two further proposals from the Minister: the rationalisation through legislation of further education
awards and qualifications bodies under the aegis of the Department and the establishment of a new body for the FET (Further
Education and Training) sector to be known as SOLAS (Light).
On 21 July 2011, a Bill was presented in the Seanad on behalf of the Minister for Education entitled Qualifications and
Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011. By early 2012, this was at Committee stage in the Houses of the
Oireachtas and reached Act stage by 22 July 2012. This legislation is intended to establish a new authority, dars na hireann
um Chilochta agus Dearbh Cilochta, (Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland) to replace three existing
bodies: the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland; the Higher Education and Training Awards Council; the Further
Education and Training Awards Council. To this end, it was necessary to repeal the Qualifications (Education and Training)
Act 1999 and to amend, inter alia, the Higher Education Authority Act 1971, the Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992 and
the Universities Act 1997.
In a Cabinet reshuffle of 23 March 2010, under the previous administration, the then Department of Education and
Science became the Department of Education and Skills with the addition of a range of training programmes formerly under
the aegis of a quango, FS. FS (1988) was a government agency established through the Labour Services Act 1987. It had
responsibility for provision of services and training programmes for persons seeking employment. Its board of ministerial
appointees comprised employer and trade union representatives. In the redistribution of departmental functions made by the
new Coalition of March 2011, the employment services and programmes of the training body FS were transferred to the
Department of Social Protection under its new National Employment and Entitlements Service, although temporarily held
by the Department of Education and Skills (DES) until transfer. However, the educational training functions of FS together
with the Further Education programmes of the Vocational Educational Committees remained with the DES and were the
focus of the next major educational policy change described by the Minister in his address to the Oireachtas Joint Committee
on Jobs, Social Protection and Education on 20 September 2011 in the following terms:
These changes represent the most significant change in the Further Education sector in over 70 years and the most significant
change in the Training sector since the establishment of FS itself over 20 years ago.
The term FET (Further Education and Training) would be a comprehensive concept for the future.
The organisational changes comprised the proposed creation of a new authority called SOLAS (Light) to be responsible
for the coordination and funding of Further Education and Training, the eventual abolition of FS, and the VECs to
become responsible for the delivery of all publicly-funded further education and training programmes. This development was
announced in late July 2011. The Minister for State spoke of duplication and rigidity in the existing system. In preparation for
this move, a representative of the IVEA had been put on the Board of FS and the members of the current FS Board would
finish their term of office as members of the SOLAS Board.
SOLAS, as a single, coherent national management structure, was intended to ensure the delivery of a quality, modern,
relevant FET service to learners and jobseekers. In the structure as envisaged by the Minister in his explanation to the Oireachtas
Committee:
- the Department of Education and Skills and the Government would define the broad strategy and national
priorities, decide on the funding level, develop the legislative framework and oversee implementation;
- SOLAS would in turn enter into annual Service Level Agreements with VECs, Skillnets and other bodies for the
delivery of specific FET programme outputs for specified financial allocations;
- the role of SOLAS for the FET sector would be akin to the role of the HEA for the higher education sector and
would be staffed mostly by former FS Head Office staff.
Since the Government wished the implementation of this significant change process to be largely complete by end-2012,
steps were taken to meet this timeline. A SOLAS Implementation Group was established, comprising the DES, FS and the
IVEA chaired by the Minister for State with responsibility for Training and Skills, and began its deliberations on 31 August
2011 on a Draft Action Plan which would then be offered for consultation to stakeholders. From 2012 onwards, SOLAS would
gradually become responsible for the allocation of funding towards the provision of FET services.
Implementation would also require legislation. This would entail amendments to the Labour Services Acts, the Vocational
Education Acts and the Education Act. Publication of the new legislation was intended in early 2012. It is on the list of
legislation for 2012.
While the IVEA had been dismayed by the reduction to 16 regional bodies of the 33 VECs, the representative organisation
greeted the new arrangements under SOLAS with no small degree of satisfaction, as expressed in their submission to the
Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education on 21 September 2011.
The ground-breaking announcement in July 2011 by Minister Quinn of the establishment of the new Further
Education and Training Authority, SOLAS, heralds one of the most significant reforms in the Irish education system
for decades IVEA has long sought the establishment of a FET sector in Ireland, and this deep-rooted re-alignment
of a distinct Further Education and Training sector is the most significant educational infrastructural reform in
decades. This is not fully appreciated by those unfamiliar with FET, who believe that SOLAS is simply FS by another
nameNothing could be further from the truth.. For decades, Further Education (FE) has been the Cinderella of the
Irish education system, existing on the margins as an extension of the second-level sector. Now to be twinned with the
training sector from FS, the proposed FET model more closely reflects the vision of the founders of the Vocational
Education system in Ireland IVEA welcomes the mainstreaming of Further Education and Training as a distinct
sector, side by side with other education sectors.
While welcoming the fact that the 16 new regional Local Education and Training Boards would be responsible for most of the
FET programmes under the aegis of SOLAS, nevertheless the IVEA was also aware of the seachange ahead.
Reform of this magnitude will challenge us all, especially our member VECs, which will simultaneously be engaged
in a very difficult aggregation processRestructuring the current 33 VECs into 16 proposed LETBs, while at the
same time establishing an integrated FET sector, presents very significant challenges for our member VECs, and the
difficulties of these twin challenges must not be underestimatedTime is of the essence, and the reform programme
must be agreed and implemented as soon as possible.
While aware of the new agenda, the IVEA also emphasised the basic needs.
SOLAS is now charged with ensuring that jobseekers and other learners have the necessary skills for the new type
of jobs that can be created in growth industries such as pharmaceuticals, information technology, services and green
industry. However, the on-going need for literacy, numeracy and basic education skills, must remain a key objective
of any education and training strategy so that all skills levels are addressed. VECs will continue to integrate literacy
across all education programmes and their first and second-level schools and centres of education.
The Education (Amendment) Bill 2012

The Education (Amendment) Bill 2012 is to amend the Teaching Council Act 2001 on the registration of teachers and the
Education Act 1998 towards the rationalisation of support services It also repeals legislation relating to some now defunct
bodies. The Order for the Second Stage of this Bill was issued (early 2012). However, it is the sections which give more power
to the Minister of Education and to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to deploy teachers which has caused
concern to some trustees mindful of the characteristic spirit (Education Act 1998) of the schools in their trusteeship.
STATISTICS
The table shows the current numbers from the available DES Statistics of 1 September 2011.
Schools, students and levels 2010-2011

Level
Schools
Students
First Level
3,305
509,652
Primary
3,165
502,474
Special
140
7,718
Second level
729
356,107
Secondary
383
186,622
Vocational
254
114,761
92
54,724
University Sector
88,308
Technology Sector
15
62,114
Total
22
150,422
Teacher Training
N/A as yet
Other
N/A as yet
Community & Comprehensive

Third-Level
These statistics refer to institutions aided by the DES.

Speaking at the MacGill Summer School 2011, the Minister for Education gave the following statistics on projected
increases in students. Infrastructural developments will, therefore, be required.
Level
Projected increase
Primary
555,000 by 2018
Second level
342,000 by 2018
Third-Level
213,500 by autumn 2017
An interesting table from the DES statistics reveals the demographics by decade.
Level/Year
1970/1971
1980/1981
1990/1991
2000/2001
2010/2011
First Level
502,590
551,319
543,744
439,560
509,652
Second level
206,540
297,747
343,045
346,403
356,107
Third-Level
24,680
40,613
68,165
119,991
*N/A as yet
*For all institutions

The underlined table for second level 2000/2001 is given as 345,384 in the composite table 1990/1991 to 2000/2001 on the
Departments website.
A press release from the Department of 1st November 2011 (on devolution of building projects) refers, inter alia, to
the highest number of births per quarter recorded since the CSO series began as having occurred in the first quarter of 2011
at 19,950 births. This, according to the press release, reinforces the Departments own projections of an additional 30,850
primary school pupils between 2011 and 2014 together with a further 14,200 between 2014 and 2018. It also states that total
primary enrolments fell from a high of 567,600 in 1986 to a low of 439,600 in 2001. With an increasing birth rate, total
primary enrolments are projected to grow from the current 509,650 to 554,700 in 2018.
At second level, an additional 24,900 pupils is projected between 2011 and 2017 with a further increase of 40,800
between 2017 and 2024 (an overall increase of 65,700 to 2024). The increase in enrolment at second level began in 2006 with
increasing births and immigration.

These demographic factors, allied with the changing ethnic composition of the school population, together with reductions
in State expenditure until 2014/2015 at least, led to an increased emphasis on policy in education.
STATE EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION
The average spend on education across OECD countries is 6.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Ireland is reported
close to the bottom of the table at 4.7%. The current Minister for Education gave a wide-ranging address to the McGill
Summer School 2011 in which he asked for a national debate on spending priorities. He pointed out the disparity between the
percentage of gross exchequer expenditure on education now compared with the mid-1990s:
Then
Now
Social Welfare
22%
36%
Health
21%
25%
Education
19%
16%
However, perhaps it is not so much the 3% decrease in education that is significant but the increase in social welfare which
is partially explained by the recession.
Comparison between year-on-year budgets for the DES is complicated by transfers in and out of certain functions. In
March 2010, the Skills Development Programme came in from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment; Skills
replaced Science in the title of the department at that date. In 2011 employment-related services and programmes of Skills
Development went out to a new unit in the Department of Social Protection and the National Education and Welfare Board
was transferred to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
The Further Revised Estimates for 2011 placed by the Minister before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Social
Protection and Education on 5 July 2011 had drawn public criticism for savings to be attained through:
- reduction in teacher numbers through various measures (700 primary and 500 post-primary) but the addition
of 875 new posts due to demographics, leaving a net reduction of 325 posts
- the number of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) capped at 10,575
- the allocation of Resource/Learning Support hours capped at 9,950 whole-time posts, from 9,600 in 2010
- in Higher Education, replacement of the 1,500 Student Services Charge by a flat Student Contribution Charge
of 2,000 from the academic year 2011-2012.
These reductions would affect the teaching of Irish in schools (bigger classes, less teachers, less teaching time, less time for
extra-curricular activities) and Irish-medium schools and institutions.
The figures below are from the Revised Estimates for Public Services, 21 July 2011, produced by the new Coalition. The
2010 outturn is shown in brackets. The totals for some comparable sub-head are given. The overall total for the department
was given as 8,279,419,000.
Department of Education and Skills: Revised Estimates July 2011

Sub-head
Allocation
First Level (+3%)
3,025,169,000 (2,999,364,000)
Second Level (+1%)
2,988,978,000 (2,961,595,000)
Within these total figures, the following drew unfavourable comment:

- 3% reduction in capitation grants towards the operating costs of primary schools
- 2% reduction in grants to secondary schools
- 1% reduction in VEC grants
- 5% reduction in grants towards operating costs of Comprehensive and Community schools.
In addition, allocations to the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which provides both current and capital funding to
designated third-level institutions, also suffered reductions:
- reduction of 6% in current grants allocation
- reduction of 65% in capital allocation.
Capital services in toto for the Department fell by 19%.
With regard to Irish language, the grants payable to managers of schools at second level where the medium of instruction
is Irish also fell, although the reasons are not entirely clear.
Additional Grants payable to Irish and Bilingual Schools (Second Level)

2010
489,000
2011
440,000
The annual subvention to COGG (Council for Irish-medium education), as given in its Tuarascil (Report) for 2010, was as
follows.
Buisad (Budget)
Year
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Budget 253,396 291,501 417,463 721,704 983,560 1.245m 1.245m 1.238m 1.234m 1.386m
plus
*1.1m
*The additional grant in 2010 was contingent on implementation of the 20-Year Strategy which was, in fact, delayed.
IRISH LANGUAGE CONTEXT 2007-2011
This third contextual factor with respect to education in Ireland, from the Irish language viewpoint, was the attention given
to all aspects of acquisition planning through education in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish of the previous administration
(December 2010), accepted almost in toto by the current Coalition. Since this provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the
field with regard to Irish, it is placed at the beginning of the next section. Changes occurring in 2011 and after may then be
compared to that context.
Research publications on Irish

Several publications reporting on aspects of Irish language learning and teaching appeared in the period 2007-2011 and earlier.
These included:
- Beginning to Teach (2005); An Ghaeilge sa Bhunscoil (Irish in the Primary School, 2007) and Ag Breathn ar an
nGaeilge sa tSraith Shisearach (Irish at Junior Cycle, 2007), all from the Inspectorate of the Department.
- Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for the National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (NCCA), third volume 2007.
- Language Education Policy Profile, Ireland (Council of Europe, 2007).
Other publications appeared on aspects of Irish-medium education. Recent work on literacy is found below.
The implications of other policy shifts and legislative changes for the status of Irish in the education system, the full
implications of some of which still remain unclear, are recounted throughout this chapter.
ACQUISITION PLANNING THROUGH EDUCATION

Context
The general context for the proposed actions of the Strategy in education stem from two sources: the three principles pertaining
to education in the Government Statement of December 2006 and three research reports on Irish in the education system. The
former reiterated the official position on Irish continuing to remain part of the taught curriculum, as an obligatory subject,
from primary until Leaving Certificate level, with the promise of enhanced investment in support services; support for Irishmedium education at primary and postprimary levels where parents/guardians desire it; support and development for Irish at
pre-school and at third level. The research refers to reports from Inspectors on unsatisfactory levels of achievement in Irish at
primary level; to the Harris report which gave a broadly similar picture of declining levels of achievement among pupils and of
standards among teachers; to reports on lack of oral ability among junior cycle post-primary students.
It is noted that the Teaching Council are now engaged on a review of the appropriateness of current initial teacher
education at primary and post-primary levels for the needs of today.
The Strategy also draws on the proposals in the advisory report commissioned from Fiontar, Dublin City University,
repeating the belief that the education system is one of the critical engines on which the Strategy is premised. In fact, the
Fiontar report regarded education as the critical engine for generating linguistic capacity.
The Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht (2007) had outlined a series of recommendations for
education in the Gaeltacht, calling for radical change. Unfortunately, the Strategy is much less radical in its proposals.
Preschool education
The significance of opportunities for early language education is recognised and proposals made in relation to an Irish-language
dimension being introduced in all pre-school and crche facilities through the provision of materials and training support for
personnel and with the declared intention of having some level of such provision in all localities.
Primary education
Under curriculum for Irish, the Strategy recognises that the latest primary school curriculum for Irish published by the National
Council for Curriculum and Assessment a number of years ago is well based but now, for purposes of the Strategy, requires more
explicit formulation of its linguistic objectives. For schools in which Irish is a core subject but not a medium of instruction,
the development of what is described as partial immersion or teaching some segment of the overall curriculum through Irish
is advocated. It is recognised that this approach is highly dependent on improving teacher competence and the provision of
materials. The Strategy does not refer, however, to the same advice given in the current primary curriculum on using Irish as
medium for other curricular areas. Internationally, such an approach is considered integral to the communicative approach to
language teaching (on which both primary and postprimary language courses in Irish schools are based); one exponent of it is
described as CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning).
Post-primary education
In reference to curriculum for Irish, the Strategy reiterates the change to emphasis on oral skills as shown in the recent policy
of changed weighting in the marking in state examinations across the four language skills.
National assessment
Primary
Reference is made to standardised tests in Irish being developed at present. It was unclear whether these differentiated between
Irish-medium education and schools where Irish is subject only.
Post-primary
Two proposals are made: that the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFP) be considered in defining communicative
standards for assessment; that oral testing will be introduced at junior cycle through a system of local in-school assessment with
external moderation.
Teacher education
Mainstream Primary
Given the importance of teachers competent in the language and of forging links between school and the external youth
environment, the statutory Teaching Council will work progressively to raise standards through a series of measures. These
include specifically improved or new courses, scholarships and a differentiated intake of students.
The proposed developments would comprise:
For trainee teachers
- strengthened standards across all colleges of education in the professional course in Irish (Gaeilge Ghairmiil);
intensive Irish courses as appropriate; some other areas of the teacher education curriculum to be delivered
through Irish; a new optional specialisation in Irish-medium teaching (partial or total immersion) to be
developed;
- the duration of the Gaeltacht attendance to be increased and defined course content to be introduced;
- initiatives to increase the number of high performers in Irish to teacher training (up to 20% of places) whether
from Gaeltacht, Irish-medium or other schools.
For practising teachers
a new Gaeltacht scholarship scheme.Irish-medium Primary and Post-primary
The need for specialist preparation for teaching in an Irish-medium context was recognised through proposals for new courses:
- development of new post-graduate qualifications: Diploma in Irish Language Education (Primary) and PostGraduate Diploma in Education through Irish (Postprimary);
- continuing professional development inservice courses delivered locally or online.
Support system
General
The support system envisaged covers a range of measures:
- a recognition scheme for good practice in schools;
- provision of educational resources;
- review of the exemption from studying Irish to ensure decision on objective linguistic criteria;
- support for parents and all types of childcare professionals in maintaining and developing their Irish language skills;
- advice and support on bilingualism involving Irish for professionals working with children;
- a scholarship scheme to allow children from disadvantaged areas attend Gaeltacht courses;
- for Summer Irish Colleges, increased funding and a more coherent curriculum to include peer and familyoriented use of Irish after the course experience.
Irish-medium
In addition to tendering for the new courses, tenders would be sought from the relevant educational institutions for a National
Centre for Irish-medium Teacher Professional Development.
Links to use of Irish out of school

Extending linguistic competence to actual use in the external youth culture is considered crucial. To this end, ICT and the Arts
are seen as useful allies. The Strategy proposes partnership between education and relevant agencies and services in the visual
and performing arts in local area language plans
Third-level education
General
The Strategy provides for continued support and development for adult programmes in Irish and for professional specialisations
across the sector, university and non-university.
Irish-medium
It is noted that a strategic coordinated high quality approach is required. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) will be
funded to put such a programme in place. Fragmentation and duplication are to be avoided. Accreditation in Professional Irish
courses for the professions must be ensured as part of the diversification of courses.
Academic
In the pursuit of excellence in Celtic Studies, both in teaching and in research, the work of the Dublin Institute of Advanced
Studies and of the universities is a base on which to build.
Abroad
In 2006, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs a scheme to encourage Irish courses in third-level
institutions outside Ireland. This dedicated fund will be further developed as will those in collaboration with the Fulbright
Commission and with the Ireland Canada University Foundation. Currently over 30 institutions globally are participating in
the scheme.
Adult education
For the first time, an agreed national programme for Irish in the informal sector will be provided, with accreditation, and
catering for all levels.
FIONTAR REPORT: ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Department of Education and Science (DES) [now Education and Skills]

As has been sought over many years for the most effective co-ordinated development of Irish-medium education and of Irish
across the system, the Fiontar report recommends the appointment of a Minister for State with these specific responsibilities.
This recommendation is not included in the Strategy.
An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaochta (COGG)

This body was established as an agency attached to the DES in order to service Irish-medium education and Irish in the system.
The McCarthy report (Chapter 3: Funding), in its cost cutting exercise, recommended that its functions be subsumed back
into the DES. To the contrary, the Fiontar report, perhaps given the reaction of the language community to the McCarthy
view, recommends that COGG be made a statutory body with a specific funding vote within the DES budget and that the body
be tasked with devising an incremental programme towards converting learners into routine users.
20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030 SOME ADDITIONAL PROPOSALS
While these additional recommendations given below from the 20-Year Strategy are aimed primarily at language acquisition
and transmission in the nexus of home/family/community, they are also clearly intermeshed with proposals in education. For
that reason, they are given here in Chapter 4, Education.
Context
There are many areas in which the State can play a very decisive official role through linguistic policy. In matters affecting the
private life of family, neighbourhood and community, however, the States role is more one of support and information. On
the other hand, since language revitalisation is crucially dependent on family transmission through the linguistic choices made
by parents for their children, State language policy cannot omit this vital part of the process. Additionally, it is in the family
and neighbourhood that cultural socialisation is fostered. In the Government Statement of 2006, encouragement, support,
services for families were quoted. The Strategy spells these out in more detail as follows.
Aims
The twin aims are stated in terms of support for families attempting to bring up their children through Irish and the promotion
of an understanding of the practical implications of bilingualism in the family setting, including awareness raising of the
advantages of bilingualism among the public at large and among care professionals in particular. The situation where only one
parent is an Irish speaker receives attention also.
Proposals
These are directed at families and service providers both in and outside the Gaeltacht:
- the existing scheme of cntir teanga (language assistants) in Gaeltacht schools to now be available to all Irishmedium schools;
- differentiated forms of support to be available for local family networks, for the extended family (grandparents),
for families where only one parent is an Irish speaker;
- language awareness programmes to be initiated for care professionals;
- the Irish Summer Colleges programmes to be more oriented towards family use.
Interestingly, a new function is proposed for the agency which at that time was intended to subsume dars na Gaeltachta:
- the functions of current county childcare committees for Irish language provision will be discharged in future
through the new dars na Gaeilge.
In the reversion back to the original dars na Gaeltachta under the new Coalition policy of June 2011, no indication was given
that these arrangements on childcare would in fact operate, despite the Gaeltacht agencys involvement in preschool funding.
POLICY CHANGES IN DIFFERENT AREAS 2007-2012

Over the period 2007-2012, and beginning in 2010 and 2011, as the recession bit, changes were signalled or were initiated
across many areas of education. These are detailed in various sections below. Speaking in the Dil on 28 October 2010,
in advance of the Budget for 2011 and the Four Year Plan in preparation at that time, the then Minister for Education of
the Fianna Fil/Green Party Coalition pointed to elements of change then implemented or planned, many of which were
continued, albeit sometimes in a differing format, by the subsequent Fine Gael/Labour Party administration. Her comments
appear below.
THE CROKE PARK AGREEMENT
Without going into precise detail, this agreement on public sector pay and conditions included teaching personnel at all levels
of the education system. The previous Minister referred to it in her October 2010 speech in these terms:
In education, its full acceptance and implementation will ensure considerable reform and secure additional productivity
from teachers and lecturers. It will bring visible benefits to parents and students as activities which up to now required
school closures will be carried out without a loss of school time. For example, its implementation will secure an
additional hour every week from teachers and lecturers. It will see teachers who participate in the supervision and
substitution scheme being available for a third period of supervision each week. It will allow for the implementation
of a much-needed scheme of redeployment at second level. It will allow for a wider review of the teaching contract
and will also allow for more flexibility in the delivery of courses at third level. These are significant reforms that will
result in welcome flexibility and productivity gains across the sector, the value of which should not be underestimated.
Clearly, the scale of change would have repercussions across the entire education sector. One of those changes lay in the
removal of the Gaeltacht grant to trainee teachers.
General
Since her appointment in March 2010 (when a Cabinet reshuffle occurred), the Minister told the Dil in her October 2010
speech that she had instigated a programme of quiet but substantive reform, the results of which she listed thus:
- implementation of a new system of induction and probation for teachers;
- parents and students being given a greater say in whole school evaluations;
- a new framework for the recognition of patronage at second level;
- the introduction of bonus points for achievement in higher level maths [to come into effect 2012];
- greater involvement of the private sector in the provision of training for the unemployed;
- the decision to have a smaller number of stronger Vocational Education Committees (VECs).
Additionally she intended to:
- restructure the higher education sector;
- provide for a renewed and freshly mandated training agency;
- to have more education services be delivered and managed through the new strengthened VECs.
She went on to comment that:
- the time was right for an overhaul of teacher education and the need to implement significant changes
inparticular [for] post-primary teacher [training];
- [and for] considerable curricular reforms.
This programme of reform, which included the first iteration of a national policy on literacy and numeracy, continued,
albeit with some additional changes, under the next Minister of the incoming administration of March 2011. Areas of
significance to Irish are discussed throughout the Chapter under the various policy initiatives.
Irish language
The National Induction Programme for Teachers (at both primary and post-primary levels) did, in fact, pay particular attention
to the teaching of Irish through in-school mentoring and the programmes run by the network of Teacher Centres. The existing
national support service for both primary and post-primary teachers did likewise. In fact, the first Minister for Education (of
three) appointed by the Coalition of 2007-2011 had launched a support programme for Irish, Ts Maith (Good Beginning),
at the 2006 Congress of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO). This was implemented by the national support
service. Its aims included:
- enhancement of primary teachers competence and confidence in their Irish language skills;
- training in the Irish language curriculum for primary education;
- enhancement of the professional skills of teachers.
In 1999, both the Primary Curriculum Support Programme (PCSP) and the School Development Planning Support (SDPS)
were set up in the wake of the revised /new Primary School Curriculum (Department of Education, 1999). In mid-2008, these
were amalgamated to form one body, the Primary Professional Development Service (PPDS) with the aim of supporting the
development of schools as professional learning communities. The next step was amalgamation of all support bodies at both
primary and post-primary level into the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST). This includes the Second-Level
Support Service (SLSS) which operates on a subject basis in which support for teachers of Irish is included through An tSeirbhs
Thacaochta Dara Leibhal don Ghaeilge (2007). These support systems are funded by the Department through the National
Development Plan and staffed largely by teachers on secondment.

Information on curricular change is found under Curricula below.
Changes affecting Irish-medium education are recounted below in the relevant section
General
The general outline of Coalition reforms in education appeared in the Programme for Government of the post February 2011
General Election (Introduction, Programme for National Recovery; Fine Gael Policy in Coalition 2011 below). The more
salient of these are repeated below, Irish language. However, the Labour Minister for Education, while continuing much of
what his predecessors had in train (the previous administration had three Ministers for Education) but with additional changes
in the areas of Further Education legislation; Higher Education Strategy; Literacy and Numeracy; Patronage; Review of the
Junior Certificate; Teacher Education, also introduced some additional and other quite radical moves towards policy, some of
which are treated further on in this chapter. The following policies were also introduced:
- inspection of second level teachers without any advance warning as is already the case in primary education
(June 2011), following consultation; it was hoped to implement this policy by end 2011 [whole school
evaluations or WSE of management, leadership and learning or MLL were introduced in 2008 and reports
published on-line];
- reforming the Junior Certificate examination (already in train);
- introduction of upskilling courses for under-qualified teachers of Mathematics at second level, particularly at
Leaving Certificate level to meet what the media described as the crisis in the subject (September 2011).
The National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM) had already in 2007 established a Maths Support Centre for its own
students and a service for students from local second level schools; in October 2010 it announced in-service courses for second
level teachers, to commence in early 2011, in the curricular content and proposed pedagogy for the course, Project Maths,
then newly introduced.
Two other issues received attention from the Minister in 2011. As promised in the Labour Partys manifesto before the
February Election, a National Forum on Patronage and Pluralism (some changes were in train by the previous administration)
in the primary sector was announced on 28 March 2011. It reported in Autumn 2011 and advised, in general, a gradualist
approach to the provision of more choice to parents through the proposed transfer of schools currently under the patronage
of the Catholic Church. The Minister had initially proposed a more radical approach. An Foras Ptrnachta, patron body for
many Irish-medium schools, was specifically included among the small group to give evidence to the Forum.
A Discussion Paper on a Regulatory Framework for School Enrolment was open to public consultation from mid-June up to
8 October 2011. An appeals process has been available to parents since 2002.
Irish language
The scheme of encouraging the take-up of higher-level Mathematics at Leaving Certificate through bonus points from 2012,
mooted by the previous administration (August 2010) and generally accepted by the universities, was accepted by the new
administration. Since a proportion of students, on the basis of time constraints on the one hand and additional valuable points
on the other, might make a decision to take higher level mathematics instead of higher level Irish, this policy could well subvert
the stated policy in the Programme for Government of the incoming Coalition, March 2011 to double the numbers taking
higher level Irish. However, an online survey (August 2010) by Engineers Ireland when the policy was first announced found
that the prospect of bonus points for higher level mathematics was not apparently sufficient to entice students currently taking
the Ordinary Level in Mathematics. In 2012, however, so many students availed of the bonus points that the whole system
of third-level entry based on points was in danger of being subverted. A re-think is apparently ongoing with the bonus points
perhaps being restricted in future to students who intend to follow Mathematics-based courses of study at third level.
The following extracts are fromTowards Recovery: Programme for a National Government 2011-2011 in the section entitled
An Ghaeilge agus an Ghaeltacht (Irish Language and the Gaeltacht) where apparently two separate policy areas were intended.
While no mention was made of removing Irish as a core subject at Leaving Certificate level, some read ominous undertones in
the statement:
We will aim to double the proportion of Irish students sitting the Higher Level Leaving Certificate (LC) exam by
2018.
The section on language also made reference to the following points, all of which could, actually or potentially, have effects
on Irish in the education system and beyond; comments are made within square brackets:
Education
- a thorough reform of the Irish curriculum and the way it is taught at primary and second levels with more
emphasis on oral and aural skills; 50% of marks for the oral component of the LC examination;
20-Year Strategy
- support for the Strategy and delivery on the achievable goals and targets proposed; Gaeltacht
- delivery of new job creation prospects; investment in energy, broadband and water infrastructure; support for
jobs in tourism and marine activities [which require training];
- continued support [these domains feed into and provide a context for Irish in social/community/school life];
Legislation
- review of the Official Languages Act to ensure expenditure on the language is best targeted towards the
development of the language and that obligations are imposed appropriately in response to demand from
citizens [any diminution of rights would be detrimental; the public sector, legal system and Oireachtas all
influence perceptions, competence, use and employment];
Voluntary sector
- review of the current investment and funding programmes in order to achieve visible value for money for
citizens and tangible outcomes on a transparent basis [several organisations are engaged with educational aims
for Irish teaching/learning; Irish-medium education; Gaeltacht education; supports for students through clubs
and extra-curricular activities].
since it forms part of the Strategy. Elements of the public sector may have found the demands of the Official Languages Act
out of kilter with the actual response of citizens; translation of documents had been often cited by certain commentators.
Nevertheless, the duty of the State, the demands of citizens, and the responses of citizens, are generally considered to be
separate issues that must be scrutinised individually. An Coimisinir Teanga (Commissioner for Languages) published (5 July,
2011) his assessment of review of the Languages Act, based on experience to date. It is assumed that the review of the current
funding of the voluntary sector is a reference to the review conducted by Foras na Gaeilge. This is treated in Chapter 3,
Funding. Overall, this section of the Coalition Programme for Government appeared to give little hint of an understanding,
within a coherent approach, of the differing needs and latent potential of a regionally based language community and more
network based contact groups. However, this was a programme devised under time pressure which permitted no more than
commitment to broad outlines of future policy.
to Irish in education and of visible results for monies expended in support of the language. In addition, it was suggested that
COGG (An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaochta) should play a central role in curriculum review. dars na
Gaeltachta issued a statement to the effect that a meeting would be sought with the Minister.
Some more definitive indications as to Coalition policy on the language were later seen in education: review of curricula
and ministerial statement on State examinations; publication of ongoing work by the Teaching Council. The latter included
two documents on teacher education both dated June 2011: Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education; Initial Teacher
Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers. The Department also published a policy statement on literacy
and numeracy in schools. Certain of the references to Irish in these official statements and documents found favour in Irish
language circles. They are examined in more detail below.
References to Irish
At a Cabinet meeting of 31 May 2011, the content was agreed of the legislation required to implement sections of the Strategy.
These final Government decisions were announced on 3 June by the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs. Basically, two
changes from the original version of the Strategy were made with regard to the implementation bodies for the Strategy and to
the rle that had been originally envisaged for an extended dars na Gaeltachta. Preparation of the heads of the Bill could now
proceed although the time frame for enactment had not yet been clarified. Extracts from the official announcement are given
below; Irish in education could be affected by any and all of these changes.

- Provision will be made in the Gaeltacht Bill for a new statutory definition of the Gaeltacht, which will be based
on linguistic criteria rather than on geographical areas, as is currently the case.
- Provision will be made under the legislation for a language planning process in order to prepare language plans
at community level for each Gaeltacht area and for the Minister to approve and review those plans periodically.
- Statutory status will be given to a new type of network Gaeltacht area outside the existing statutory Gaeltacht
areas. These will be areas, predominantly in urban communities, that will have a basic critical mass of
community and State support for the Irish language.
- Gaeltacht Service Towns, i.e. towns which service Gaeltacht areas, will also be given statutory status.
This section contained no changes from the original version of the Strategy. The future of dars na Gaeltachta is set down in
another section of the official statement of 3 June 2011.
dars na Gaeltachta
- The status quo will be maintained regarding the current functions of dars na Gaeltachta, including its
enterprise functions, subject to the following:

(a) statutory provision to enable the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to direct dars na
Gaeltachta to focus its limited resources towards specific enterprise sectors; and
(b) the development of a mechanism to facilitate dars na Gaeltachta to cooperate with other enterprise
agencies, particularly with regard to significant Gaeltacht projects with high potential.
- Provision will be made under the Gaeltacht Bill to significantly reduce the Board of dars na Gaeltachta and to
end the requirement to hold elections.
While this decision was generally welcomed as dispelling uncertainty, the type of mechanism for cooperation with other State
enterprise agencies (as signalled several years previously) was significant and would require discussion.
- The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will retain primary responsibility for matters concerning
the Irish language, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht.
- Foras na Gaeilge will continue to fulfil its responsibilities on an all-island basis as an agency of the North South
- The Department, in partnership with relevant State bodies, will be responsible for the implementation of the
Strategy outside the Gaeltacht. The potential for Foras na Gaeilge to deliver certain elements of the Strategy, on
an agreed basis, will be explored.
- dars na Gaeltachta will be responsible for the implementation of the Strategy within the Gaeltacht.
to the rest of the country. In the Draft Strategy this is described as dars na Gaeilge.
While precise functions are still to be clarified, a more definite rle is envisaged for Foras na Gaeilge in the June 2011
statement. The Department, however, in all cases, retains primary responsibility, although implementation in partnership
with relevant State bodies appears to apply to outside the Gaeltacht. It was the view of the Minister of State that These
Government decisions will ensure that existing structures will be used to deliver the Strategy and that the functions of the
key stakeholders with responsibility for implementing the Strategy, both within and outside of the Gaeltacht, will be clearly
defined. There was no specific reference to the role of the Voluntary Sector, as had occurred for other sectors, unless the sector
is included under funding bodies, either dars na Gaeltachta or Foras na Gaeilge. Interestingly, neither is precise distinction of
rles made in relation to the possible future operation of dars na Gaeltachta in new urban network-type Gaeltacht settings
(Category D). All three implementation bodies, Department with responsibility for the language, dars na Gaeltachta, and
Foras na Gaeilge play quite definite support rles for Irish in education, whether through funding for Irish abroad, for funding
voluntary organisations, or for providing support initiatives.
Curricular changes for 2011 are found below under Curricula.
CURRICULUM AND STUDENTS

COMPULSORY IRISH
While some related information on this issue of compulsion is found below, (Optional Irish for Leaving Certificate), the
following quote, from an address by An Coimisinir Teanga at the Tralee Institute of Technology in late November 2010,
perhaps gives another perspective:
I am not in any way making a case for a return to compulsory Irish for employees of the State, but neither do I believe it is
acceptable [that] compulsory English is forced on the public in their dealings with the State.
On the other hand, a motion, proposed by the Wexford branch, was passed at the Young Fine Gael national conference
2012. The resolution requested the party:
To live up to its election promise and remove Irish as a compulsory subject.
A Fianna Fil party spokesperson criticised the policy of downgrading Irish.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW POLICIES
New national policy on literacy and numeracy

The proposals put forward in response to concerns raised by both national and international surveys on student performance in
critical skills were comprehensive, encompassing much of the reform agenda of both the previous and current administrations. They
include enhanced teacher education and changes to both curriculum content and assessment throughout the education system.
A national plan to tackle the reported problems was launched, for consultation to end January 2011, in November 2010
through the draft programme Better Literacy and Numeracy for Young People 2011-2020. This set out a series of actions from
pre-school upwards through the system, including teacher education, and identified the agents for action in all cases. Under
the following administration, this became Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life: The National Strategy to Improve Literacy
and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020, incorporating much of the material in the original and giving
insicative timelines for all actions. It was launched by the Minister for Education and Skills on Friday 8 July 2011. The content
is found below, Literacy throughout the education system.
Junior Cycle
This radical new policy finally circulated to schools in November 2011 is found just below, under Curricula.
Syllabuses
Changes to the elements of the syllabus for Leaving Certificate Irish were made in 2007 and in 2010 entailing adjustments to
the marking system for assessment. These are detailed below under Curricula.
System and legislative policies

These are found under the appropriate headings throughout the Chapter.
CURRICULA
For purposes of this section, curriculum is taken to include both aspects of syllabus and assessment. On assessment modes, the
Minister (Coalition, March 2011) had made his views clear in different fora since his appointment.
- Assessment would move from once-off terminal examinations to include additional school-based continuous
assessment if agreement was reached with teacher unions.
- The type of examination question would change from that requiring rote-based and memorised information to
more higher-order critical skills.
Junior Certificate (JC) 2007 onwards

Circular letter 0042 of 2007 from the DES, 28 May 2007, introduced a system of more emphasis on oral Irish in the certificate
examinations through increasing the existing percentage of total marks for the oral component of all examinations. While the oral
component of the JC was optional and school-based, and seldom availed of, the marks for the oral (if conducted) were increased
from 20% to 40% and, consequently, the aural reduced to 10% and the written paper, or papers, depending on level, reduced to
50%. Schools were urged to provide the oral option, given the critical importance of oral competence in language learning. In
fact, numbers began to increase in subsequent years as the table below indicates. The new system began with students enrolling in
Junior Cycle in 2007 and taking the examination from 2010 onwards. Some minor changes in layout of examination papers were
required to accommodate the new approach. These also included a new grammar section at JC Higher Level.
Schools offering the Optional Oral Irish examination for Junior Certificate
Year
Number of schools
2007
22
2008
24
2009
45
2010
94
By 2011, up to 4,276 students took the optional school-based oral in Irish and 7,388 in 2012. This represented an increase
from 512 in 2008 and led to expressions on concern on lack of standardisation from both COGG (Council for Irish-medium
education) and ASTI (Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland). The new approach to the Junior Certificate (October
2012) includes assessment as continuous and school-based towards a school certificate rather than a nationally accredited
certification. Nevertheless the Examinations Commission will assist in the three core subjects, Irish, English, Mathematics, and
the NCCA is still responsible for syllabus matters.
Interestingly, Circular 0042 of 2007 also contained the following paragraph.
In-Career Professional Development
The changes will be supported by investment in professional development programmes and provision of resource
materials. Increased funds have been provided to An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaochta [COGG]
for materials development, and enhanced professional development opportunities will be provided for teachers by the
recently established support service for Irish at second level, An tSeirbhs Tacaochta Gaeilge Dara Leibhal. Schools will
be contacted directly by An tSeirbhs Tacaochta regarding the detail of these arrangements.
Junior Certificate to National Certificate of Junior Cycle Education 2011

In the Dil in October 2010, the Minister for Education of the previous administration had referred to considerable curricular
reforms. However, there was some criticism that this process had begun with the Junior Certificate, as had occurred in the
1980s, rather than with the Leaving Certificate, considered more significant and pressing by some in the business and academic
worlds. At the launch in July 2011 of the National Strategy on Literacy and Numeracy, the Minister of the new Coalition spoke
of reforms in the content of the curriculum at both primary and post-primary levels. Specifically, on the Junior Certificate
examination, he said that, in future, candidates might take no more than eight subjects for examination purposes (although no
limit was set to the number they might choose to study or schools might decide to offer at this level). Initially, this was intended
to come into force from 2012. However, given the problems such an immediate change might cause for students, schools and
subject teachers, and given the ongoing review being then conducted by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
(NCCA) with the input of the various stakeholders, the date for this change to Junior Certificate was later moved from 2012
to the cohort entering in 2014 when the final form of the work of the NCCA was due to be available.
Speaking in October 2011 to the National Conference of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals of
second level schools (NAPD), the Minister gave figures from the State Examination Commission:
- About 2,000 students take eight subjects in the Junior Cert exam annually.
- A further 3,500 take seven or fewer.
- 2,000 students take 12 subjects or more.
- 21,000 take 11 subjects.
Since some 56,000 students sit the examination, it is presumed that the remainder currently take between 9 to 10 subjects
for the examination. However, it was more the nature of the education process in the Junior Cycle that was the focus of the
NCCA.
Subsequent to a wide process of consultation, a discussion paper entitled Innovation and Identity: Ideas for a New Junior
Cycle was launched in April 2010 followed by a Framework which was provided to schools by the NCCA in November 2011
after more than a further year of deliberation and discussion. While the NCCA is the advisory body to the Minister, it is the
Minister who makes the ultimate policy decisions. The issuing of this document directly to schools signalled ministerial assent
with the broad thrust of the proposals. The salient points from this Framework were as follows:
- an acceptance that change was required but that nothing changes if the examination does not change;
- a balance between national criteria and school autonomy.
- Content of the Junior Cycle rebalanced along the following lines:

- 8 subjects for examination purposes (NCCA to develop) of which Irish, English and Mathematics form the
core, with 240 hours approximately of instruction for these and 200 hours for the other five; core subjects
offered at two levels; the remainder at common level;
- short courses in a variety of content areas (NCCA or school to develop according to NCCA template);
- the entire based on a set of key skills and 24 statements of what the student should learn with integration
of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum;
- the issue of Report Cards (template from the NCCA) similar to those in the primary sector.
- Assessment to follow the same lines:

- final examination 60% and portfolio based on school work completed during the Junior Cycle 40%, to be
assessed in-school and submitted to the State Examinations Commission;
- qualification at 2 levels: Level 3 (replacing the current JC) and Level 2 for students with particular special
educational needs, based on Priority Learning Units (PLUs) by portfolio assessment only;
- the possible new title suggested for this qualification was A National Certificate of Junior Cycle Education;
the Minister, however, has asked the Union of Secondary Students to make other suggestions.
The Framework is just that, a framework. An Implementation Plan was in preparation by the NCCA while a series of
Guidelines were also being prepared with the cooperation of a set of schools. All syllabi must be prepared also. Schools were
asked to begin planning in 2012 for the timetable of introduction in 2014 of the new Junior Cycle 2014 2017.
Two significant issues are immediately apparent in this radical new approach:
- students are being supported, through continuous assessment particularly, in becoming autonomous and
creative learners;
- teachers and schools will require no insignificant programme of inservice and support.
Irish in the National Certificate of Junior Cycle Education

As noted above, Irish is one of the three core subjects of the eight for examination towards the award of the new qualification
which will replace the current Junior Certificate, scheduled for 2017 at the end of the Junior Cycle beginning in 2014.
In the list (Table 2) in the Framework of 24 Statements of Learning to be achieved by the student are the following:
1 communicates effectively using a variety of means in a range of contexts in L1
2 reaches a level of personal proficiency in L2 and one other language in reading, writing, speaking and listening
L1 is defined as the medium of the school (Irish in Irish-medium schools). L2 is the second language (English in Irish-medium
schools). Irish is then L2 in English-medium schools.
12 values local and national heritage and recognises the relevance of the past to current national and international
issues and events.
This latter provides a context, both historical and contemporary, for the learning and teaching of Irish.
Leaving Certificate Irish 2007 and 2010

Circular letter 0042 of 2007 from the DES, 28 May 2007, introduced a system of more emphasis on oral Irish through
increasing the existing 25% of total marks for the oral component of the LC examination to 40%. For Higher and Ordinary
Levels, this resulted in 10% for the aural and 50% for the two written papers. At Foundation Level, the proportions were: aural
20% and written paper 40%. For the Leaving Certificate Applied, the aural was reduced to 25% and 35% for the written paper
of the examination, Gaeilge Chumarsideach (Communicative Irish). The new system began with students enrolling in Junior
Cycle in 2007, taking the JC examination from 2010 onwards, and the Leaving Certificate examination from 2012 onwards.
More curricular change occurred, however, before 2012.
Over the years, there had been complaints from both teachers and students on the volume of literature to be studied
for Irish at LC level. The NCCA advised the Minister, having discussed proposals from its relevant subject committee, on
reductions to be made. Information on the revision in terms of prescribed texts for LC Higher and Ordinary Levels, together
with assessment, was issued as a result, Circular 20/2010 of March 2010, for the years 2012, 2013, 2014; hard copy of the
syllabuses were soon after issued to schools. These were followed by Circular 56/2010 in September 2010, giving information
on revision to the Irish syllabus for LC Foundation and LC Applied levels.
The reduction in the literature for the Established LC (and LC Vocational Programme) included extracts from prose texts
rather than the entire text and a reduced number of poems.

In addition, confusion regarding the differing versions of one poem at LC Higher Level resulted in the issue of clarifications
through Circular 0071/2010 in December.
In advance of the 2012 examination when Circular 0042/2007 would take effect, Circular 90/2010 was issued in
December: the syllabuses for LC Higher, Ordinary and Foundation were slightly revised to take cognisance of terminology
and range of topics as was the layout of the examination papers. Questions on grammar were included.
Sample examination papers were issued in early 2011. The two major changes were the format of the oral examination and
the inclusion of the aural in the written paper at the three levels (Paper 1 for Higher and Ordinary Levels) rather than being
a separate unit and some ensuing reduction in the time given to the different components at examination. For the Higher
and Ordinary common oral test, the existing conversation and brief poetry reading is maintained but from the five designated
poems (common literature course) with the choice of poem and verses being that of the examiner. In addition, a new element
was introduced of a series of six pictures for description. Interaction, questions from the student, is expected in both the picture
session and the conversation session. Twenty A4 pages of six pictures depicting an event/episode will be provided to schools in
the first term of the fifth year (LC is taken after the third term of sixth year) for the examination two years later. The examiner
will choose the page for discussion. There was some comment in the media on this material being available for pre-preparation,
in addition to the poetry, for an oral test. For Foundation Level, there is little change: the oral test (8-10 minutes) will consist
of conversation only but on four blocks family/home; school and school matters; pastimes; holidays/weather/time/work.
Given the range of queries from teachers, the State Examinations Commission issued a leaflet giving replies to the 23
most common questions raised in relation to the new aspect of the oral test. From 2012, with additional weighting for the
oral component, marks allocation changed as given below; the previous weightings are given in brackets. Thse overall changes
were given as context for the increased numbers taking the higher level and for good results all round in the 2012 LC Irish
examination.
Leaving Certificate 2012: Allocation of marks across skills

LEVEL
ORAL
AURAL
WRITTEN
Higher
40% (25%)
10% (16.7%)
50% (58.3%)
Ordinary
40% (20%)
10% (25%)
50% (55%)
Foundation
40% (25%)
20% (30%)
40% (45%)
Meitheal Ghaeilge ATAL (LC Higher Level Irish Working Group/Party)

While Irish is offered at several levels to cater for a variety of students, no specific distinction is made in either syllabus or
examination between students studying Irish as L2 and those in schools (or classes in English-medium schools) where Irish is
the medium of instruction. The majority of teachers professed themselves content with the changes for 2012. Some teachers
in the Irish-medium sector, however, and concerned academics, were of the view that the reduction in literature and in the
quantum of marks awarded to literature in the examination to offset the increase for the oral component, coupled with the
scrapping of a specific question on the history of language and literature, constituted a significant reduction in the literary
education of their students at LC Higher Level, described as cultural impoverishment. The new syllabus appeared to ignore
the existence of students for whom Irish was their first language, whether at home or in school. A Group was set up (2010) to
lobby for either the withdrawal of Circular 20/2010 or the addition of a new subject, Saocht agus Litrocht na Gaeilge (Irish
Arts and Literature), open to all students, in an attempt to enrich the syllabus.
The Group was representative of Gaelscoileanna, Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta and COGG. A survey of schools in
the Irish-medium sector (gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht) produced the following results: 90% were of the view that the new
course lacked challenge; 95% would welcome a new course; over 90% were dissatisfied with the entire new syllabus.
The Group made a submission to the relevant Joint Oireachtas Committee on 18 November 2010. It was reported that the
then Minister had requested a review of the changes. However, the Group was of the view that an impact study would be more
appropriate in the circumstances, to be undertaken through research and a pilot study in a sample of schools. That no mention was
made of the Groups recommendations in the version of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish published some days later (21 December
2010) was a source of disappointment. In the event, matters went ahead and Circular 20/2010 was set for implementation.
A study of the new arrangements in operation was conducted among teachers for Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (Association of
Teachers of Irish) and published in 2012. The results overall showed the following.
Revised Leaving Certificate for Irish: Satisfaction of Respondents

LEVEL
SATISFIED
DISSATISFIED
Higher
46%
53%
Ordinary
40%
54%
Foundation
78%
10%
The new weighting across the four skills was found in general satisfactory. However, at higher level, respondents again pointed
to lack of distinction between first and second language students while the format of the oral examination also received criticism.
Indeed, given the high levels of success in the Irish examination overall, attributed to the high marks for the oral as a proportion of
the entire, calls for review ensued. The low proportion of marks for listening comprehension was another cause of dissatisfaction.
The Department promised a review of these and other points.
Review of the Senior Cycle

Review of the Senior Cycle has been ongoing since 2002 when the NCCA published a comprehensive consultation paper and
embarked on a consultation process which culminated in Proposals in 2004/5. As in the Junior Cycle proposals now to be
implemented (above), embedding of key skills in teaching and in learning is an integral part of the approach, as are specific
short courses, review of syllabuses, appropriate approaches for a differentiated student body, and entry to higher education. By
2011 some draft syllabuses were ready for consultation, sample units were available for Transition Year (including a template
for teacher preparation of such units) and two of the proposed short courses were available, Enterprise and Psychology.
Consultation on draft syllabuses for languages and on aspects of the LCA was being initiated.
A Joint Oireachtas Committee report of May 2010, Staying in Education: A New Way Forward, had also called for a radical
new appraisal of the second-level curriculum on behalf of early school leavers.
Criticism of the education system (and of the Leaving Certificate) has been growing, particularly since the March 2010
publication of the report of the Innovation Task Force which emphasised the need for a system which nurtures creativity and
critical thinking.
With regard to languages in education, the National Committee for Modern Language, Literary and Cultural Studies of
the Royal Irish Academy issued a report in August 2011. It called, in particular, for:
- a coherent languages-in-education policy from the DES;
- study of modern languages be mainstreamed in Primary Schools [a decision of Budget 2011 diverted all funding
of over 2 million from the existing project to the National Strategy on Literacy and Numeracy, thus ending
subvented programmes of modern language teaching in primary schools];
- advanced proficiency in a third language to be made a universal requirement;
- the establishment of a Language Advisory Board representative of all interests;
- the adoption of the Common European Framework of Reference and Portfolio to ensure vertical and horizontal
coherence of language learning at all stages of the curriculum;
- modern languages to be treated as a priority subject at third level [pointing out that one of the biggest threats facing
language education in Ireland is the gradual erosion of the NUI third-language matriculation requirement
[and] the serious consequences for the sustainability of languages at all levels [of ] the removal of the third-language
requirementwhich would ultimately undermine Irelands status and competitiveness in global terms].
Ensuing media coverage concentrated largely on this more market-oriented aspect of the report and on the (longstanding)
dominance of French at second level.
Current thinking on revision of the Senior Cycle and the Leaving Certificate Examination is found below, Debate on
entry modes to higher education in the 21st century.
Reviews and schools abroad

Irish is offered in the European Schools of the EU. At the International School of the Martyrs in Tripoli, Libya, where Arabic is
taken instead of Irish, students follow, in general, both the curriculum and examinations (facilitated by the State Examinations
Commission in Ireland) of the Junior and Leaving Certificate of Ireland. They were introduced in 1995 by the then Irish principal.
Currently, there are over a dozen teachers from Ireland on staff. Arrangements for students to take their 2011 examinations in
Ireland or in Malta were suggested by the Examinations Commission during the then upheavals. Some of Muammar Gaddafis
grandchildren attended the school. The school was closed in the immediate aftermath of the political changes.
The proposed changes to the Junior Certificate and changes as a result of the Leaving Certificate review will, of course,
affect these types of external arrangements.
The Deputy Education Minister in the new regime, responsible for third level education, was called home after twenty
years in exile. He had been a lecturer in electronic engineering at Tallaght Institute of Technology in Dublin. Similarly, the new
Libyan Minister for Health had been practising medicine in Ireland for many years.
The Leaving Certificate, the points system and entry to third level
The determination of entry to third level based on points awarded on LC examination grades has been under critique since 1999
when the last report on the issue was published by the Points Commission then established. Other factors highlighted in surveys
and studies have since exacerbated matters. Perhaps as a result of the recession, a fairly recent rises occurred in the percentage of
students completing second level. Of those who entered the six-year second-level cycle in 2004, up to 86.4% of female students
and 82.4% of male students(representing quite an improvement for males) gave an average of 87.4% completed second level
schooling. Figures rose again for those entering in 2005 and 2006 with the average retention rate at 87% (EU average 80%).
Numbers staying on to sit Leaving Certificate are currently reported at 90% (92% for females and 89% for males a narrowing
difference over the years). However, the points calculated on LC results indicate several gaps: in social background children
of professionals score more points (many can afford grinds) and are over-represented in courses for the lite professions (law;
medicine); low scorers tend, in general to enter Institutes of Technology rather than universities and tend to drop-out more
frequently. The average score across all students (of a possible 600) is only just over 300. Neither should it be forgotten that not
every student wishes to move to third level. A terminal examination cannot be dominated by those who do so.
Not surprisingly, in June 2011, the Minister sought a review of the CAO (Central Applications Office) points system. This
was, of course, but one aspect of reviewing the entire senior cycle, since points dominate the examination and the examination
dominates what occurs in the classroom. Subject choice for the examination is largely influenced, not by personal preference or
aptitude in specific areas, but by the perceived ease or difficulty of acquiring honours and therefore points. Such a mechanical
approach in turn leads to mechanical rather than thoughtful critical learning modes.
Information on this aspect of entry to third level is found below, Entry modes to higher education in the 21st century.
Whether, or when, change can come about is not so clear although change at CAO level (which processes applications for
43 institutions) would probably have swift effects downwards. It was thought that the status of Irish could well be part of the
coming debate.
Other proposals on curricula and forms of assessment

With regard to curriculum content, at the July launch of the Strategy for Literacy and Numeracy, the Minister revealed that:
- The NCCA was also to prioritise work on revising the curriculum in English and in Irish in Irish-medium
schools, and on guidance material for these subjects and maths at primary and post-primary.
- A wider review of junior cycle was being undertaken by the NCCA which would issue recommendations in the
Autumn [Junior Cycle above].
Other proposals included:
- The use of standardised tests in second, fourth and sixth class in primary school and for 2nd year students in
post-primary schools (in English reading, mathematics and Irish reading), the results to be reported to parents,
boards of management and the DES, as well as feeding into school improvement plans.
- Primary schools to be required from September 2011 to increase the time for literacy to 90 minutes per day and
for maths to 50 minutes (from the current 36 minutes).
Circulars 56/11 and 66/11 (Initial Steps in the Implementation of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy) referred to
these standardised tests being used from 2012. Circular 66/11 was directed at Gaeltacht and Gaelscoileanna Primary Schools.
In the case of Irish reading, it clarified that only the specific version of the Drumcondra reading test standardised for Irishmedium schools (Triail Ghaeilge Dhroim Conrach do Bhunscoileanna Gaeltachta agus Ln-Ghaeilge) should be used in Irishmedium schools. For English-medium schools another standardised test was available for Irish reading but this should not be
administered in Irish-medium schools.
Irish and curricular reviews

Clearly, the position of Irish in the education system cannot be divorced from ongoing review and change. Literacy in Irish is
part of the new National Strategy and standardised tests are available for the Irish-medium sector. The new Junior Certificate
gives recognition, for the first time, to a core curriculum of the three subject areas, Irish, English, Mathematics. Whether this
will continue in the revised Leaving Certificate is not yet clear. Changes to entry modes to third level could also affect the status
of Irish at Leaving Certificate level. Decoupling, or reducing the influence of, the points system from the LC could well work
to the advantage of Irish. On the other hand, increasing the points for some subjects (Mathematics at present) or in other ways
favouring some subjects over others, might work against the retention of Irish, Debate on entry modes to higher education
in the 21st century; Joint HEA/NCCA proposals to the Minister below).
The perennial argument continues: education for well-rounded citizens who must also seek a living versus a type of
education which gives undue emphasis to the often short-term requirements of the State and the economy. Interestingly, the
same arguments as are made for Irish are being made by the modern languages and humanities lobby with regard to third-level
entry and promotion within third level.

In 2008, a group began work on a common syllabus for Irish at third level, An Mheitheal um Theagasc na Gaeilge ar an Tr
Leibhal. There are currently up to 20 institutions, North and South, participating in the scheme which is coordinated by
two representatives from St. Patricks College of Education Drumcondra and the Department of Irish in University College
Galway. The scheme is funded by Foras na Gaeilge on a yearly basis and by the institutions themselves. This permits the group
to employ a Project Manager to ensure the provision of appropriate materials directed at teaching/learning of Irish towards BA
or BEd degrees. The third year is currently (2011-2012) in preparation. All materials are onsite at www.teagascnagaeilge.ie, a
site administered from the University of Ulster.
IRISH AT PRIMARY LEVEL

LITERACY THROUGHOUT THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

The most recent official publications (below) on the issue of literacy (and numeracy) no longer focus exclusively on the primary
sector but on the childs total educational experience. In addition, the impetus for these publications arose from continuing
disquiet with a perceived slippage in standards (below).
Teacher competence is a significant component of childrens acquisition of skills in literacy and numeracy. Article 30 of
the Teaching Council Act 2001 is designed to ensure that schools employ as teachers only persons who are both qualified as
teachers and registered with the Council. However, it was mid-June 2011 before the Council gave information on its website
that the DES had informed it that this section of the Act would be finally commenced in the Autumn. This came in the wake
of a circular of late May from the DES to school managers requiring them to give priority to qualified registered teachers,
particularly to unemployed teachers, over unqualified or retired teachers, except in very exceptional circumstances. The Irish
National Teachers Organisation had already passed a motion not to work with unqualified teachers from September 2011
and was of the view that the departmental circular actually legitimised the hiring of unqualified personnel in some instances.
Maintaining educational standards was the Ministers concern. The Teaching Council issued several policy documents during
2011 on the nature and quality of ongoing teacher education (Teacher Education and Training below).
Evidence of slippage in literacy skills

The evidence, from both national and international sources, relates primarily to literacy skills in the English language and to
maths. It is, however, given here since the remedial policies which ensued engage with literacy in a more comprehensive and
cohesive sense and with both languages, Irish and English, and with differing linguistic settings. Literacy is defined as follows
in the DES policy document (p. 8), issued on 8 July 2011:
Literacy includes the capacity to read, understand and critically appreciate various forms of communication including
spoken language, printed text, broadcast media, and digital media.
National assessments
Supportive initiatives were put in place by the DES arising out of concern within the Inspectorate with regard to existing
problems in certain curricular areas and among disadvantaged populations. These included Project Maths at second level;
designating schools for specific support in educational inclusion (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools or DEIS;
coincidentally deis in Irish means opportunity). However, the results had been disappointing as revealed in an address
from the Chief Inspector to the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN) in January 2011. Arising out of 400 unannounced
primary school visits in 2010, outcomes in English and maths were not deemed satisfactory in up to 15% of the schools visited
and 25% of these classes had insufficient teacher preparation. In addition, no improvement in numeracy was apparent in the
majority of the disadvantaged schools visited (18) although literacy had improved in over half of them. The July 2011 policy
document (p. 12-13) states that:
- One in ten children in Irish schools [meaning schools in the Republic of Ireland, not Irish-medium schools] has
serious difficulty with reading or writing; in some disadvantaged schools this is as high as almost one in three
students.
- The literacy skills of students in Irish primary schools, measured by the National Assessments of English
Reading, have not improved in over thirty years, despite considerable investments in reducing pupil-teacher
ratios, the introduction of learning support (formerly remedial) and resource teachers, the provision of better
teaching materials and considerable curricular reform.
- Second-level teachers and principals have identified poor literacy levels as a barrier to accessing the post-primary
curriculum and making a smooth transition into post-primary school.
- Employers and third-level institutions have been consistently critical of of the standards of literacy of students
leaving post-primary education.
International assessment from the OECD: Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
of reading, maths and science, December 2010
The programme known as PISA compares the performance of 15-year-old students (approximately 4,000 in the sample in the
Irish context) in an international context (up to 34 countries) across three major areas of competence: reading, mathematics and
science. The dates given relate to the dates of publication of results which may come more than a year after the administration
of tests.
Irish students had been performing very well in 2000, 2003 and 2006, until the 2009 tests when what appeared to be an
alarming decline occurred, the extent of which was widely reported in all media in unquestioned fashion:
- in reading slippage from 5th place in 2000, and from above average in 2006, to 17th or average in the tests of
2009 (published in 2010);
- in maths from 16th to 26th, a below average result;
- average result in science.
A choice is given to students to perform the reading tests in Irish but apparently very few avail of it.
In a letter to The Irish Times on 18 May 2012 from the PISA Unit in Ireland the following comment was made as part of
a response to a previous letter:
Of course PISA has its flaws and we have endeavoured to highlight these for some time. For example, we have argued
(erc.ie) that the approaches to analysing trend data in PISA are problematic and, notwithstanding demographic and
other changes, may have disadvantaged Ireland in 2009.
The authors are of the view that:
However, it seems preferable to seek to address such issues from within PISA rather than walk away on the basis of
one set of disappointing results.
of digital literacy, Students on Line, June 2011
This test was an optional extra offered with the 2009 traditional tests but not taken up by all participating countries. Despite
the slippage reported in the traditional reading test, Irish students digital ability to read computer based texts proved much
higher and significantly above the average of the 19 participating countries (of the 65 which were part of the traditional tests
survey). Ireland was ranked 8th overall. Girls outperformed boys in all but one country, Colombia. Interestingly, it was the
lower achievers who performed better in the computer based tests. In both the traditional and the digital tests, those who read
for pleasure performed at a higher level. In this regard, it is unfortunate that no more than 26% of students reported such
personal reading while 42% did not engage in reading for enjoyment.
International survey on civic and citizenship education and on languages

In part of an international survey on civic and citizenship education, conducted by ERC, the Educational Research Centre in
Dublin on behalf of the DES, for the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, Irish teenagers
(14 year olds) scored highly in their interest in social and political issues (7th of 36 countries).
With regard to language skills (understanding or communicating in another European language), 23% of Irish students
professed inability compared to 12% in other European countries.
Responses to the PISA results

The Secretary-General of DES informed the relevant Oireachtas Joint Committee (13 January 2011) that the Department had
commissioned two studies when the information on the declining results in literacy and numeracy became available during
2010 in order to review the data and to seek explanations; one from the Irish PISA research centre and the other from the
independent research group, Statistics Canada. From both reviews, the conclusions pointed to several areas:
- some of the decline could be attributable to changes in the student population (immigrant students);
- possible limitations on the research methodology used by PISA leading to over-estimation of the seeming
decline in standards among Irish students;
- evidence from other national studies would not entirely support the figures from PISA.
The DES also engaged in other international research, in addition to PISA, on literacy and numeracy in primary schools in
2010, the tests to be administered in 2011.
In June 2011, response came from another source, the State Examinations Commission from which the Department had
requested a review. Grades in English, maths and science in the Junior Certificate (at age 15/16) had improved in the preceding
decade; the percentages of students gaining honours grades (A, B, C) had increased. Apparently, no diminution of standards
had occurred, rather consistency of standards was observed in the comparison across selected student examination scripts.
Nevertheless, the issue of grade inflation was raised in the media on the basis that only very low percentages failed English at
Ordinary and Foundation levels while the OECD tests found that almost 25% of those assessed were functionally illiterate,
a statistic most commentators found difficult to fathom. The official response to the apparent discrepancies was that not so
much that Ireland had slipped but that other countries had dramatically improved. Nevertheless, policy changes were required
to ensure improvement. These proved comprehensive as reported below.
In the traditional literacy test reported in 2010, the average Irish score was 496 points and in the digital literacy test
509. However, the average Irish score in traditional tests in 2000 was higher at 527. In interpreting the different results, the
Educational Research Centre (ERC), which conducts the tests in Ireland for the OECD, suggested that the true score for
Ireland may be somewhere between the 527 average score of the year 2000 and the 496 score reported in December 2010 on
the 2009 tests. The next round of testing (2012) is awaited with interest.
From the school and home policy viewpoint, encouraging reading for pleasure would appear to be part of the answer to
raising standards.
International EU study
An EU Commission staff working publication was reported in April 2011. It concerned Progress towards the Common European
Objectives in Education and Training: Indicators and Benchmarks 2010/2011; it was based on document SEC (2011) 526) and
covered the 27 members plus 6 other European states (33 in all). Reportage is based on PISA and on data received. Some
countries may be omitted from some comparison tables as a result of low response rates. Some of the findings from Ireland are
given below. To some extent, they add to existing concerns with regard to the EU designation of key competences or reading,
mathematics and science literacy. The table shows the results for Irish 15-year-olds over the years in comparison with their
Finnish counterparts since Finland is usually ranked at the top for educational achievement.
EU Study: Low achievers (Ireland and Finland)

Year/Skill
2000
2003
2006
2009
Boys
2009
Girls
2009
Average
EU Study: Low achievers (Ireland and Finland)

READING
11%
11%
12.1%
17.2%
23.1%
11.3%
496 (2009)
7%
5.7%
4.8%
8.1%
13.0%
3.2%
536
19.6%
25.9%
13.3%
------
16.4%
20.8%
20.6%
21.0%
487
6.0%
7.8%
8.1%
7.5%
541
24.0%
22.2%
21%
23.5%
497
15.5
15.2
16.0
14.3
508
4.1
6.0
7.5
4.5
554
20.3
17.7
18.6
16.8
502
EU 25 Average
MATHS
EU 25 Average
SCIENCE
EU 25 Average
The following items of commentary are extracted from the EU document:

Reading
In general, the performance gap between EU countries narrowed in 2009, with low performing countries catching up
and some well-performing countries falling back.
Mathematics
In most EU countries the share of low performing students in mathematics actually increased from 2006-2009
Estonia, Finland and Ireland have the lowest variance between high and low performing students.
Science
Gender gaps for science are smaller than for reading (where girls are clearly better) or for maths (where boys are
slightly better), with girls slightly outperforming boys in science.
On nine items of general information about the EU, the aggregate average score was 67.4%; Ireland was at 67.5% and
Finland at 66.1%.
The EU Benchmark across the three key competences for 2020 has been set at 15% low achievers.
The document also included the areas where Ireland is performing strongly as reiterated by the Minister (General context
2007-2012, above).
PISA tests published in 2010 were taken by students in 2009.
The Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2020 (DES, 2011) states that:
About one-fifth of Irish students in the PISA 2009 tests did not have sufficient mathematical skills to cope with everyday life and Ireland also had significantly fewer high performing students than other countries.
PIRLS and TIMSS: International reports on pupil achievement

Ireland was one of 46-50 countries which participated in two international studies in 2011: Progress in International Reading
Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). They were conducted on a
sample of fourth-class pupils in Irish primary schools (10-year-olds). Results were published in December 2012. While Irish
students scored significantly above the international average in all three areas, they were not top of the list in any area, although
Ireland did have much lower proportions of lower-performing students in reading and mathematics than other participating
countries. Northern Ireland students scored higher across the three areas. The actual rankings are given below.
Area of Study
Number of
participating
countries
Ranking for
Irish pupils
Ranking for
NI pupils
First and last

ranked countries
Reading
45
10th
5th
Hong Kong;
Morocco
Mathematics
50
17th
6th
Singapore; Yemen
Science
50
22nd
21st
Republic of Korea;
Yemen
of reading, maths and science, December 2013
The Minister for Education welcomed the results of PISA tests 2012 published in late 2013 but insisted that more must be
achieved. The table shows where Irish students stood.
PISA 2012 (published 2013): IRELAND

No. of
participating
Countries/
Subjects
Print Maths
Print Reading
Science
Maths
Computerbased
Digital
Reading
23
15th
5th
32
20th
9th
34
13th
4th
9th
65
20th
7th
15th
20th
Implications for Irish

Discussion focussed on the amount of time given to subjects at primary level and the NCCA was formally requested to review
the allocation of time to curricular areas in the primary school. The Minister had already requested that more time be given
to reading and mathematics as part of the Strategy for Literacy and Numeracy (next section). He now (December 2012) was
reported to have commented that he would like to see more time devoted to science and mathematics than to Irish and Religion.
However, two factors should be borne in mind in the case of language teaching. The content of the time devoted may be
as important as the amount of time allocated. In school, every class is a language class since language is the general medium
with the result that using Irish as a medium as well as a specific subject may offer significant beneficial results. In fact, both
the communicative approach to language teaching/learning and the Revised Primary Curriculum recommend using the target
language as medium. If time for teaching of Irish is to be reduced, compensation (and perhaps better results) might accrue
from formal time allocation to using Irish as medium and formal designation of which curricular areas might be involved.
NEW NATIONAL POLICY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY
The proposals put forward in response to concerns raised by both national and international surveys on student performance in
critical skills were comprehensive, encompassing much of the reform agenda of both the previous and current administrations. They
include enhanced teacher education and changes to both curriculum content and assessment throughout the education system.
A national plan to tackle the reported problems was launched, for consultation to end January 2011, in November 2010
through the draft programme Better Literacy and Numeracy for Young People 2011-2020. This set out a series of actions from
pre-school upwards through the system, including teacher education, and identified the agents for action in all cases. Under
the following administration, this became Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life: The National Strategy to Improve Literacy
and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020, incorporating much of the material in the original and giving
indicative timelines for all actions. An Irish language version is available, Litearthacht agus Uimhearthacht don Fhoghlaim agus
don Saol. It was launched by the Minister for Education and Skills on Friday 8 July 2011. The accompanying press release gives
an indication of the wide interest in, and response to, the subject matter:
The publication of the Strategy is the culmination of an extensive consultation process. A draft plan was published by
the Department in November 2010. Written submissions were received from almost 480 individuals and organisation
and Department officials held consultative meetings with over 60 interest groups, not only from the education sector
but also from community and other sectors.
The strategy on Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life is wide ranging, from preschool onwards, and involves
interlinked change and reform across a range of areas: in initial education and in-career professional development for teachers;
in curricular reform; in assessment reform; in changes to examinations. Some of these were enumerated at the July 2011 launch
and described as ambitious targets to be achieved by 2020. At national level, these aims comprised:
- At primary, increasing the number of children performing at Level 3 or above (the highest levels) in the national
assessments of reading and mathematics by 5 percentage points.
- Reducing the percentage performing at or below the lowest level (Level 1) by 5 percentage points.
- At post-primary level, increasing the number of 15-year old students performing at Level 4 or above (the highest
levels) in the OECDs PISA test of literacy and mathematics by at least 5 percentage points
- Halving the numbers performing at Level 1 (the lowest level) in PISA test of literacy and mathematics
- Improving early childhood education and public attitudes to reading and mathematics.
Other proposals included:
- The use of standardised tests in second and sixth class in primary school and for 2nd year students in postprimary schools, the results to be reported to parents, boards of management and the DES, as well as feeding
into school improvement plans.
- Primary schools to be required from September 2011 to increase the time for literacy to 90 minutes per day and
for maths to 50 minutes (from the current 36 minutes).
- Reforms in initial teacher education courses and in professional development for teachers and school principals.
- Reforms in the content of the curriculum at both primary and post-primary levels.
- On examinations, Junior Certificate candidates may take no more than eight subjects in future.
In fact, the date for this change to Junior Certificate was later moved from 2012 to the cohort entering in 2014 due
to teachers concerns. Speaking in October 2011 to the National Conference of the National Association of Principals and
Deputy Principals of second level schools (NAPD), the Minister gave figures from the State Examination Commission:
- About 2,000 students take eight subjects in the Junior Cert exam annually.
- A further 3,500 take seven or fewer.
- 2,000 students take 12 subjects or more.
- 21,000 take 11 subjects.
Autumn.
On funding for all these new measures, estimated at 6 million in 2012 and rising to 19 million by 2017, the Minister made
it clear that priority would be given to the proposals of the Strategy for Literacy and Numeracy through:
- re-prioritising existing spending;
- cutting activities that may be desirable but less important;
- ensuring that the best outcomes are achieved from whatever financial and human resources are available.
On assessment modes, the Minister had made his views on clear in different fora since his appointment.
- Assessment would move from once-off terminal examinations to include additional school-based continuous
assessment if agreement was reached with teacher unions.
- The type of examination question would change from that requiring rote-based and memorised information to
more higher-order critical skills.
IRISH AND THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY 2011-2020
Literacy is defined as follows in the Literacy Strategy:
Literacy includes the capacity to read, understand and critically appreciate various forms of communication including
spoken language, printed text, broadcast media, and digital media.
The literacy (and numeracy) strategy attempts to cover every facet of the system from preschool upwards in a seamless fashion.
It includes the critical role of parents also. It clearly identifies the differing settings which exist for Irish-medium education and
the differing linguistic backgrounds which children and families bring to Irish-medium education, whether in the Gaeltacht
or in gaelscoileanna. It refers to the weaknesses identified in various studies of the learning and teaching of Irish in parts of
the English-medium system. Unlike PISA or the EU study based on PISA, where literacy is defined chiefly (but not entirely
exclusively) in terms of the dominant language only, English, the Literacy Strategy states:
The literacy and numeracy strategy recognises that the learners in Irish-medium schools and settings have very
varied learning needs and that they need to develop literacy skills in both Irish (as their first language or as the
first language of the school) and in English. (Bold in the original)
On the other hand:
For the purposes of this strategy document, references to literacy for learners in English-medium schools and
settings should be understood primarily as literacy in English.
The following sections give the content of the strategy under various headings. These may be compared to the proposals on
education in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish at the beginning of this chapter. Emphasis is given in the account below to those
recommendations which concern Irish as L1 and L2. Interestingly, the Strategy begins with practitioners in Early Childhood
Care and Education (ECCE) and teacher education for the subsequent levels.

With regard to ECCE, the following comments are made:
- Early years education spans the first six years of life, being conceptualised in three phases: birth to 18 months;
18 months to 3 years; 3 years to 6 years.
- Education from 4 to 6 years is provided in the primary system.
- A free pre-school place for all 3 and 4 year-olds prior to enrolling in primary school has been made available
since January 2010 (under the previous administration).
- Aistear (Journey, 2009) is the curriculum framework developed for the early years, from birth to 6 years of age
while Solta (Seeds) is the quality framework.
Given the crucial importance of the early years of development, and that teachers and ECCE practitioners are described as
the most powerful resource that we have, some interesting proposals are made for ECCE provision, those responsible for
the actions being the DES, the Department of Children, providers of ECCE programmes and accreditation bodies for such
programmes. All proposals are relevant to ECCE through the medium of Irish.
- Encourage and support the upskilling of ECCE practitioners, particularly in literacy and numeracy, 2012-13.
- Continue incentives for continuing professional development of ECCE practitioners in state-funded settings by
continuing to link higher capitation rates with higher qualification rates.
- Ensure sufficient training provision available to enable formal qualifications in early literacy and numeracy be
made a requirement for all ECCE leaders in state-funded ECCE settings, 2015, and incrementally increase
the minimum qualification requirements for personnel in such settings.
Teacher education
The Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for second level teachers and initial teacher education (ITE) for primary
teachers in some colleges receive comment in this Strategy on the basis of being too short or of lacking emphasis on the
pedagogy of basic skills. The number of teachers who have not undergone some form of continuing professional development
(CPD) is also noted. It is, however, the remedy that is interesting, the DES working in cooperation with the Teaching Council,
the HEA and the education providers. Speaking in late May 2012, the Minister referred to 19 million having been allocated
in the last Budget to change the way teachers were trained.
- Entry standards: The DES and the Teaching Council (whose work to date is praised):will cooperate to set
new, higher standards in entry requirements for ITE to include the potential raising of the minimum grades
required in mathematics, English and Irish for entrants to the 2014-2015 academic year.
- Duration of courses: Increase the B Ed for primary teaching [currently three years] to a four-year programme
to include an aggregate of one year school-based professional development experience, 2013-14; the PGDE
Primary [currently 18 months] to a minimum of two years, 2013-14; the PGDE second level (consecutive
model) to two years [currently nine months], 2014-15; extend the concurrent model of ITE for second level to
include more academic subjects, 2014-2015.
- Content of courses: Replace the study of humanities (academic electives) with options more related to the
practical aspects of teaching and reduce the time for such academic electives to 20% of the ITE Primary
programme, 2013-14. [This proposal met with resistance from teacher trainers; it had already been mooted by
the Minister appointed in 2007.]. Among the other proposals on content are modules on language acquisition,
special and additional learning needs; the development of second language learning, teaching in Irish-medium
and immersion settings, 2013-14. Trainees to complete mandatory courses in literacy and numeracy, 2014-15,
and to show satisfactory skills during the teaching practice (TP) component of their course, 2013-2014.
- Irish-medium settings: Provide accredited post-graduate course to equip teachers to teach in Irish-medium
settings at primary or post-primary level in at least one of the ITE providers, 2018.
- Induction: Provide intensive units on the teaching of literacy (English and Irish)make participation in
induction mandatory by 2012.
- In-service (CPD): Focus DES-supported courses on the development of literacy and numeracy and on
assessment for teachers at both levels (at second level for teachers of first language, L1, English/Irish); 20 hours
every 5 years. 2011 onwards.
Curriculum
Autumn.
Comment was also made in the strategy document on lack of clarity with regard to the expected outcomes of the various syllabuses.
Primary curriculum
The strategy makes several general proposals on the primary school curriculum:
- Increase the time spent on the basic skills of literacy and numeracy with accompanying adjustment to the
presentation of other aspects of the curriculum (DES Circular 2011; guidance from NCCA 2016).
- Use what may be described as language across the curriculum approach to literacy, every class being a language
class irrespective of content.
- Develop the assessment and diagnostic skills of teachers.
The following extracts on Irish-medium schools and on Irish in English-medium schools are indicative of the Departments
response to current problems.
- Students in Irish-medium schools who learn through Irish, including pupils whose home language is Irish, have
specific literacy needs that are not fully addressed in the current primary school curriculum. We need to address
these specific needs by ensuring that the Irish L1 curriculum (for Irish-medium schools) provides for the
development of literacy skills in a manner comparable to that provided for in the English curriculum, including
the development of childrens cognitive and higher-order thinking skills.
- We face considerable challenges in the development of childrens ability in Irish in schoos where the language of
instruction is mainly English. The emphasis that the 1999 Primary School Curriculum placed on oral language
development was welcomed but the introduction of the Irish L2 curriculum has not driven the desirable
improvement in the language competence and literacy skills in Irish of primary pupils. At least some of the
problem may be attributed to the design and implementation of the Irish language curriculum. We need
to ensure that the Irish L2 curriculum is presented in a way that will enable teachers to plan effectively for
progression in the full range of pupils literacy skills. The potential for developing childrens literacy competences
in Irish through using the language to teach other subjects (or elements of those subjects) is also worth exploring.
The proposals arising are then not unexpected.
- Revise the Irish curriculum (L1) for Irish-medium primary schools to clarify the learning outcomes to be
expected of learners, 2014-2016.
- Revise the Irish curriculum (L2) similarly, 2016-18.
- Provide continuity between the Aistear (Journey, 2009) curriculum framework for preschool and provision in
infant classes.
- Provide examples of students work to assist teachers in self-evaluation and formative assessment (end of early
years, end of second class, end of fourth class, end of sixth class), 2014-18.
Post-primary: Junior Cycle

The more general comments include the following challenges:
- The lack of a bridge between the pupils [integrated experience] of Irish and English in sixth class (final class) of
primary and the [separated subject] experience at first year of post-primary is often a missed opportunity.
- The Irish syllabus emphasises the development of the students oral ability [as well as the other language skills].
As in the case of English, it is clear that there is a need to structure the Irish language syllabus and associated
assessment modes at junior cycleto drive the systematic development of the full range of literacy skills in the
languages, grounded in the development of oral competence.
- [Use] non-literary and other texts [including digital texts]in both English and Irishto ensure engagement
by all students, including boys.
- The Irish language syllabuses do not meet the specific needs of students in Irish-medium schools, particularly
for those whose home language is Irish. We need to ensure that the junior cycle programme for Irish provides
for the specific literacy needs of students in Irish-medium schools, including the development of their cognitive
and higher-order thinking skills.
The proposals attempt to meet these challenges:
- Prioritise the revision of the junior cycle Irish syllabuses and the Junior Certificate Irish examination, 2014.
- Use a learning outcomes approach; connect with primary curriculum; recognise that pupils will acquire literacy
in both Irish and English; ensure a range of texts.
- Ensure that syllabuses provide for the specific literacy needs of students in Irish-medium schools.
- Provide examples of students work to assist teachers in self-evaluation and formative assessment, from 2014.
- Provide necessary online and other supports to assist teachers practice in the teaching of Irish, from 2014.
- Revise the Junior Certificate modes of assessment for Irish to encompass a greater emphasis on the assessment of
literacy skills, 2017. (In this instance, the State Examinations Commission has been included with the NCCA,
the body which has figured as being responsible for almost every action mentioned).
- Increase the time available for the development of students literacy and numeracy skills: limit the number of
subjects for JC examination to eight, (to include Irish, English and mathematics); minimum of one period per
five day week for teaching maths; require that maths be taught regularly during Transition Year, DES 2014.
This revision of the Junior Cycle was finally announced on 4 October 2012 following the main general lines outlined
above. There will no longer be a terminal State examination (as Junior Certificate) at the end of the 3-year cycle. Instead teachers
will assess their own pupils continuously (40% of total marks on project and portfolio work) and in a final examination (60%
of total marks) towards the award of a school certificate called the Junior Cycle Programme.on a range of subjects offered
at common level. In addition, the State Examinations Commission will be involved in the early years in assessing the core
subjects: Irish, English and Mathematics (to be available at two levels only, higher and ordinary). Irish, English, Mathematics
and Science are compulsory.
The consequences for Irish are apparent: it is one of the compulsory core subjects; there will no longer be a Foundation
level in Irish;.the optional oral examination in Irish, which is becoming more popular, has not as yet been formally
designated as an integral component of the new Irish syllabus and assessment although there is no reason to suppose that it will
not so remain. In fact, on 23 November 2012, the Secretary-General of the DES announced that it was expected that the oral
language test will be a compulsory part of the new syllabus and assessment requirements for Irish.
The NCCA will provide the new syllabi to include the current range of traditional subjects plus eight short courses, e.g.
Chinese, computer programming plus six others. There is a call also for Philosophy to be included. Schools will have some
flexibility in adding short approved courses. Students may take from 8 to 10 subjects; two short courses may substitute for one
full course. Short courses will be possible from the beginning in 2014 and the NCCA will provide templates to schools wishing
to devise their own short courses specific to the hinterland of the school in addition to those the NCCA will itself provide.
The new approach will be introduced in incremental phases. The cohort entering school in 2014 will be assessed under
the new arrangements in the subject English in 2017; Irish, Science and Business Studies will follow in 2015 for certification
in 2018; then Art, Modern Languages, Home Economics, Music and Geography beginning in 2016 for certification in
2019; finally, Mathematics, Technology, Religious Studies, Jewish Studies, Classics and History for introduction in 2017 and
certification in 2020. For teachers, the incremental approach may entail preparing existing students in the current approach
towards the traditional JC examination in the intervening years plus beginning with the new approach in the case of the intake
from 2014 onwards. As well as that, standardised testing for all second-year students in literacy and numeracy in 2014 (and
later for Science in 2016) had already been flagged (above) and will occur. Teachers have been promised every support by the
Minister, both in in-service and resources.
Teachers, however, as professionals, are not unused to assessing their students, whether through set homework or regular
school tests or mock examinations. But the teachers unions at second level have never favoured school-based assessment,
preferring external anonymous assessment and the award of an official certificate. For this reason, the Irish oral examination
has been optional since the introduction of the 1989 changes towards the examination of 1992. The DES was aware of the
costs of external oral examiners for the thousands of students who sit the JC examination.
The core subject of Mathematics has been left to the final fourth phase to allow for the full implementation of the new
Project Maths course.
Parents will receive a newly designed card on their childrens progress.
The current Junior Certificate award is Level 3 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). Schools will now
certify their students learning results at the same level and issue a certificate accordingly based on no less than 8 and no more
than 10 subject areas. Special needs students may have their learning in five key units certified at NFQ Level 2.
Post-primary: Senior Cycle

The main recommendations are to:
- Ensure that ongoing senior cycle curriculum development builds on the emphasis placed on literacy and
numeracy in junior cycle reforms.
- Use language and mathematics across the curriculum approach (particularly as syllabuses are revised); learning
outcomes approach and provide guidance on learning assessment.
Assessment
Since school-based assessment is a vital tool in identifying problems and tracking progress, it receives a good deal of attention
in the strategy document.
- Support assessment tools to assist pre-school practitioners and infant teachers to monitor and report on
childrens achievement, from 2012, DES and Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
- Intervention strategies with in-class learning support in second term junior infants, DES 2013-14.
It is, however, of note, that while:

- all Irish-medium schools will be required to administer standardised tests of Irish reading, English reading and
mathematics to all eligible students at the end of second, fourth and sixth class in primary schools, 2012, and at
the end of second year in post-primary schools, 2014-15,
tests of Irish reading appear to be omitted in the requirements for English-medium schools at both levels. The standardised
tests in the three subject areas for second year of post-primary will, however, be commissioned by the DES, 2014.
Assessment results must be communicated to relevant stakeholders and used in school planning. The DES intends to
report on trends on national achievement from 2013.
Other proposals
Other proposals include:
- Upskilling for teachers with regard to the learning needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds (given
that DEIS schools are not universally successful in aising standards, despite parity of supports).
- Support for children of migrants, particularly in the academic language skills required for school.
Summer literacy camps

Since 2000, the DES has funded week long Summer literacy camps in English. The Irish language Campa Samhraidh began
in 2007 for DEIS Band 1 (Equality of Opportunity in Schools) primary school pupils from 4th to 6th class. Since their
inception the English camps have catered for over nine and a half thousand children while some three thousand have benefited
from the Campa Samhraidh, including one thousand in 2011. The cost of running 42 camps all around the country in 2011
was 380,000. Children from age 7 to 11 attend the fun way to achieve and develop literacy through drama, art and other
activities. Camps are small to ensure best attention, approximately 35 children per camp.
Literacy in English in gaelscoileanna

The aftermath of the controversial Circular 44/2007 is found below under Irish-medium education, Literacy and teaching
English in gaelscoileanna.
IRISH AT POST-PRIMARY LEVEL

OPTIONAL IRISH FOR LEAVING CERTIFICATE (LC)
Particularly in the post-Summer examinations 2010 period and in the pre-General Election (February 2011) period, much
public discussion took place, (in print, on radio and on television, in Irish and in English), on the related issues of compulsory
Irish and optional Irish for Leaving Certificate. As a result several surveys of public sentiment were conducted as detailed below.
The arguments on either side in the media were based generally on the following:
- the money being spent on the enterprise sweeping generalisations and unsubstantiated figures were often quoted
given the difficulty of extracting precise data attributable solely to expenditure on the Irish language in mainstream
education from educational expenditure in general; that Irish speakers also pay taxes to support education was
conveniently ignored; that not all Irish people share the views of certain academics, politicians or business leaders;
- the absence of visible results from that expenditure the more visible results were often ignored; comparisons not
made with other subjects (e.g. maths);
- the linguistic impoverishment resulting from what was considered over-emphasis on Irish in an already crowded
curriculum the possible positive effects of Irish language learning on further language learning; the effects of the UK
decision from 2004 that a language other than English would not be required for General Certificate of Education
(GCSE, 14-16-year-olds) and the later reversal of that decision;
- the necessity in a global world of substituting Chinese for Irish in the education system some years ago the
preferred market language had been German is it acceptable to reduce education to a commodity for consumers of
the market economy.

Some Irish language organisations and speakers produced possible alternative methods of looking at the issue: teacher
training; different syllabi. Intensive lobbying and information sessions for politicians and candidates took place. The more
immediate results were a slight change in Fine Gael policy and a commitment to Irish from all other parties and the majority
of Independent candidates. The resulting policy statement from the Fine Gael/Labour Party Programme for Government was,
however, left open-ended (Fine Gael Policy in Coalition 2011, below).
This issue of optional Irish for senior cycle is also part of the discussion on the Higher Education Strategy 2030 and
on entry to third level, all of which are found further below. The results of the various surveys provide a context for policy
considerations.
SURVEY ON IRISH IN EDUCATION CONDUCTED BY COMHAR NA MINTEOIR GAEILGE AND OTHER
LANGUAGE ORGANISATIONS (ORGANISATION FOR TEACHERS OF IRISH)
A series of questions on Irish were asked in an Ipsos MRBI Omnipoll conducted between July 6th and 15th 2010. The sample
were themselves in secondary school education. The attitudes revealed by respondents towards Irish in education could be a
useful tool for planners.
Respondents were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 how important it was to them that children growing up in Ireland today
are taught the Irish language.
- 57% rated at the top of the scale (42% at 5; 14% at 4)
- 23% rated at the bottom of the scale (9% at 2; 14% at 1)
- 19% rated in the middle at 3
Overall, it appears that Irish in education holds quite a degree of importance for respondents.
Respondents were then asked their opinion on the level of education to which children should be taught Irish. Given the
differing views of political parties on this issue, the results were again interesting for policy makers. Only 18% were of the
opinion that teaching Irish should be confined to the primary school with no more than a slight increase on that figure (20%)
who would end the teaching of Irish at Junior Certificate level. Over 50% (54%) of respondents, however, would continue
Irish to Leaving Certificate level.
-
To Leaving Certificate level
54%
To Junior Certificate level
20%
To Primary School level
18%
None of these
5%
Dont know/Refused
2%
Using Irish as medium for teaching more subjects at primary level would encourage better usage of the Irish language was
the basis of a statement with which respondents could agree or not. Curriculum planning and teacher education are areas of
policy in which this is an issue of import.
- Agree
65%
- Disagree
32%
Dont know
2%
The respondents were also asked which of a list of subjects the Department of Education should require all students at
Leaving Certificate level to study. Replies were as follows.
Subject/%
English
Maths
Science
Geography
History
Irish
French
Religion
96%
95%
82%
75%
73%
61%
56%
34%
Keeping in mind that 57% rated the importance of Irish in education at the top of the scale; that 54% considered that Irish
should be taught to Leaving Certificate level and that 65% agreed that using Irish as medium for other subjects at Primary level
would aid usage of Irish, the figure of 61% for retention of Irish by the Department among subjects at Leaving Certificate level
is quite high. For respondents, the reasons why this is their response are basically two:
- Irish is our native tongue
41%
- The Irish language is central to our culture and heritage
39%
Two other replies received lesser importance:

- Irish is an official language of the State
22%
- Irish improves your chances of employment in Ireland and abroad
10%
On the other hand, the reasons given for the Department not to require students to study Irish at Leaving Certificate level were
quite varied and more difficult to weave into a single policy.
- Students should be free to choose subjects after Junior Cert level
26%
- Irish is irrelevant/no benefits/ not necessary
22%
- Irish is too difficult/takes too much time from other subjects
19%
- Dead/dying language/ no one uses it
14%
- Its not important/of no use
10%
- Cant use it outside Ireland
6%
- Irish is badly taught in schools
4%
Other replies (from 4% to 2%) were either negative (no one likes it/not interested/waste of time and resources) or policyoriented (Irish policy has failed) or learner-oriented (Not everyone is good at languages).
Overall, there appears to have been a high level of interest in the survey on the part of respondents since the Refusals/Dont
knows were generally at 2/3% on the educational questions and 4% on the question of self-rating ability in speaking Irish.
Comhairle na ng, is the organisation of 34 local youth councils run by the 34 City and County Development Boards, often in
co-operation with local youth services, in order to give young people a voice in their own locality. Preparation of the National
Childrens Strategy 2000-2010 (published in 2000) included a comprehensive consultation process with over 2,500 children
and 300 adults. The Strategy itself gave rise then to the idea of Dil na ng (National Youth Parliament) for the age group
1218. Each local Comhairle na ng elects one representative to the Council of Dil na ng. The Dil is overseen and partfunded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The National Youth Council of Ireland (Comhairle Nisinta na
ng, 1967) has organised Dil na ng in cooperation with the Department since 2003. The issues of concern to the age group
12-18 are debated and then lobbied for at official policy level. Many of the issues pertain to education. As the longstanding
representative body for voluntary youth work organisations on a national basis, the National Youth Council of Ireland is
mentioned in the Youth Work Act 2001 and had been recognised in social partnership arrangements. Comhairle and Dil
together constitute a strong advocacy body.

Arising from a recommendation by delegates at the Dil na ng meeting in March 2010, and from the ongoing consultation
process of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) on the Junior Cycle, a formal consultation occurred
in November 2010 in Dublin Castle. It was jointly organised by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs
(of the previous administration), the NCCA, and the Council of Dil na ng. A total of 88 delegates, senior and junior
cycle students, from their local Comhairle na ng, attended the day long session. The resulting report on proceedings (Report
of a consultation with young people on reform of the Junior Cycle) was compiled by an independent social research consultant
and launched by both the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Minister for Education and Skills (of the current
administration) on 11 July 2011.
The Minister for Education (Labour Party) said that the report would have an impact on policy decisions in education.
He went on to state views which he had consistently put forward on modes of active learning and continuous assessment. The
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Fine Gael) was reported to have described the finding that the majority of young
people did not want Irish to be a compulsory subject as interesting. This observation drew some comment, particularly in
light of the number of participants involved (29 from Junior Cycle and 59 from Senior Cycle) and of the fact that the actual
report included many more comments on Irish. The four subjects considered compulsory by the students were Social, Personal
and Health Education (SPHE), Civic, Social and Political Education (CSPE), English and maths.
Extracts from sections (given in brackets) of the report giving the actual comments on Irish include the following.
Junior Cycle students

- other subjects most enjoyed learning in their whole lives:
Irish in the Gaeltacht made learning fun by having to communicate in it all the time
- what most enjoyed learning in primary school:
the list included Irish because it is our national language and the first language of some
- other subjects most enjoy learning now:
Irish because it is easy to learn
- new subjects for Junior Certificate:
New subjects and activities relating to Irish and world cultures
- compulsory subjects for Junior Certificate:
English, maths, music, SPHE, CSPE, and Physical Education (PE). However, there were differing opinions on Irish
(and a list of subjects).
- improvement of current subjects:
All schools have an Irish month to promote the spoken language (one participant).
- learning a favourite activity or subject:
Surroundings (from a list of motivational factors) such as learning Irish in the Gaeltacht. Those students who learned
Irish in the Gaeltacht or French in a language college agreed that learning languages in a practical and engaging
manner made them more enjoyable and easier to learn.
- easiest subjects to learn at school Junior Cycle:
Irish, from a list of other subjects.
Senior Cycle students
- suggestions for change if Minister for Education:
An Irish oral exam in the Junior Certificate exam
- They also suggested (inter alia):
Less focus on academic subjects and more on practical and social skills and sport; make languages optional; let
students study only what they are really interested in.
- subjects most enjoyed learning in their whole lives:
Learning languages in a practical and engaging manner (e.g. through immersion in a French or Irish college; through
games and sports).
- what most enjoyed learning in primary school:
Irish was popular among participants because they had a good teacher, loved the language and, in a small number of
cases, Irish was spoken at home. Irish because I love the language.
- compulsory subjects for Junior Certificate:
Almost all Senior Cycle students agreed that English, maths, SPHE and CSPE should be compulsory subjects at
JC level (albeit with some changes). There was disagreement over whether or not Irish and other modern continental
languages should be compulsory for students. Most young people agreed that all other subjects should be optional.
- improvement of current subjects:
Languages: more focus on spoken Irish and a wider choice of modern languages available at JC level.
- easiest subjects to learn at school Junior Cycle:
Other subjects identified included Irish.
- like to learn best:
Examples included through speaking a language.
SURVEY CONDUCTED BY MILLWARD BROWN LANSDOWNE FOR THE IRISH INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Given the widespread public comment on the differing policies of the political parties for the Irish language, particularly in
education, a poll was conducted by the Irish Independent newspaper and published on the eve of the General Election in
February 2011. The survey concentrated on the sole issue of Irish being made optional at Leaving Certificate level, the policy
of the Fine Gael party. The poll results showed some ambivalence.
- Irish obligatory to Leaving Certificate level (LC)
53%
- Irish not obligatory to Leaving Certificate level
44%
- Dont know
3%
As public sentiment showed less support for the Fine Gael policy in the weeks before the election, the party softened its
original policy to the more ambivalent version of promising consultation on the issue of obligatory Irish to LC level but with
the intention of implementing the policy in any case. The party also pointed to their policy of retaining Irish as obligatory to
Junior Certificate level, of curricular reform and of increasing the number of students sitting the higher-level examination in
LC Irish.
It was the opinion of the party that the fact that no more than 4.4% of people are daily speakers of Irish (outside of
education) apparently results from the policy of compulsion. This argument was seen by many to seem to defy logic.
Compulsory Irish as a policy means in practice that State-funded schools must offer courses in Irish to LC level. Students
may choose not to sit the exam. Those who do so are not obliged to pass the exam in order to obtain the LC exam in toto.
FINE GAEL POLICY IN COALITION 2011
Interestingly, Irish language affairs were, in fact, central to the February 2011 pre-election activity. The Irish lobby organised
around two main issues: the 20-Year Strategy, including the Gaeltacht, and the retention of Irish at Leaving Certificate level.
The five main parties published their respective pre-election policies on Irish as on other areas. Twenty-three Independents
from across the country published a joint letter of support for the Irish lobbys position in the national press; thirty-one
expressed support.
Fianna Fil, the Labour Party, the Green Party and Sinn Fin would all maintain and retain Irish as a core subject for
Leaving Certificate. Fine Gael softened its initial position of optionality to the possibility of undertaking a review before
making Irish optional at this level (the survey for the Irish Independent newspaper, Optional Irish above, indicated that
53% wished Irish to remain compulsory while 3% did not know). All parties favoured policies to maintain the Gaeltacht as
a language community and to secure job creation there. There was also general consensus on Irish-medium education, on
improving teachers competence, and on reviewing Irish language curricula. The 20-Year Strategy, the Official Languages Act,
and Irish language broadcasting received support. Fine Gael introduced the concept of a 10-point fluency scale for citizens plus
access to resources for improvement. Sinn Fin urged the Dublin and Westminster Governments to fulfil the commitments to
the language made in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
The language policies of the post-Election Fine Gael/Labour Party Coalition found expression in their Programme for a
National Government 2011-2016, particularly in the
section entitled An Ghaeilge agus an Ghaeltacht (Irish Language and the Gaeltacht). While no mention was made of removing
Irish as a core subject at Leaving Certificate level, some read ominous undertones in the statement:
We will aim to double the proportion of Irish students sitting the Higher Level Leaving Certificate (LC) exam by 2018.
The section on language also made reference to the following:
Education
- a thorough reform of the Irish curriculum and the way it is taught at primary and second levels with more
emphasis on oral and aural skills; 50% of marks for the oral component of the LC examination
20-Year Strategy
- support for the Strategy and delivery on the achievable goals and targets proposed Gaeltacht
- delivery of new job creation prospects; investment in energy, broadband and water infrastructure; support for
jobs in tourism and marine activities
- continued support
Legislation
- review of the Official Languages Act to ensure expenditure on the language is best targeted towards the development
of the language and that obligations are imposed appropriately in response to demand from citizens
Vuluntary sector
- review of the current investment and funding programmes in order to achieve visible value for money for
citizens and tangible outcomes on a transparent basis.
since it forms part of the Strategy. It would appear that elements within the public sector may have found the demands of
the Official Languages Act out of kilter with the actual response of citizens; translation of documents had been often cited by
certain commentators. Nevertheless, the duty of the State, the demands of citizens, and the responses of citizens, are generally
considered to be separate issues that must be scrutinised individually. An Coimisinir Teanga (Commissioner for Languages)
published (5 July, 2011) his assessment of review of the Languages Act, based on experience to date. It is assumed that the
review of the current funding of the voluntary sector is a reference to the review conducted by Foras na Gaeilge. This is treated
in Chapter 3, Funding.

Overall, this section of the Programme for a National Government 2011-2016 appeared to give little hint of an understanding,
within a coherent approach, of the differing needs and latent potential of a regionally based language community and more
network-based contact groups. However, this was a programme devised under time pressure which permitted no more than
commitment to broad outlines of future policy.
to Irish in education and of visible results for monies expended in support of the language. It was suggested that COGG (An
Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaochta) should play a central role in curriculum review. dars na Gaeltachta
issued a statement to the effect that a meeting would be sought with the Minister.
IRISH AND THIRD LEVEL: CURRENT SITUATION
Curricular reform is ongoing but has not yet all been finalised as policy. From the policy point of view, changes in the status
of Irish at Leaving Certificate level appeared to be dependent on the outcomes of this reform as well as issues relating to the
Higher Education Strategy 2030. That little if any mention was made of Irish in the September 2100 HEA/NCCA conference
on entry to higher education speaks for itself. The comprehensive Hyland position paper (Entry to Higher Education in Ireland
in the 21st Century) presented at the conference makes the following proposal, as one of many, on the possible continuing use
of the points system for selection. The order of the sentences is interesting.
Increase the number of points given for maths [already decided from 2012 onwards] and for the subjects in which
there are two papers in the Leaving Certificate examination. Research has shown that maths and English are the best
predictors of subsequent performance in third-level education. These are also two of the subjects in which students sit
two papers in the Leaving Cert examination the third subject is Irish. It would be logical to give an added weight to
these subjects when computing points.
Few readers would assume that an argument was being made for increased points for Irish (as was formerly the case).
One of the research studies quoting Leaving Certificate results in Mathematics and in English (in that order) as predictors
of retention at third level is a commissioned study from the HEA: A Study of Progression in Irish Higher Education (October
2010). Chapter 3 is clearly entitled Leaving Certificate Attainment in Mathematics and in English and begins:
This chapter examines progression in higher education within the context of students prior attainment in the Leaving
Certificate examination in Mathematics and in English.
The chapter precisely demonstrates from the data provided by the institutions that there is a strong link between Leaving
Certificate results in Mathematics and successful progression to the second year of third level study and that a similar, but not
as strong, link exists between results in Leaving Certificate English and progression. However, in the section entitled Key points
in this chapter, the findings are rendered in the following manner:
- Prior educational attainment is the strongest predictor of successful progression through higher education. [This
may be true but the chapter examined just two subjects. A CHIU (Conference of Heads of Irish Universities,
the precursor of IUA, the Irish Universities Association) study, quoted in the position paper of Hyland, was
more guarded].
- This is reflected most clearly in Mathematics which is the strongest predictor of successful progression among
higher education students. New entrants with higher points in Mathematics are most likely to progress. Very
high proportions of new entrants with points below 50 [from the researchers scale] do not continue their
course of study into second year.
- Attainment in English in the Leaving Certificate examination is also a strong indicator of progression albeit not
as direct as attainment in Mathematics. (Pages 17 and 21)
Chapter 6 is concerned with A Multivariate Analysis of Non-Progression among Higher Education New Entrants in this HEA
study. It looks, inter alia, at progression patterns according to Leaving Certificate performance in the three core subjects: Irish,
English and Mathematics. The results proved as follows:
In all three subjects, students with lower performance are more likely to not progress, while those with higher
performance levels are significantly more likely to progress. It is interesting to note that the influence of Mathematics
performance is greater then performance in English, while Irish performance is least likely to influence non-progression
in higher education. (P. 46)
From a very simplistic view of policy, replacing the current wide education Leaving Certificate with a form of A-levels
concentrating on Mathematics and English would seem the answer to halting the rate of non-progression in Institutes of
Technology and Universities, if no other variables were taken into account (e.g. gender, etc.). However, the triple requirements
for entry to higher level continue to be relevant: the basic matriculation (or general level of educational attainment deemed
appropriate in order to benefit from third level education) which is required by institutions; the specific requirements for entry
to particular courses; the process for dealing in a fair and equitable manner with demand for courses when that demand exceeds
supply of places.
The new national literacy and numeracy policy (above) may have some beneficial effects in the future.
EXEMPTIONS
Context
The matter of exemptions from the study of Irish is still a very live issue. Given that, and the fact that such discussion
may influence the future position of Irish in the Senior Cycle (for whichever reasons), a full account is given below. Special
Education experts are of the general view that up to 20% of the school population may suffer some degree of learning difficulty
at some point during their school career but not all will fall under the rubric of having special education needs (Learning
support and special needs education below).
The following information which relates to exemption at second level may be found on the website of the Department of
Education and Skills.
Pupils exempt from the study of the Irish language
Exemptions may be granted by school authorities for pupils [21] whose primary education up to 11 years of age was
received outside Ireland (including Northern Ireland), [22] pupils who were previously enrolled as recognised pupils
in a primary or second level school who are being re-enrolled after a period spent abroad, provided that at least three
years have elapsed since the previous enrolment in the State and the pupil is at least 11 years of age on re-enrolment;
[23]certain categories of pupils with special educational needs as set out in circular M10/94; and [24] pupils from
abroad who have no understanding of English and who, when enrolled, would be required to study one language
only, Irish or English.
These four grounds for exemption are elsewhere described in Circular M10/94 as limited special circumstances. In
Departmental statistics, the categories are numbered as inserted in the extract above, from 21 to 24. All except 23 are fairly
amenable to administrative clarification. Circular letter M10 of 1994 was issued following a review of the existing Rule 46 of
the Rules and Programme for Secondary Schools in relation to exemption from Irish. (The version of the Circular now online
appears to have been amended on 8 August 2008). The Circular is quite clear on the conditions for exemption with regard to
category 23, special educational needs, and on how evidence should be furnished of same. The relevant extract reads as follows,
bold type in the original:
(c) Pupils
(i) who function intellectually at average or above average level but have a Specific Learning Disability of such a
degree of severity that they fail to achieve expected levels of attainment in basic language skills in the mother
tongue, or
(ii) who have been assessed as having a general learning disability due to serious intellectual impairment [i.e.
mental handicap] and are also failing to attain adequate levels in basic language skills in the mother tongue.
(iii) who have been assessed as having a general learning disability due to serious sensory impairment, and are
also failing to attain adequate levels in basic language skills in the mother tongue.
The evidence of such a disability should be furnished by a qualified psychologist, supported in the case of (iii) by a
report from an appropriate medical specialist. In addition, a full report on the pupil should be furnished by the school.
Other provisions are:
2. This revision will apply with effect from the beginning of the school year 1993/94. It will apply to students
currently enrolled on junior and senior cycle programmes in second-level schools as well as to students who will
enroll on these programmes in the future.

Exemption granted to a student will be operative throughout his/her stay at second-level. [Bold type not
in original]
3. School managements are hereby authorised to grant exemption under the Rule as revised in accordance with the
following prescribed procedures and criteria and subject to regular monitoring by the Department.
Circular M10/94 from the Secretary to the Department was followed by Guidelines for Psychologists on Assessment and
Reporting with regard to category 23, from the Chief Inspector, dated 20 April 1995. These were quite stringent. Some extracts
are given below:
3. When exemption from the study of Irish is sought, a written application for exemption will be made by a parent
or guardian to the principal of the school. This application will specify the grounds on which the exemption is
sought. Where exemption is being sought under sub-paragraphs (c) of Rule 46, the parent or guardian will be
required to furnish reports from a qualified psychologist and, in the case of sub-paragraph 1, (c), (iii), from an
appropriate medical specialist as well.
4. These guidelines are prepared by the Psychological Service/Department of Education in accordance with the
provision in paragraph 6 of the Circular Letter M10/94. This paragraph states that the psychologists report
should be of a full psychological assessment carried out by a qualified psychologist not more than two years
prior to the application for exemption.
6. Assessment of intellectual functioning.
7. Assessment of attainment of language skills in the pupils mother tongue.
(v) A history of marked failure in the attainment of language skills, not related directly to factors such as poor
attendance, poor motivation or problems in social interaction, is an important part of the overall evidence.
8. Where exemption from the study of Irish is recommended, the grounds on which such a recommendation is
made should be stated and should be supported by appropriate detail from the intellectual and language skills
assessments.
Other provisions referred to pupils who are reported by an appropriate medical specialist as being profoundly deaf [who]
should be regarded as eligible for exemption from the study of Irish without any further psychological assessment or reporting.
It was also stated that The operation of the Rule governing exemptions from the study of Irish will be reviewed formally at the
end of the school year 1995/96.
Circular 12/96 (a slightly revised version of Circular 18 of 1979) offers more or less the same information on exemption
from the study of Irish in primary school. The revision relates to the retention by the school of certificates of exemption instead
of forwarding them to the Department; statistical information in respect of the previous school year to be provided by schools
for the annual census conducted by the Department. Circular 12/96 points out that, since:
The primary school programme in Irish is designed to meet the learning needs of a wide variety of pupilsThe question
of the need to grant exemption from the learning of Irish should arise only in rare and exceptional circumstances.

The section on the four categories of exemption includes the following in italics.
Pupils from the above categories may be allowed to remain in the classduring the Irish lesson so that they may have
an opportunity to gain a knowledge of spoken Irish and to participate in the learning activities. Alternatively, other
suitable arrangement [sic] may be made such as allocating school work on other subject areas.
Pupils granted an exemption retain it for the duration of primary schooling.
Exempted students studying other languages in addition to English

While the matter of some students seeking and receiving exemption from the study of Irish continued during 2007-2011,
the more salient issue for Irish language organisations was, however, the number of students receiving exemption on grounds
of learning difficulty who then went on to study other languages for examination purposes. The then spokesperson for Fine
Gael saw the issue of students not choosing Irish for Leaving Certificate in terms of the failure of compulsion as the political
engine to revive the Irish language; optional Irish as a preferable approach, and reform of curricula in such a manner that
students would voluntarily choose to study Irish. All students would retain a guaranteed right to study Irish until the Leaving
Certificate in all post-primary schools, (The Irish Times, 15 April 2010). Others (business leaders, retired academics) spoke on
the usefulness of replacing Irish with a language such as Chinese. Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League) issued a booklet (The
Status of Irish in the Leaving Certificate: The Reasons Why!) illustrating the drastic results on the take-up of modern languages
in Britain in the wake of optionality being introduced. Apparently, the optional policy had to be reversed there before long.
As explained, exemption on the grounds of learning difficulty are made on the basis of assessment by a psychologist. The
NUI, which requires Irish for matriculation purposes and a third language for certain courses, were concerned with these
processes and the possible entry advantage enjoyed by a student exempted from Irish but capable of other languages. The two
main problems from the student viewpoint appeared to be the perceived usefulness of Irish and the perceived difficulty of
acquiring higher grades towards points in the subject.
Whatever the contextual arguments, however, the actual figures continue to show unwelcome trends. The first set of
tables below show: the total number of examination candidates who held exemptions on learning difficulty grounds; these as
a percentage of the total number of exemptions on the four possible grounds; and the number of those exempted on learning
difficulty grounds who then went on to study and sit another language in addition to English. There is no exemption policy
for English, presumably since it is not listed as a mandatory subject for the official approved programme in recognised secondlevel schools, which must include Irish. The statistical base for the information in the following tables has been kindly supplied
by the DES and Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (Organisation for Teachers of Irish). Breakdown is not currently available by
programme year, by gender, or by Gaeltacht/outside Gaeltacht.
Junior Certificate & JC Schools Programme: Examination Candidates and Exemptions

School Year
Total
Learning Difficulty
Sat other language(s)
2004/5
3,453
1,685 (49%)
754 (44.7%)
Junior Certificate & JC Schools Programme: Examination Candidates and Exemptions

2005/6
4,110
2,133 (52%)
953 (45%)
2006/7
4,722
2,363 (50%)
990 (42%)
2007/8
5,236
2,435 (46.5%)
1,123 (46%)
2008/9
5,661
2,539 (45%)
1,191 (47%)
Leaving Certificate Examination Candidates and Exemptions

School Year
Total
Learning difficulty
2004/5
2,837
814 (28.7%)
481 (59%)
2005/6
3,117
947 (30.4%)
524 (55.3%)
2006/7
3,792
1,371 (36%)
814 (59.3%)
2007/8
4,497
1,772 (39.4%)
1,044 (59%)
2008/9
5,412
2,119 (39%)
1,210 (57%)
2009/10
5,818
2,297 (39.5%)
1,326 (57.7%)
At JC level, exemptions on the criterion of learning difficulty appeared to be reducing slightly although the total figure
of exemptions is increasing, as is the school population. The other three criteria for exemption relate to schooling outside
the State and pupils with no understanding of English at registration. This latter category of exemption was also on the
increase. The number of examination candidates (JC and JC Schools Programme) in 2009 was 54,290. The percentage in
receipt of exemption from Irish was then 10.7% and the percentage with exemption on the grounds of learning difficulty was
4.2%. If VTOS (Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme) candidates are included the total sitting the exam was 55,567;
consequently the percentage of total exemptions was 10.5% and for learning difficulty 4.13%.
Participants in the VTOS scheme may have followed their studies at second level schools or in special centres. External
candidates may sit only one or a few subjects which have been studied outside the second-level system. They are not included
in the VTOS category at Leaving Certificate.

The table shows that, at LC level, the percentage of the total exempted on learning difficulty grounds is less than at JC level,
but a much higher percentage of these exempted students at LC sit another language or languages. In 2010, the number of LC
and LC Applied (LCA) candidates was 50,149; the percentage of total exemptions was then 11.6%. If other LC candidates are
added (repeat and external and other), some of whom may be taking one or two subjects, the total number of LC candidates
was 57,837; the exemption percentage is, of course, less at 10%, but not entirely accurate since some information is lacking
on the additional candidates. The percentage of LC + LCA candidates (50,149) in 2010 who were exempted on grounds of
learning difficulty stood at 4.6%, while 2.6% of students thus exempted sat other languages. It would be interesting to have an
account of their performance in these languages.
The languages studied appear to have been the recognised language courses, not the ab initio courses for Senior Cycle
introduced in 1989-90 for students not in a position to undergo the Leaving Certificate language courses. The take-up of these
courses has been relatively modest, table at end of this section.
A high percentage of students, although not all, go on from the Junior Certificate to the Senior LC cycle and examination.
There is also a continuing movement in and out of schools of a certain level of the student body. Nevertheless, less disparity
might be expected between the figures for the JC exam and the number of exempted students who were sitting the LC exam
three years later, as in the examples below, showing higher still LC numbers than the number of JC exempted candidates of
three years previously, many of whom would presumably be the same students.
School Year
Total Exemptions
Learning difficulty
JC 2004/5
3,453
1,685 (49%)
754 (44.7%)
LC 2007/8
4,497
1,772 (39.4%)
1,044 (59%)
JC 2005/6
4,110
2,133 (52%)
953 (45%)
LC 2008/9
5,412
2,119 (39%)
1,210 (57%)
For whichever reasons, the number of exemptions appears higher at LC level and a higher percentage of exempted students sit
other languages at this level. Some of these may, of course, be sitting examinations in their European or other mother tongue.
Other categories of candidates may account for some proportion of the figures.
Exemptions granted 2007-2011

The first set of tables above referred to examination candidates and exemptions. The second set of tables below gives the total
number of exemptions granted per year in the differing second-level school sectors, secondary, vocational, comprehensive,
community.
Exemptions 2007-2011
Year end
2007
Exmp.
Sec
Voc
Compr
Commty
Total
21
902
242
23
238
1,405
22
45
14
19
81
23
1,459
812
83
463
2,817
24
2,659
1,054
90
519
4,322
5,065
2,122
199
1,239
8,625
21
830
302
32
268
1,432
22
50
11
10
71
23
1,598
858
96
531
3,083
24
2,894
1,280
97
662
4,933
5,372
2,451
225
1,471
9,519
21
634
300
18
205
1,157
22
69
17
12
101
23
1,710
868
77
604
3,259
24
3,114
1,399
74
634
5,221
5,527
2,584
172
1,455
9,738
21
555
229
23
163
970
22
56
20
88
23
1,802
809
103
584
3,298
24
2,680
974
40
498
4,192
5,093
2,032
169
1,254
8,548
21
858
392
13
242
1,505
22
73
42
64
179
23
2,448
2,286
172
851
5,757
24
3,037
1,564
70
677
5,348
6,416
4,284
255
1,834
12,789
Total
2008
Total
2009
Total
2010
Total
2011
Total
There are no official figures published on the number of exemptions for which application was made without success. From
2007 to 2011, the number of exemptions granted under Category 24, pupils from abroad who have no knowledge of English
when enrolled, exceeded all other categories except in the school year 2010-2011. Category 23, specific learning disability,
was the ground for the next highest number of exemptions except in 2011 when it exceeded Category 24. Category 22, pupils
being re-enrolled after 3 years abroad was the lowest category overall although, interestingly, figures doubled from 2010 to
2011, from 88 to 179. Perhaps the most significant point revealed by these tables is the increase overall from 2007, when a
total of 8,625 exemptions were granted and 2011, when the total reached 12,789, an increase of one third over the period.
However, to have a better perspective, these figures must be seen in the context of school sector and total school population in
each year; this is seen in the next set of tables below, figures from Departmental sources. Population is given in brackets after
the number of schools. Comparison is made between 2007 and 2011.
Exemptions: Comparison 2007 and 2011

Year end
Secondary
Vocational
Comprehensive
Community
Total
394 (183,721)
247 (97,681)
14 (7,886)
77 (44,430)
732 (333,718)
5,065
2,122
199
1,239
8,625
Exmp. %
2.756%
2.17%
0.45%
2.788%
2.58%
Exmp. 23
1,459
812
83
463
2,817
Exmp. 23 %
0.8%
0.83%
1.05%
1.04%
0.84%
Secondary
Vocational
Comprehensive
Community
Total
383 (186,622)
254 (114,761)
14 (7,666)
78 (47,058)
729 (356,107)
6,416
4,284
255
1,834
12,789
Exmp. %
3.43%
3.7%
3.3%
3.9%
3.6%
Exmp. 23
2,448
2,286
172
851
5,757
Exmp. 23 %
1.3%
1.99%
2.24%
1.8%
1.6%
2007
Exmp. total
Year end
2011
Exmp. total
It appears that the total number of exemptions granted in any one year as a percentage of the total school population
increased from 2.58% to 3.6% from 2007 to 2011, while the percentage granted on learning disability increased from 0.84%
to 1.6%. These figures may not appear alarming. However, since the majority of second-level schools have a six-year cycle,
the total number of exemptions present in the school population in any one year will include not only those granted in the
current year, but those of the previous five years also, since exemption is held for the duration of school attendance. In addition,
account should be taken of the numbers of exempted students leaving each year, including those in the Leaving Certificate
cohort. Unfortunately, the more accurate assessment of the reality of exemptions at second level which this exercise would
deliver is not available from the Department and cannot be calculated from the statistics in the public domain.
Figures published in the Irish language newspaper, Foinse 8 August 2012, stated that in total 32,792 students at second
level did not study Irish in 2011; however, some 16,000 of these studied a foreign language. In 2012 over 7,000 students sitting
the LC examination were exempted from Irish.
A way forward?
Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne
The previous Minister and the Department, concerned with the situation in relation to Irish, were considering (April 2010) an
updating of the criteria on granting exemption from Irish; whether the issue of disallowing any student exempted from Irish on
grounds of learning difficulty from attempting other languages would form part of looking at the whole issue of exemption in
its totality was reported to be also in consideration. No change was, however, announced since that time. This may form part
of the ongoing review of curricula and assessment modes.
In the settlement agreement reached in July 2009 in the Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne High Court case, detailed below
under Irish-medium education, there is an interesting reference to the issue of exemptions. The texts of the agreement were
issued in Irish and in English (of equal standing). The relevant extract reads as follows in the English version and provides a
clear exposition of the still ongoing situation:
5. Exemption from the Study of Irish
Existing public policy provides an exemption from the study of the subject Irish in second level schools in certain
circumstances. This arises in the context that financial support for second level schools is contingent on pupils
following an approved course which includes Irish as a mandatory subject. While Irish is a mandatory subject for
that purpose, it is not mandatory to take it at the Leaving Certificate Examination though failure to do so can have
other ramifications (e.g. for university admission).
In the case of pupils with special needs, public policy in granting an exemption is grounded in a consideration of the
potential burden of having to study a second language where English is the mother tongue. This consideration would
also apply to modern continental languages on the curriculum but does not arise, as they are not mandatory.
Policy in this area is under review in the context of concerns that the provisions are having unintended consequences.
For example, special needs students who have sought and been granted an exemption have elected to study one or
more modern continental languages.
The current provisions are silent on the position of Gaeltacht schools. It is also the case that a number of schools in
Gaeltacht areas, and in which the language of instruction is Irish, have granted exemptions from the study of the
subject Irish.
It would seem reasonable given that the original schools had applied the provisions, and that some of the existing
pupils have an exemption, for PCD [Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne] to apply the terms of the relevant Department
circular to any new applicants. It would also seem reasonable, particularly at Junior Cycle (where the curriculum in
Irish is not heavily focused on Irish literature), that any student attending the Droichead Programme who might fall
to be considered under the terms of the circular might consider that participation in Irish classes could benefit their
general learning in the Droichead Programme.
The salient points in relation to policy, existing or future, appear to comprise:
- exemption from Irish is grounded in two considerations: the potential burden for certain students of having to
study a second language; the fact that Irish is a mandatory subject within an approved course being offered by
recognised or funded schools
- other languages are not mandatory and therefore do not fall within this rubric
- the unintended consequences of the exemption policy (exempted students studying second or more languages
other than Irish) was under review at the time (2007)
- with regard to the Gaeltacht, the current policy makes no reference but exemptions have been granted to some
students in Gaeltacht schools on the basis of the current policy.
Information in the public domain is not easily available on which of the four grounds provided the basis for granting exemptions
to Gaeltacht pupils.
No outcome has yet come to public notice from the review mentioned in 2007 and again in 2009. However, some of the
arrangements put in place as a result of the Settlement Agreement, as detailed below, might prove one possible approach to
reviewing policy, particularly as the Department was to have an active role in evaluating the progress of these arrangements
From September 2009, in accordance with the Settlement Agreement, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne would provide a
Solthar Ln-Ghaeilge, or all-Irish educational provision. In addition, a Droichead Programme (Bridging Support Bilingual
Programme) was to be provided for students in the Junior Cycle having difficulty in participating in Irish-medium provision.
For Senior Cycle students having continued difficulty, an integrated Cras Tacaochta or System of Supports was to be provided.
Dependence on English would be gradually reduced in accordance with the students increasing ability in Irish.
Special courses at Senior Cycle

Recommendations have been made by the Irish lobby on the provision of differing courses in Irish at Senior Cycle. There
has been a degree of official reluctance on this point since Irish is currently available for examination purposes at three levels,
Foundation, Ordinary, Higher. Modern languages are generally available at two levels only. Nevertheless, official provision was
made for special courses in the four modern languages usually offered, but not for examination purposes, a fact which might
deter those arguing for universal Irish. The ab initio courses in the four languages for Senior Cycle were introduced in 198990 for students not in a position to undergo the Leaving Certificate language courses. The take-up of these courses has been
relatively modest.
Senior Cycle Modern Languages ab initio 2007-2011

Year end/Language
Total Schools
Boys
Girls
Total Students
2007
French
German
Spanish
Italian
Total
91
19
19
5
134
1,448
301
255
37
2,041
560
111
120
22
813
2,008
412
375
59
2,854
2008
French
German
Spanish
Italian
Total
89
20
17
2
128
1,503
299
341
5
2,148
498
113
162
11
784
2,001
412
503
16
2,932
2009
French
German
Spanish
Italian
Total
79
20
20
2
121
1,556
358
357
22
2,293
438
133
207
28
806
1,994
491
564
50
3,099
2010
French
German
Spanish
Italian
Total
71
19
24
3
117
1,576
439
290
32
2,337
443
185
219
28
875
2,019
624
509
60
3,212
2011
French
German
Spanish
Italian
Total
89
20
19
1
129
1,754
424
324
0
2,502
546
164
216
8
934
2,300
588
540
8
3,436
Between the school years 2007 and 2011, the number of schools offering these special courses could be said not to have gone
below 120 while the number of students has steadily increased. The number of girls availing of the offer of special language
courses is almost a third that of boys in every year. In fact, from the base data, it appears that more mixed than single sex schools
offer these language courses and more boys take up the offer in mixed schools, especially in French. Of course, many single sex
girls schools already offer French for Leaving Certificate. It is not known if any of these students studying the special language
courses were exempted from the study of Irish.
Current official policy (early 2012)

As noted above, in the Guidelines for Psychologists on Assessment and Reporting of 20 April 1995, a review of the operation of
the Rule on exemptions was signalled for the end of the school year 1995/1996. Fourteen years and many exemptions later,
a reference as follows occurs in the settlement agreement reached in July 2009 in the Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne High Court
case, detailed below under Irish-medium education:
Policy in this area [exemption from the study of Irish] is under review in the context of concerns that the provisions
are having unintended consequences.
A recent statement (20 September 2011) from the Minister for Education by means of a written answer to a Deputys question
(on consideration of children with diagnoses of Aspergers syndrome in relation to exemption from the study of Irish) set out
the current situation.

In recent years, my Department has given some consideration to consolidating and updating the departmental cinrculars
which deal with exemptions from the study of Irish in recognised primary (12/96) and post-primary (M10/94) schools.
All aspects of the current arrangements are under consideration including issues in respect of students with special
educational needs. The intention is to consider the matter on a comprehensive basis rather than isolate any one aspect of
the existing arrangements. Therefore a revised circular is unlikely to issue until consideration is complete including
consideration of students with special educational needs. [Bold not in original]
A study conducted for Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (Association of Teachers of Irish) and published in November 2013
revealed the following:
Exemption figures continuing to increase at 2nd level; lack of transparency and an element of an ad hoc approach
to the actual granting of exemptions at school level; insufficient clarity on students being able to study a 2nd other
language but not Irish; provision of appropriate courses at basic level over the years appears not to have had the
desired effect pupils still ignore Irish and even teachers in favour of such basic courses protest at lack of resources;
insufficient understanding of the benefits of bilingualism.
On the basis of these research results, the authors recommend:
Review of M10/94 (ten years in use) PLUS of the procedures and process of granting exemptions in schools;
transparent policy required in order to give students studying Irish full attention when being taught in same class as
exempted students; a study of those exempted from Irish but studying other 2nd languages in order to provide a clear
policy on this practice; a study of why pupils not taking courses appropriate to their level; awareness and publicity
campaign on the benefits of bilingualism.
Interestingly, the point was also made by respondents that, for whichever reasons, some students consider Irish a hard subject.
The DES promised a review during 2014.
IRISH AND THE STATE EXAMINATIONS

PRIMARY LEVEL
The new national policy on literacy and numeracy (above) allows for national standardised testing as a form of assessment of
pupils progress.
Assessment
Since school-based assessment is a vital tool in identifying problems and tracking progress, it receives a good deal of attention
in the strategy document.
- Support assessment tools to assist pre-school practitioners and infant teachers to monitor and report on
childrens achievement, from 2012, DES and Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
- Intervention strategies with in-class learning support in second term junior infants, DES 2013-14.
It is, however, of note, that while:
- all Irish-medium schools will be required to administer standardised tests of Irish reading, English reading and
mathematics to all eligible students at the end of second, fourth and sixth class in primary schools, 2012, and at
the end of second year in post-primary schools, 2014-15,
tests of Irish reading appear to be omitted in the requirements for English-medium schools at both levels. However, the
standardised tests in the three subject areas for second year of post-primary will be commissioned by the DES, 2014, the
primary sector standardised tests being now available.
Assessment results must be communicated to relevant stakeholders and used in school planning. The DES intends to
report on trends on national achievement from 2013.
POST-PRIMARY LEVEL
Conduct of state examinations

The State examinations, as national examinations conducted once a year at a specific period, may provide challenges, logistical
and other. In July 2011, the State Examinations Commission reported 74 problems with examination papers in the previous
three years. These problems ranged from incorrect figures in one question on Junior Certificate business studies to sections
missing in a number of papers issued on Leaving Certificate accounting with some errors also in economics, biology, history,
Latin and classical studies. The majority are notified to students before they begin the actual examination and generally no
adverse outcomes have resulted.
One problem that did not elicit much media comment in 2011 was the problem noted with some examination papers in
subjects taken through the medium of Irish (e.g. Home Economics at Leaving Certificate level). One commentator pointed to the
problems which may be encountered by candidates when dealing with translations to Irish from English language versions of the
same examination paper or with over-pedantic terminology where more easily understood natural language would be preferable.
The international school in Tripoli which offers the Leaving Certificate from Ireland as its final examination had problems
in June 2011. The State Examinations Commission normally sends out a supervisor from Ireland. It proposed that the students
sit the examination in Ireland or, for those who could not do so, at an alternative venue in Malta.
Examinations: candidate numbers (DES and State Examinations Commission Statistics)

Some discrepancy may arise between the numbers entered for examinations and the actual numbers eventually sitting the
examinations. With regard to abbreviations, LCVP is the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme which includes five
subjects (including Irish) from the Established LC programme plus link modules to the world of work. LCA is the alternative
Leaving Certificate Applied programme. External is a term applied to non-school candidates. Re-entrant is a classification
for those coming back to education and sitting the JC examination through educational schemes which encourage return
to school such as the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) and the Back to Education Initiative. The Junior
Certificate Programme encourages students to approach the coursework for the examination in more appropriate ways.
The table shows a steady increase in the total number sitting the JC examination, harbinger of increases to come in the
total school population.
Total Candidate Numbers sitting State Examinations 2007-2012

Year
Junior Certificate
Leaving Certificate
incl. LCVP
Total Overall
2007
57,287
53,926
inclusive of
External @ 3,651
Repeat @ 1,878
LCA @ 3,056
111,213
2008
55,940
inclusive of
Re-entrants @ 1,289
55,584
inclusive of
External @ 4,099
Repeat @ 1,778
LCA @ 3,445
111,524
2009
55,557
inclusive of
Re-entrants @ 1,267
57,455
inclusive of
External @ 4,361
Repeat @ 2,211
LCA @ 3,259
113,012

2010
56,086
inclusive of
Re-entrants @ 1,135
57,837
inclusive of
External @ 3,737
Repeat @ 2,823
LCA @ 3,358
113,923
2011
56,930
inclusive of
Re-entrants @ 1,070
57,532
inclusive of
External @ 3,616
Repeat @ 2,947
LCA @ 3,191
114,462
2012
58,798
inclusive of
Re-entrants @ 1,000 circa
55,815
inclusive of
External @ 2,851
Repeat @ 2,483
114,613
Appeals, regradings and languages offered for the Leaving Certificate examination
The percentage of regrading on appeal in Irish is usually very low. The SEC reports that, in 2012, a total of 579 students out
of 15,937 at higher level submitted an appeal; 122 received an upgrade (0.8%). At ordinary level, the numbers were 36 out of
22,875 of whom 7 (0.0%) were granted an upgrade.
The number of languages offered for quite small groups of candidates continues to change and increase as does the number
of candidates. Over 1,300 students in total now take non-curricular languages at Leaving Certificate. The non-curricular
languages are generally national languages of EU states. Candidates may take only one non-curricular language. The numbers
sitting the various languages may change from year to year. Not surprisingly, given the Polish population in Ireland, more
candidates sit Polish than sit other languages. The SEC supplies the following comparative picture. It is a microcosm of the
contemporary system of education where the place of Irish must be constantly protected.
Leaving Certificate Examination 2011 and 2012: Students and Non-Curricular Languages
Language subject
2011
2012
Polish
574
707
Lithuanian
254
262
Romanian
115
109
Latvian
111
87
Portuguese
57
63
Slovakian
37
36
Hungarian
25
33
Dutch
29
20
Bulgarian
14
17
Czech
14
14
Others (in 2012 Estonian, Modern Greek, Finnish, Danish, Swedish)
32
22
Leaving Certificate Examination 2011 and 2012: Students and Non-Curricular Languages
Total
1,262
1,370
The regulations of the State Examinations Commission are clear. Candidates must also be a speaker of that language; be
from an EU member state; have followed an LC programme of study and also sit English. The examination papers for noncurricular languages are based on the final written paper of the European Baccalaureate, First Foreign Language. On grounds
of confidentiality, details of examination results are not published where subjects are taken by less than 10 candidates.
The curricular languages are: Irish, English, Ancient Greek, Arabic, French, German, Hebrew Studies, Italian, Japanese,
Spanish and Russian.
STATISTICS ON NUMBERS TAKING IRISH IN STATE EXAMINATIONS
Leaving Certificate (LC)

The numbers taking Irish in State examinations will be influenced by factors such as the number of exemptions granted (above)
or the category of student (some repeat students may not take Irish while external students may take one or more subjects,
including or excluding Irish). Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) students, if not exempted, take a specifically designed course
in Gaeilge Chumarsideach (Communicative Irish). Expressing the number of students taking Irish at the three levels (Higher,
Ordinary, Foundation) in the Established LC then as a percentage of the total number of candidates may be somewhat of a
misrepresentation; it is at the least inaccurate. For these reasons, three totals are given for candidates in the table below: Total 1
is the overall inclusive total of all students sitting the examination; Total 2 is that overall total minus LCA students and minus
known exempted students for certain years (above); Total 3 omits external, repeat and LCA students. Exempted students have
not been subtracted from Total 3. However, their inclusion may serve to balance out to some extent the number of repeat or
external students who may, in fact, be taking Irish in the examination. While this attempt at some form of accuracy is far from
ideal, nevertheless trends may be seen over the period of years.
The percentages, where the required figures were available, using Total 2 (given in brown) are probably the nearest to a
reasonably reliable picture of Irish at LC.
(a) Total Numbers taking Irish in State Examinations as % of Total 1

Leaving Certificate
Total 3
Irish
Higher
Irish
Ordinary
Irish
Found.
Irish
Total
%Total 1
45,341
13,831
25,663
4,525
44,019
81.6%
47,642
46,262
13,994
25,820
4,846
44,660
80.3%
57,455
48,784
47,624
14,796
26,016
4,831
45,643
79.4%
2010
57,837
48,661
47,919
14,649
25,906
4,387
44,942
77.7%
2011
57,532
47,778
14,359
25,220
4,818
44,397
77.1%
Year/
Level
Total 1
2007
53,926
2008
55,584
2009
Total 2
(b) Total Numbers taking Irish in State Examinations as percentage of Total 2

Leaving Certificate
Year/
Level
Total 1
2007
53,926
2008
55,584
2009
Total 2
%Total 2
Total 3
Irish
Higher
Irish
Ordinary
Irish
Found.
Irish
Total
45,341
13,831
25,663
4,525
44,019
47,642
46,262
13,994
25,820
4,846
44,660
93.7%
57,455
48,784
47,624
14,796
26,016
4,831
45,643
93.5%
2010
57,837
48,661
47,919
14,649
25,906
4,387
44,942
92.35%
2011
57,532
47,778
14,359
25,220
4,818
44,397
(c) Total Numbers taking Irish in State Examinations as % of Total 3

Leaving Certificate
Total 3
Irish
Higher
Irish
Ordinary
Irish
Found.
Irish
Total
%Total 3
45,341
13,831
25,663
4,525
44,019
97%
47,642
46,262
13,994
25,820
4,846
44,660
96.5%
57,455
48,784
47,624
14,796
26,016
4,831
45,643
95.8%
2010
57,837
48,661
47,919
14,649
25,906
4,387
44,942
93.8%
2011
57,532
47,778
14,359
25,220
4,818
44,397
92.9%
Year/
Level
Total 1
2007
53,926
2008
55,584
2009
Total 2
(d) Total Numbers taking Irish in State Examinations as % of Totals 1, 2 and 3

Leaving Certificate
Total 3
Irish Total
%Total 1
45,341
44,019
81.6%
47,642
46,262
44,660
80.3%
93.7%
96.5%
57,455
48,784
47,624
45,643
79.4%
93.5%
95.8%
2010
57,837
48,661
47,919
44,942
77.7%
92.35%
93.8%
2011
57,532
47,778
44,397
77.1%
Year/Level
Total 1
2007
53,926
2008
55,584
2009
Total 2
%Total 2
%Total 3
97%
92.9%
There is a continuing decrease over the years in the total numbers sitting Irish at the three levels as a percentage of the total
number of candidates sitting the LC examination. Calculating the totals sitting Irish as a percentage of Total 1, that is of all
LC candidates for a particular year including repeat, external and LCA candidates as well as exempted candidates, is not, of
course, an entirely accurate representation. Neither is calculation on the basis of Total 3, which includes exempted candidates
but omits not only LCA candidates but also repeat and external candidates, some of whom may be sitting Irish. The closest
to an accurate calculation is use of Total 2, which omits LCA students who sit an alternative Irish course (Communicative
Irish) and also omits the known total number of exempted candidates who would not sit Irish no matter which category of
candidate they represent: repeat, external or school. (However, in this method of calculation, LCA exempted candidates may be
included twice). On this basis, the figures while decreasing are not as stark as some reports suggest. The exercise shows how
difficult it may prove to provide the most reliable calculations in the absence of all relevant statistics. The next table compares
participation at the different levels in the three core subjects. In the Established Leaving Certificate, English is offered at two
levels; Irish and Mathematics at three.
(e) Leaving Certificate Numbers and Levels in the Core Subjects 2007, 2011 and 2012
2007
Candidates Total
Subject/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
44,019
Irish
13,831 (31.4%)
25,663 (58.3%)
4,525 (10.3%)
48,454
English
31,076 (64.1%)
17,378 (35.8%)
-
49,044
Mathematics
8,388 (17.1%)
35,077 (71.5%)
5,579 (11.4%)
2011
Candidates Total
Subject/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
44,397
Irish
14,359 (32.3%)
25,220 (56.8%)
4,818 (10.8%)
51,455
English
32,783 (63.7%)
18,672 (36.3%)
-
51,991
Mathematics
8,237 (15.8%)
37,505 (72.1%)
6,249 (12%)
2012
Candidates Total
Subject/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
42,965
Irish
15,937 (37.1%)
22,875 (53.2%)
4,153 (9.7%)
50,517
English
32,965 (65.3%)
17,552 (34.7%)
-
50,442
Mathematics
11,131 (22.06%)
33,916 (67.2%)
5,395 (10.7%)
Participation in Higher Level Irish continues lower than for that level in English. However, there was a 5% (1,578 students)
increase in the numbers for Irish in 2012. The Programme for Government of the current Coalition (March 2011) had proposed
doubling the figure of just over 30% for Higher Level Irish (although without specifying the methods for this). Whatever the
actual reason, figures changed upwards in 2012. This may have been due to the increase to 40% for the oral component or to
the revised literature course, considered not sufficiently challenging for Irish speakers or those receiving education through Irish.
For Mathematics, the effects of the new bonus of 25 additional CAO points for grade D3 or above at Higher Level appears
to have succeeded with a 7% increase in student applicants. In fact, 12,900 had registered before the examination; 11,131
actually sat it. More interestingly, the failure rate fell by some 20%. An unintended consequence of the bonus policy was the
subsequent rise in points for a large range of courses for which Higher Mathematics is not a prerequisite, leading to a review.
The beneficial effect of a rise in numbers at higher level prompted a call for a similar policy for Physics and Chemistry.
Junior Certificate (JC)

The calculation on exemptions is less complicated at Junior Certificate examination level in cases where the number of
exemptions is known. The method of calculation used below is to express the numbers sitting Irish as a percentage of the
overall total of candidates less the number of exempted students, that is Total 3 in the table.
(a) Total Numbers taking Irish in State Examinations as % of Total 3

Junior Certificate
Year/
Level
Total 1
Cand.
Total 2
Exemp.
Total 3
Less
Exmp.
Irish
Higher
Irish
Ordinary
Irish
Found.
Irish
Total
%Total 3
2007
57,287
4,722
52,565
22,493
24,188
3,156
49,837
94.8%
2008
55,940
5,236
50,704
22,210
22,817
2,932
47,959
94.6%
2009
55,557
5,661
49,896
22,592
22,033
2,688
47,313
94.8%
2010
56,086
23,118
22,388
2,048
47,549
2011
56,930
23,931
22,488
1,930
48,349
2012
58,798
26,104
23,028
1,677
50,809
The numbers taking Foundation Level Irish in the Junior Certificate examination have fallen by almost 40% between 2007
and 2011. Foundation English and Mathematics also fell to some extent. The numbers sitting Foundation Level in the three
core subjects was never very high. The number of candidates taking Irish at some level in the examination was relatively stable
at almost 95% of the total (less exemptions) from 2007 to 2009. However, the following table which gives the number taking
Irish as a percentage of the total candidates inclusive of exemptions may be less encouraging for the future. Nevertheless, there
is a 2.5% increase in the numbers taking Irish. While this may be due to several factors including curricular change at LC and
the increase for JC since 2010 in marks for Oral Irish, the cause may also lie in the review of the granting of exemptions. Table
(c) below shows an increase for all three core subjects, if minute for English and Mathematics.
(b) Total Numbers taking Irish in State Examinations as % Total 1

Junior Certificate
Year/
Level
Total 1
Cand.
Total 2
Exemp.
Total 3
Less
Exmp.
Irish
Higher
Irish
Ordinary
Irish
Found.
Irish
Total
%Total 1
2007
57,287
4,722
52,565
22,493
24,188
3,156
49,837
87%
2008
55,940
5,236
50,704
22,210
22,817
2,932
47,959
85.7%
2009
55,557
5,661
49,896
22,592
22,033
2,688
47,313
85.1%
2010
56,086
23,118
22,395
2,103
47,616
84.9%
2011
56,930
23,931
22,488
1,930
48,349
84.9%
2012
58,798
26,104
23,028
1,677
50,809
86.4%
(c) Comparison of Total Numbers taking the Core Subjects in State Examinations as
%of Total Candidates
Junior Certificate
Year/
Level
Total Exam
Candidates
Irish
Total
%Total
Exam
% Total
less Exmp.
English
Total
% Total
Exam
Maths.
Total
% Total
Exam
2007
57,287
49,837
87%
94.8%
56,674
98.9%
56,539
98.7%
2008
55,940
47,959
85.7%
94.6%
55,295
98.8%
55,158
98.6%
2009
55,557
47,313
85.1%
94.8%
54,862
98.7%
54,708
98.5%
2010
56,086
47,549
84.7%
55,451
98.86%
55,290
98.6%
2011
56,930
48,349
84.9%
56,205
98.7%
56,025
98.4%
2012
58,798
50,809
86.4%
58,193
99%
58,069
98.8%
On these figures, take-up of Irish at Junior Certificate appears 13 percentage points behind the two other core subjects.
Exemption does not, however, apply to these two other subjects. When the percentage for Irish was calculated on the total
number of candidates less the known exempted candidates for that year, Table (a) above, the figures are much closer to English
and Mathematics, if still slightly less than either of them: 2007: 94.8%; 2008: 94.6%; 2009: 94.8%. However, even allowing
for exemptions, the numbers choosing Higher Level Irish are lower than those choosing Higher Level English as the next table
shows with resulting higher numbers choosing Irish at Ordinary Level. Mathematics and Irish are closer in the spread over
these two levels. Nevertheless, there is an increase in the number taking Higher Level in all three core subjects in 2012 with a
fall in those taking Foundation Level.
(d) Junior Certificate Numbers and Levels in the Core Subjects 2007, 2011 and 2012
2007
Candidates Total
Subject/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
49,837
Irish
22,493 (45.1%)
24,188 (48.5%)
3,156 (6.3%)
56,674
English
37,740 (66.6%)
16,595 (29.3%)
2,339 (4.1%)
56,539
Mathematics
23,804 (42%)
27,094 (47.9%)
5,641 (9.9%)
2011
Candidates Total
Subject/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
48,349
Irish
23,931(49.5%)
22,488 (46.5%)
1,930 (4%)
56,205
English
39,093 (69.5%)
15,388 (27.4%)
1,724 (3.06%)
56,025
Mathematics
25,554 (45.6%)
26,064 (46.5%F)
4,407 (7.86%)
2012
Candidates Total
Subject/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
50,809
Irish
26,104 (51.4%)
23,028 (45.3%)
1,677 (3.3%)
58,193
English
41,685 (71.6%)
15,039 (25.8%)
1,469 (2.5%)
58,069
Mathematics
27,913 (49.8%)
25,945 (46.3%F)
4,211 (7.5%)
IRISH AND CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS RESULTS

In the tables below, the grades A, B, C (taken together) represent honours grades from 55-100; grade D, pass grade, represents
40-54. Minor discrepancies may occur in comparison with tables in the previous edition. This arises from possible re-grading
in the case of some applicants as a result of the appeals process some time after the issue of provisional results.
The State Examinations Commission encountered a slight problem with Leaving Certificate Gaeilge (Irish) on 7 June
2012. A small number of CDs for the Aural (now in Paper 1) for the Leaving Certificate examination for the following 11 June
were found to have been issued in place of the CDs for the Junior Certificate during the course of the latter examination. A
replacement Paper 1 and CD were put in place by the time of the LC examination on the afternoon of 11 June.
Leaving Certificate
The table below shows that, overall, in the Leaving Certificate examination the percentage of candidates sitting the different
levels in Irish has remained fairly consistent over the period 2007-2012: on average 32% sitting the Higher Level with an
increase to 37% in 2012; average 57% sitting Ordinary Level with a decrease to 53% in 2012 and average 10% sitting
Foundation Level with slight decrease in 2012. The grades achieved at each level have remained reasonably consistent also until
2012, in the region of 75% achieving honours grades at the three levels with Higher Level and Foundation candidates in the
80s% and fail rates very low at these levels and around 5% at Ordinary Level.
(a) Leaving Certificate Candidates 2007-2012 Grades in Irish by Level

Year
Grade/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
Total
2007
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
13,831 (31.4%)
82.9%
16.1%
1%
25,663 (58.3%)
79.6%
15.7%
4.7%
4,525 (10.3%)
80.3%
17.4%
2.2%
44,019
2008
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
13,994 (31.3%)
82.3%
16.7%
1.1%
25,820 (57.8%)
74.4%
19.7%
5.5%
4,846 (10.8%)
85.5%
13.1%
1.4%
44,660
2009
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
14,796 (32.4%)
86.8%
12.8%
0.7%
26,016 (57%)
78.7%
16.9%
4.3%
4,831 (10.6%)
75.9%
21.5%
2.4%
45,643
2010
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
14,649 (32.6%)
81.2%
17.6%
1.1%
25,906 (57.6%)
76.1%
18.8%
5%
4,387 (9.76%)
80.3%
17.2%
2.6%
44,942
2011
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
14,359 (32.3%)
83.9%
15.2%
1%
25,220 (56.8%)
76.3%
18.4%
5.2%
4,818 (10.8%)
81.4%
16.2%
2.4%
44,397
2012
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
15,937 (37.09%)
87.2%
12.1%
0.7%
22,875 (53.24%)
74.2%
21.5%
4.3%
4,153 (9.7%)
73.8%
21.4%
4.8%
42,965
Comparison for the years 2007 and 2012 between grades achieved at Higher Level in the three core subjects shows Irish
performing well. However, despite minor changes, the number of students opting for Higher Level Irish is still much less that
for Higher Level English, although the reverse was true for Mathematics until 2012, as Table (b) indicates.
(b) Leaving Certificate Grades at Higher Level in the three Core Subjects 2007, 2011
and 2012
2007
Candidates
Subject/Grade
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
13,831 (31.4%)
Irish
82.9%
16.1%
1%
31,078 (64.1%)
English
76.7%
21.5%
1.8%
8,388 (17.1%)
Mathematics
80.3%
15.9%
3.8%
(b) Leaving Certificate Grades at Higher Level in the three Core Subjects 2007, 2011
and 2012
2011
Candidates
Subject/Grade
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
14,359 (32.3%)
Irish
83.9%
15.2%
1%
32,783 (63.7%)
English
76.7%
21.8%
1.3%
8,237 (15.8%)
Mathematics
80.8%
16.1%
3.1%
2012
Candidates
Subject/Grade
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
15,937 (37.09%)
Irish
87.2%
12.1%
0.7%
32,965 (65.3%)
English
76.4%
21.7%
1.9%
11,131 (22%)
Mathematics
83.3%
14.3%
2.3%
Junior Certificate
Information in statistics from the State Examinations Commission on Junior Certificate results point out that (in some
instances) Fail grades are provided for school-based candidates only.
(a) Junior Certificate Candidates 2007-2012 Grades in Irish by Level

Year
Grade/Level
Higher
Ordinary
Foundation
Total
2007
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
22,493 (45.1%)
79.2%
18.4%
2.4%
24,188 (48.5%)
71.5%
22.1%
6.2%
3,156 (6.3%)
79.8%
16.9%
3.2%
49,837
2008
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
22,210 (46.3%)
78.3%
19.3%
2.4%
22,817 (47.6%)
78.2%
19.1%
2.6%
2,932 (6.1%)
86.1%
11.8%
2.1%
47,959
2009
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
22,592 (47.7%)
79.9%
18.1%
2.1%
22,033 (46.5%)
76.2%
20.2%
3.7%
2,688 (5.7%)
80.6%
15.7%
3.7%
47,313
2010
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
23,118 (48.5%)
81.6%
16.6%
1.8%
22,395 (47%)
79.3%
19.2%
1.6%
2,103 (4.4%)
79.9%
16.9%
3.1%
47,616
2011
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
23,931 (49.5%)
80.6%
17.8%
1.6%
22,489 (46.5%)
77.2%
20.2%
2.6%
1,930 (4%)
76.3%
18.7%
5.1%
48,349
2012
Candidates
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
26,104 (51.4%)
80.2%
17.6%
2.3%
23,028 (45.3%)
76.2%
20.8%
2.9%
1,677 (3.3%)
78.4%
18.2%
3.4%
50,809
Results in the Junior Certificate examination show a continuing slight increase in the numbers and percentage taking the
Higher Level with a corresponding slight decrease in the numbers sitting the other two levels, Ordinary and Foundation.
Numbers achieving the ABC honours grades are fairly stable overall although Failure rates fluctuate more at Foundation Level
and Ordinary Level. Comparison for the years 2007, 2011 and 2012 with the results in the two other core subjects at Higher
Level is shown in the next table.
(b) Junior Certificate Grades at Higher Level in the three Core Subjects 2007 and 2011
2007
Candidates
Subject/Grade
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
22,493 (45.1%)
Irish
79.2%
18.4%
2.4%
37,740 (66.6%)
English
77.2%
21.4%
1.3%
23,804 (42%)
Mathematics
75.1%
19.2%
5.1%
2011
Candidates
Subject/Grade
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
23,931 (49.5%)
Irish
80.6%
17.8%
1.6%
39,093 (69.5%)
English
77.6%
20.9%
1.5%
25,554 (45.6%)
Mathematics
79.7%
16.8%
3.6%
2012
Candidates
Subject/Grade
Honours (ABC)
Pass (D)
Fail
26,104 (51.4%)
Irish
80.2%
17.6%
2.3%
41,685 (71.6%)
English
76.5%
21.9%
1.5%
27,913 (48.06%)
Mathematics
79.2%
18.0%
2.8%
There is a welcome decrease in Fail rates and relative increase in Honours grades in Higher Level Mathematics over the period.
The bonus for Higher Level in the subject may account for an increase in actual student numbers opting for the Higher Level
at JC in 2012 with an eye ahead to LC, but the percentage achieving honours has not significantly increased. The core subjects
are relatively close in overall results at the Higher Level with Irish performing well in comparison. While a lesser number and
percentage of students opt for Higher Level Irish than for English, the overall results for Irish are better.
JC optional school-based oral examination

The increased marks for the Oral school-based component of the JC began with the 2010 examination. While assessment
of this skill at school level is still optional and has been since 1992 (teacher unions policy), more schools are gradually
implementing it for their students, particularly now with the increase in marks at both JC and LC levels. In 2012 there were
7,399 students from 155 schools who were assessed for their oral skills, an increase year-on-year from 2011 (94 schools), 2010
(54), and 2009 (24).
Results of the JC examination in 2012 across the curriculum languages were as follows:
Language
% ABC grades at Higher Level
Student Numbers at Higher Level (of Total)
Irish
80.2%
26,104 (50,809)
English
76.5%
41,685 (58,193)
French
69.4%
25,700 (34,757)
German
77.8%
7,047 (9,470)
Spanish
77.7%
4,884 (6,698)
Italian
72.9%
318 (436)
Failure rates in some foreign languages at Ordinary Level were considered disappointingly high while the numbers taking
foreign languages were disappointingly low.
LEVELS, GRADES AND GENDER
Leaving Certificate
The tables below for 2011-2012 are fairly indicative of trends noted over the years:
- More females than males sit the Higher Level in Irish and in English while the opposite is true of Mathematics.
- Females outperform males at the highest grade (A1) in Irish and in English but not in Mathematics.
Interestingly, more males than females take Foundation Level where offered, in Irish and in Mathematics.
Of the total 55,815 students who sat LC in 2012, females numbered 27,624 and males 28,191. Of the three programmes
towards Leaving Certificate, 36,762 (65.9%) took the Established Programme, 15,827 (28.3%) followed the LC Vocational
Programme and 3,226 (5.8%) the LC Applied Programme.
(a) Total Candidate Numbers sitting Core Subjects by Level and Gender
Leaving Certificate 2012 (2011 given in bracketed italics)
Female
Male
Total
IRISH
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
10,100 (9,270)
10,546 (12,172)
1,362 (1,656)
5,837 (5,089)
12,329 (13,048)
2,791 (3,162)
15,937 (14,359)
22,875 (25,220)
4,153 (4,818)
ENGLISH
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
17,977 (18,203)
7,140 (7,642)
14,988 (14,580)
10,412 (11,030)
32,965(32,783)
17,522 (18,672)
MATHEMATICS
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
5,159 (3,758)
17,199 (19,292)
2,480 (2,854)
5,972 (4,479)
16,717 (18,213)
2,915 (3,395)
11,131(8,237)
33, 916 (37,505)
5395 (6,249)
(b) Total Candidate Numbers sitting Core Subjects by Level, Grade A1 and Gender
Leaving Certificate 2012 (2011 given in bracketed italics)
A1 Grade
Female
Male
IRISH
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
8.3% (6%)
0.9% (1.1%)
3.6% (2.8%)
5.4% (4.6%)
0.4% (0.4%)
1.1% (0.9%)
ENGLISH
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
4.6% (4.6%)
3.4% (2.9%)
3.6% (3.8%)
2.2% (1.9%)
MATHEMATICS
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
1.6% (4.4%)
1.1% (4.8%)
1.7% (3.4%)
4.5% (6.8%)
1% (3.4%)
2.4% (3.5%)
Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) Link Modules (since 1989)

Students sitting the LCVP take a required number of subjects (5 including Irish) from the Established LC list as well as
additional modules focussed on the world of work. Their grades in the subjects are subsumed into the Established LC results.
There are no specific statistics easily available on the number of students in this category who have been granted exemption
from Irish. Participation and grades by gender (where available) are given in the table below. No information on the Link
Modules is given for 2010 on the Examinations Commission website.
Total Candidate Numbers sitting State Examinations 2007 2012

Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme Link Modules: Grades and Gender
Year
Grade
Male
Female
Overall Total
2007
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Ungraded
Total
14,080
1,554 (11%)
6,920
4,329
1,227 (8.7%)
2008
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Ungraded
Total
470
2,860
2,381
844
14,513
1,463
4,171
1,944
380
1,933 (13.3%)
7,031
4,325
1,224 (8.4%)
2009
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Ungraded
Total
15,091
1,697 (11%)
7,096
4,700
1,598 (10.6%)
2011
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Unsuccessful
Total
421
3,191
3,033
1,076
7,721
1,489
4,556
2,117
503
8,665
1,910 (11.6%)
7,747
5,150
1,579 (9.6%)
16,386
2012
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Unsuccessful
Total
1,943 (12.3%)
8,144
4,557
1,183 (7.5%)
15,827
The overall numbers opting for the LCVP increased over the period to 2011. The average ungrading which occurred was in
the region of 9.3% while the average of distinctions achieved was 11.7%. Where the information is given, females are clearly
outperforming males in these Link Modules.
Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA, since 1995)

Statistics are not available specifically on the number of LCA students who (a) have exemption from Irish or (b) on the total
number who sit the Irish course designed for LCA, Communicative Irish. The table shows participation over the period 20072011, gender composition of that participation and grades achieved. The alternative LCA is reported to be offered now in some
368 second-level schools (of total 720) or just over 50%.

Leaving Certificate Applied (Year 2): Grades and Gender
Year
Grade
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2011
Male
Female
Overall Total
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Record of Credits
Total
230
822
294
197
1,543
345
707
230
196
1,478
3,021
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Record of Credits
Total
237
974
327
239
1,777
357
830
233
203
1,623
3,400
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Record of Credits
Total
217
934
321
238
1,710
372
729
227
226
1,554
3,264
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Record of Credits
Total
212
1,018
310
259
1,799
415
758
196
190
1,559
3,358
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Record of Credits
Total
206
866
325
336
1,733
370
701
170
220
1,461
3,194
Distinction
Merit
Pass
Record of Credits
Total
1,516
1,710
667
1,658
438
463
3,226
It appears that more males than females take the LCA examination but that more females achieve a grade of Distinction.
Junior Certificate
Total Candidate Numbers sitting Core Subjects by Level & A Grade percentage by Gender
Junior Certificate 2007, 2009 and 2012 (school-based candidates only)
2007
2009
2012
Irish
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
Female
13,331
11,124
1,091
A Grade
13.2%
6.6%
22.1%
Male
9,162
13,064
2,065
A Grade
7.9%
2.9%
12.7%
Total
22,493
24,188
3,156
49,837
English
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
20,605
6,790
809
12.1%
10.2%
14.5%
17,135
9,802
1,530
7.9%
5.3%
8.9%
37,740
16,592
2,339
56,671
Mathematics
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
12,361
13,350
2,376
18.1%
10.4%
16%
11,443
13,745
3,264
17.1%
8.3%
16.3%
23,804
27,095
5,640
56,539
Female
12,963
9,895
956
A Grade
12.8%
5.5%
22.1%
Male
9,629
12,138
1,732
A Grade
7.8%
2.5%
11.8%
Total
22,592
22,033
2,688
47,313
English
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
19,366
6,716
758
13.1%
11.3%
13.9%
17,208
9,498
1,316
7.9%
5.1%
8.7%
36,574
16,214
2,074
54,862
Mathematics
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
12,032
12,503
2,237
16.5%
13.4%
17.4%
11,560
13,427
2,949
16.9%
10.2%
20.2%
23,592
25,930
5,186
54,708
Female
15,087
9,998
541
A Grade
14.1%
5.5%
17.4%
Male
11,017
13,030
1,136
A Grade
8.4%
2.9%
6.9 %
Total
26,104
23,028
1,677
50,809
English
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
22,214
5,824
571
13%
9.6%
12.8%
19,471
9,215
898
7.9%
5.8%
8.6%
41,685
15,039
1,469
58,193
Mathematics
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
14,198
12,534
1,813
14.4%
16.5%
14.7%
13,715
13,411
2,398
15.9%
12.3%
18.9%
27,913
25,945
4,211
58,069
Irish
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
Irish
Higher Level
Ordinary Level
Foundation Level
Total
Of the total 58,798 students who sat JC in 2012, females numbered 28,891 and males 29,907.
More males than females take Foundation and Ordinary Levels in all three subjects while more females than males attempt
the Higher Level in all three core subjects. In 2007, females outperformed males at every level in the three core subjects, except
Foundation Mathematics, 16% of females achieving an A grade to 16.3% for males. In 2009, the picture is similar, but males
outperformed females in A grades at both Higher (16.9% of males to 16.5% of females) and Foundation Mathematics (20.2%
to 17.4%). A similar picture obtained in 2012 when 15.9% of males achieved an A grade in Higher Level Mathematics to
14.4% of females; at Foundation Level the difference was 18.9% for males and 14.7% for females.
The number of males not sitting the higher level in both languages at Junior Certificate level does not augur well for the
Leaving Certificate. Results may change with the introduction of the major revisions planned for the Junior Cycle, including
assessment, from 2014 onwards.
Information in this section will cover development on relevant topics during the period under review.
STATE INITIATIVES
In this instance, State initiative is taken to mean any actions taken by the State which might have an impact on Irish-medium
education.
Literacy and teaching English in gaelscoileanna

Total immersion in Irish, particularly in the early years of primary school, is the preferred option of the organisation Gaelscoileanna
for its schools (and of most similar international systems). In July 2007, in the wake of other issues, the then Minister for
Education issued Circular 44/2007 to the Irish-medium sector. In effect, this Circular made clear that the teaching of English
could not be delayed beyond the end of the first term in Junior Infants. There followed more than two years of lobbying,
advice from the NCCA, research by COGG, and a High Court case brought by two Irish-medium primary schools and Foras
Ptrnachta, the patron body. Eventually, on 20 January 2010, a week before the court hearing, the Department withdrew the
circular and was willing to pay the legal costs of the plaintiffs. An ensuing explanatory statement from organisations affected,
headed Teaching of English Primary contained two principal points:
- the teaching of English in Irish-medium schools could be delayed up to the end of the first term of Senior
Infants (dependent on Board of Management approval, following consultation with patron, teachers and
parents association);
- if parents, however, requested it, the stipulated provision for English would have to be provided (30 minutes
daily; 2.5 hours weekly).
This move was initially welcome by all involved. Nevertheless, one sentence in the official statement was ambiguous:
- The approach that is being adopted seeks to strike a balance that ensures that the practice of Irish-medium
schools in providing immersion programmes can continue while at the same time respecting the position of
those parents who seek to have access to the national curriculum in English.
The Irish language lobby feared that a single individual parent could change the early immersion ethos of a school. No
further circular was issued but a reference in the conference report presented at the Annual Conference of Gaelscoileanna in
November 2011 indicated that such a circular was expected. This might have been a reference to subsequent events following
the statement below in the announcement withdrawing the controversial Circular 44 of 2007:
In its place the Minister for Education and Science intends to presribe the primary curriculum by regulation, as
provided for in Section 30 of the Education Act 2008.
In the issue of 19 September 2012 of the Irish newspaper, Gaelscal, an account is given of this affair on the basis of
documents released under the Freedom of Information Act. Among other things, the basis of the position taken by departmental
officials is shown. Full immersion in Irish in the early years of primary education might be seen as an la carte approach to the
official curriculum which could result in possible legal action being taken against the Department if the curriculum was not
seen to be fully implemented. On the other hand, the curriculum which had been prepared by the NCCA seemed to suggest
a more flexible approach in Infant classes, as did the approach of the NCCA in general. However, Removal of a subject for a
fixed period (English in the early years of Irish-medium education) was not apparently the departmental view of flexibility.
The Department tended to be legalistic and rigid in interpretation while the NCCA was more open to educational change on
grounds of research which might offer more than a single possibility and give schools a degree of autonomy.
This move towards guided autonomy is now seen in the proposed changes at the Junior Cycle of second level. In more
recent times, as recounted above, the new National Strategy for Literacy and Numeracy (2011) includes Irish language and
Irish-medium education. The next section immediately below shows the ongoing work of the NCCA on a curriculum for the
primary sector.
At post-primary level, nevertheless, a Whole School Evaluation (WSE) by the inspectorateh of one well-established Irishmedium school published in late 2009 requested that the school increase to five the existing four periods of English per week
to Junior Certificate students.
Research on literacy 2012

In 2012, the NCCA produced three research publications towards a new primary language curriculum, dealing with language
development in young children:
No. 14: Oral Language in Early Childhood and Primary Education (3-8 years)
No. 15: Literacy in Early Childhood and Primary Education (3-8 years)
No. 16: Towards an Integrated Language Curriculum for Primary Schools (3-12 years) u
These had been preceded by:
No. 13: Effective Language Teaching: A Synthesis of Research
The publication on integration of the language curriculum gave support to the pedadogic practices of many experienced
teachers, both in mainstream and Irish-medium schools, which had been based more on observation of childrens acquisition
and on common sense than on any easily identifiable research underpinning. In the (ideally) integrated curriculum and
experience of the primary school for pupils, more focussed teacher input to the optimisation of the literacy skills transfer which
occurs for pupils was a research conclusion welcomed particularly by gaelscoileanna. That oral development is a prerequisite for
literacy would seem to support early immersion in the second language.
Since there are sometimes calls to reduce the time given to Irish in school, these findings are significant (although not
unknown until now) in the Irish education context: skills transfer does occur in bilingual literacy and reduction or increase in
the time given to either literacy or numeracy activities in the primary school is less important than the actual input pupils receive.
School accommodation policies

Evolution of current policy
Up to 2008, Irish-medium schools were being established more or less independently, on the basis of application to the
Department and once the basic criteria required by the Department were satisfied. In 2008, the then Minister set in train a
review of this process for establishing new primary schools. For the duration of the review, decision on new gaelscoileanna was
suspended. The representative Commission on School Accommodation was established in order to place future provision on a
more planned and structured basis. The organisation Gaelscoileanna was a member of this Commission involved in drawing up
criteria for future recognition of new schools. The Commissions report of recommendations on primary level was published in
late 2010. They related largely to demographic factors; the location of new primary schools would be decided by the Department
based largely on demography. In 2011, the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the case of primary education was established
by the next administration to examine the situation where over 90% of primary schools were under the patronage of the
Roman Catholic Church. A gradual process, in consultation with parents and the local community, was eventually proposed
for any future change through divesting of Catholic patronage from existing primary schools.
There followed, in June 2011, an announcement on new arrangements pertaining to planning for second level, including
issues of school patronage, given the projected increase in enrolments from 317,000 to 334,000 by 2014. The size of any
new second-level schools was increased: most will now have to cater for 800-1000 pupils; location being a matter for the
Department. However, a lower threshold of 400 is to apply for gaelcholist. The group Educate Together, which runs some 60
primary schools, had also been recognised as a patron body which could apply in future for patronage of second-level schools.
Patrons could apply to the Department for patronage of the 40 new schools proposed to be built in the following six years.
Policy overall is now decision by the Department on the location of new primary and post-primary schools on clear largely
demographic criteria. Patrons may apply to the Department in the case of both primary and post-primary schools. Patrons
may include faith bodies, Vocational Education Committees, Educate Together or An Foras Ptrnachta. Joint patronage/
trusteeship for new or existing schools is also a possibility. What the Education Act 1998 describes as characteristic spirit and
the issue of patronage/trusteeship are, of course, closely intertwined.
The basic policy of Gaelscoileanna was to ensure that the rights of parents to Irish-medium education for their children,
at both primary and post-primary level, was upheld. This, however, apparently became somewhat diluted in the final official
policy issued which is less democratic, in the view of the organisation. Nevertheless, the organisation welcomed the revisions
to existing criteria on the recognition of new second-level schools as offering more clarity to the decision process.
The basic problem for the establishment of new Irish-medium schools at either first or second level lies now in the fact that
it is principally the Department which will make decisions on where new schools should be built, arising from demographic
factors and/or the existing supply, or lack, of school places overall. In the case of second-level schools, it is the Department
which will decide whether the school will be Irish or English-medium, depending on local factors within its own planning
exercise. While recognition is given to the role of Irish-medium education in the context of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish, neither
linguistic criteria nor ensuring a sustainable Irish-medium sector appear to be determining factors for departmental decisions
relating to provision. That local demand may exist appears not to be significant if it occurs in an area where expansion is not
planned or where sufficient places are available in English-medium schools. Longterm strategy for Irish-medium education is
not entirely clear as a concern for the Department. It appears dependent still on external or bottom-up pressure.
Nevertheless, it is possible to exercise this pressure. Since the Department publishes its planned areas for expansion, an
analytic case, based on research, may be made for the inclusion of Irish-medium education, on the basis of parental choice,
particularly at primary level, beyond what the Department may have decided. New schools require patrons to be responsible
for them. Patrons may be approached by the Department or may bid for patronage of schools.
Three new Irish-medium schools at second level (of 14) were announced by the Department for the period to 2014 (even
before patrons were agreed), Dundrum and Balbriggan in the greater Dublin area and Carrigaline outside Cork City. However,
eight other areas around the country are also seeking second-level gaelscoileanna, including Maynooth and Drogheda which
are within the Departments planned areas for expansion. Eight groups are seeking Irish-medium accommodation at primary
level with more planned. Only one new primary gaelscoil is currently scheduled to open in Dublin 15 in September 2012. Of
the list of new primary schools scheduled around the country for 2012-2013, An Foras Ptrnachta applied for patronage of
nine. Sixteen new primary schools were confirmed by the Minister in March 2012: four are gaelscoileanna, three in the Dublin
suburbs (all under the patronage of An Foras Ptrnachta) and one in the Galway suburbs (patronage not yet decided).
Possibilities for expansion of Irish-medium education appear to be curtailed although the education sector generally is in
expansion mode. To offset this problem to some extent, the organisation Gaelscoileanna is preparing policy papers on other
possibilities, including change to Irish-medium of schools which may be divested to other patrons from the patronage of the
Catholic Church (Forum on Patronage and Pluralism, 2011).
In the midst of all this planning for the future, existing accommodation is reported to be still substandard in some 50%
of existing Irish-medium schools, especially at primary level.
Increased pupil teacher ratio and closure of small schools

Measures were announced affecting all schools in Budget 2011 for 2012 which will have serious consequences for Irish-medium
education in the Gaeltacht and generally. Enrolments in primary schools at end September 2011 will determine retention and
appointment of teachers within an increased pupil teacher ratio. In addition, the ratio for Irish-medium schools will revert
to the general norm. Only some DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) schools in Band 1 in the Gaeltacht
are to remain relatively unaffected by the changes. Since many schools in the Gaeltacht are small rural schools, their future is
now precarious and a community focal point will be lost. A survey by COGG reported in February 2011 that almost 70% of
Gaeltacht schools had three teachers or less. Other Irish-medium gaelscoileanna will lose teachers with consequent pressure on
staffs coping with a mixed linguistic intake. At second level, the post of Career Guidance is now within the standard allocation
quota which means that many schools may have to lose that post within the distribution of teachers in order to maintain
existing subject choices for students.
On 11 January 2012, the first day of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Parliament) re-opening after the Christmas break of
2011, questions were asked in the Dil on the ratio issue and in relation to DEIS schools in particular in the Gaeltacht. This
event was preceded by meetings of Gaeltacht representatives with local deputies. The Ministers response revealed that an
individual review of each DEIS school would be published within four weeks; decisions to be based on this review. In the event,
concessions were made but the funding came at the expense of other areas of education.
Other measures of concern

Among other measures which could affect Irish-medium education, if implemented in their entirety, are:
- reduction in capitation for both levels (Irish-medium education may retain its more favourable rate, although
still suffering reduction);
- abolition or absorption into the Department of the support Council for Irish-medium Education, COGG;
[absorbtion was finally announced at the end of November 2012];
- possible absorption of bodies as the National Centre for Technology in Education, The Exchange Bureau,
National Centre for Guidance in Education, Aontas (Adult Education), National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment;
- the possibility of culturally important subjects as History and Geography becoming optional in the new
arrangements for Junior Certificate [this will in future depend largely on individual school policyn] .
Recent research
Several studies on reading in the Irish-medium sector had been published around the period under review in this update, two
by COGG (2004 and 2009) as well as a comparison of literacy policy in the sector by the NCCA (2007). The most recent is The
2010 National Assessments of English Reading and Mathematics in Irish-Medium Schools, conducted by the Educational Research
Centre (ERC). ERC carries out research on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills; the Inspectorate oversees the
implementation of assessments in schools. Results in Mathematics are found below, in the section Irish in the primary school:
Research results.
As these assessments in the Irish-medium sector took place after the national assessments but using the same tools,
comparisons were possible. Response rate was high. Pupils in 2nd and in 6th class were tested in gaelscoileanna (54) and in
Gaeltacht (51) primary schools.
In general, achievement was higher among pupils in the Irish-medium sector than in the national assessment scores
recorded for the primary school population overall in 2009.
English Reading as compared with National Assessment 2009
- gaelscoileanna: scores were significantly higher for pupils in both 2nd and 6th class (no significant difference
between boys and girls in either class);
- Gaeltacht: scores were significantly higher for pupils in 6th class with girls scoring significantly higher than
boys; scores were higher but not significantly so for 2nd class (no significant difference between boys and girls).
An interesting finding emerged from a recent (2012) report in the study Growing Up in Ireland. This report, Influences on
9-Year-Olds Learning, is based on interviews with some 8,500 children. Pupils attending gaelscoileanna were more likely to be
involved in cultural activities during leisure and less likely to be watching television as a result. This did not, however, apply
in the case of Gaeltacht schools. The researchers, then, did not consider these findings to be connected with Irish language
culture. A related work, The Primary Classroom: Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study, was published jointly by
the ESRI (Economic and Social Research Institute) and the NCCA (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment). It
appears that, despite the active involvement orientation of the 1999 Primary Curriculum, traditional class teaching methods
still prevail, particularly in larger classes. Childrens school experience varies according to school and teacher. The respondents
(9-year-olds) surveyed conveyed that they spent most time in school on English, Mathematics, Irish and Religion but the mix
varied according to school. Interestingly, pupils in gaelscoileanna were more likely to experience a broad curriculum.
Information on two pieces of research were given at a conference convened by COGG in May 2013. Both concerned
Gaeltacht schools. One showed that competence in English was higher than competence in Irish even among students whose
first language was Irish. It was then recommended that education must support the first language first, that the policy of having
the two languages simultaneously was not developing the first language. The second research was announced by DES to be
completed in mid-2014 with the aim of providing models/choices in accordance with the planning needs of Gaeltacht areas as
outlined in the Gaeltacht Act 2012.
VOLUNTARY SUPPORT AGENCIES

The same voluntary support organisations for Irish in education are still functioning although some are now under threat due
in particular to the proposed policy of one of the funders, Foras na Gaeilge, to replace core funding with a system of competitive
schemes based on a set of themes (Chapter 3, Funding, above).
Organisation
Public
Funder
Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge [1964]
Teachers of Irish
Core-funded by Foras na Gaeilge
Forbairt Naonra Teo (FNT)

[Pre-school provision through
Irish outside the Gaeltacht, 1978]
Parents, Leaders
Committees

State funding also for services
Comhar Naonra na Gaeltachta Teo

[Pre-school provision through
Irish in the Gaeltacht, 2004]
Core-funded by dars na
Gaeltachta
State funding also for services
Gaelscoileanna
[Irish-medium education, 1973]
Schools, Parents,
Teachers, Committees
Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta

[Irish-medium education in the
Gaeltacht]
Parents, Committees
Was core-funded by Department

responsible for language for a time
An Foras Ptrnachta
[Patron body for Irish-medium education]
Some funding from the Department

of Education and Skills [as patron]
In fact, funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta (ESG)
was ended in Sept 2013 as it was contingent on the organisation amalgamating with Gaelscoileanna and this had not finally
been achieved. Forbairt Naonra Teoranta and Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge were also affected by the application of the new
funding model of Foras na Gaeilge.
POLICY AND STATISTICS AT 2012

The statistics given in the tables below concentrate on the contemporary picture and on the situation at the end of 2012.
Policy issues too are contemporary but may be ongoing or still under discussion, given changes in the economy, in education
in general, and in the operation of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish.
NAONRA PRESCHOOL PROVISION
General context
The overall context and some recent developments in preschool provision generally are found below in the section entitled
Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): CECDE and NCCA.
All forms of preschool provision are regulated and staff training is encouraged through this and through the conditions
attaching to registration of types of provision particularly with regard to the State funding recently provided to service providers
for the free preschool year.
In the Irish language sector, the organisation Forbairt Naonra Teoranta (FNT, development of Irish preschool services
outside the Gaeltacht) is funded by organisational core-funding from Foras na Gaeilge and funding for naonra (preschools)
through the preschool services programme of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, which is administered by Pobal
(Community). Pobal (2005) describes itself as a not-for-profit company with charitable status that manages programmes
on behalf of the Irish Government and the EU. Area Development Management (ADM, 1992) was its predecessor; as the
name suggests, the focus is on local community partnership towards local decision-making in a co-ordinated fashion within a
philosophy of subsidiarity.
For 2012, despite fears for the future, capital funding was secured from Pobal for 18 nionra around the country, 11
outside the Gaeltacht and the remainder in the Donegal, Galway and Cork Gaeltachta. Both organisations, FNT and Comhar
Naonra na Gaeltachta Teoranta, assisted individual naonra in making their applications.
Gaeltacht Naonra
Comhar Naonra na Gaeltachta Teoranta was established by dars na Gaeltachta in 2004. It is incorporated as a limited
company. It now operates throughout the seven Gaeltacht regions from a central office in Ceathr Rua (Carraroe) (with
Manager and administrative backup) and three regional offices in the Mayo, Donegal and Waterford Gaeltacht areas. Four
Development Officers are employed across the different regions. There is also an Ionad Bragn (Toy Centre) in each region. A
regular newsletter is issued, Blth (Blossoming). The organisation is also available to assist other forms of childcare, including
toddler and family support.
Provision operates on a sessional basis which thus provides more opportunities for participation. There are currently 137
employed in these Naonra. The children are aged between 2 years 10 months (on 1 September) and 5 years. Those aged
between 3 years 3 months and 4 years 6 months on September 1st in any year may benefit from the free preschool year (3 hours
daily for 5 days during 38 weeks).
Training for Stirthir (Leaders) is an important aspect of the work and courses are run locally towards the various
qualification levels awarded by FETAC (Further Education and Training Awards Council). The quality assurance curriculum,
Solta, and the child development curriculum, Aistear, are also implemented. These are further described below in the section
entitled Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE): CECDE and NCCA.
Policy issues for Gaeltacht preschool provision

A new Government initiative allowing children one year of free preschool education led to an increase in attendance at all
forms of provision, including at provision through the medium of Irish. However, the umbrella organisation for Naonra in
the Gaeltacht drew attention to the lack of any linguistic condition accompanying this funding.
One of the basic challenges to be overcome, to the benefit of the participating children and in order to realise the linguistic
aim of the provision, was the reality of the mixed linguistic intake in the Gaeltacht naonra. This varies from native speakers
through degrees of fluency to total beginner learners. A survey in 2007-2008 showed that, in the estimation of Stirthir
(Leaders), 18% of entering children were native speakers and 7% were good speakers, leaving 75% in the beginner learner
category. Of the 74 naonra then operating, 39 (or 53% of the total) contained at least one native speaker; 51 (69% of the
total) contained native and/or good speakers; and it would appear that 23 (or 31%) contained only beginner learners.
The advantage for policy lay, however, in the capacity of the age group to acquire and develop language, once presented in
appropriate ways. To this end, the organisation first developed a curriculum, Loinnir (Light, Radiance), and then a language
planning approach, Borradh (Expansion). The latter is a joint project developed through a working group of the organisation in
collaboration with an expert from Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) which provides childcare courses. The differentiated
language approach provides templates for language items by topic. The same language function is presented in a cyclical
manner in increasing complexity: full sentence for the native speaker; phrase for the child with good/reasonable competence;
word/phrase or evidence of comprehension from the beginner learner. The Stirthir (Leader) then plans a series of activities
and accompanying language items on the topic. Material on the first topic (M Fin Myself ) and subtopics was launched
by the then Minister with responsibility for language in April 2009. Feedback after use during 2008-2009 was positive and
constructive, the latter centring on the need for more dialect-specific language and more contact with home/community. A
visit from Trinity College, Carmarthen, led to the choice of the second topic, An Timpeallacht (Environment), for use during
2009-2010. An Advisory Committee was also established.

The change (June 2011) made by the incoming Coalition of March 2011 in reserving the functions of dars na Gaeltachta
solely to the Gaeltacht , albeit with some adjustments to its economic remit, may prove of some funding benefit to the social
and cultural initiatives the agency funds; these include preschool provision. The national rle for the agency envisaged in the
first iteration of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish (December 2010) might, on the other hand, have resulted in national provision
in the preschool area, possible amalgamation of existing support organisations, and possible adjustments to the funding from
the (new) Department for Children and Youth. In any event, funding for the organisation (Comhar Naonra na Gaeltachta
Teoranta) developing preschool provision in the Gaeltacht does not currently appear to be in the same threatened position as in
the case of the organisation (FNT) developing preschool provision outside the Gaeltacht.
Capital expansion in preschool provision, whether in the Gaeltacht or in the rest of the country, had been provided by the
State through the agency Pobal (Community). This appears currently under threat (2011-2012) with consequent implications
for the Irish-medium sector.
Development in the Gaeltacht sector

Information in the following table was current in late 2011.
Gaeltacht Naonra Seven Regions 2011

Total number of sessions
Total number of children
Duration of Sessions
82
1,000 plus
2.5 hours daily x 5 days
Naonra outside the Gaeltacht

The organisation, Forbairt Naonra Teoranta (Development of Naonra Limited), FNT, began in 2003 as the successor to An
Comhchoiste Ramhscolaochta (Joint Committee for Preschooling, 1978). Both were the result of an agreement between the
voluntary organisation, Na Naonra Gaelacha, and the State board, Bord (later Foras) na Gaeilge. The sole difference between
FNT and its predecessor lay in the change from a national remit to responsibility for provision outside the Gaeltacht only, given
the establishment of a company by dars na Gaeltachta to service preschool provision within the Gaeltacht regions. While
the general situation is different in Northern Ireland, the organisation Altram has representation on the board of FNT and the
annual grant from Foras na Gaeilge is channelled through FNT to Altram. The NI organisation also produces valuable resources
and takes a lead in training in NI.
In recent years, the staff composition of FNT has changed. The office now has a Principal Officer, three staff members who
work on various areas of development and a Financial Administrator. Network meetings are arranged for Stirthir (Leaders)
at clinics throughout the country to enable communication networks between groups. Demonstrations and exhibitions of
resources are provided at clinics.
Training takes place through the intensive weeklong courses provided by the organisation and through FETAC (Further
Education and Training Awards Council). FNT is a recognised provider of FETAC Levels 5 and 6 course modules which have
been developed through the medium of Irish. Level 5 will be the minimum qualification required by September 2012 for State
recognition in registered forms of provision eligible for State grants.
Appropriate resources not otherwise available are provided by FNT to naonra outside the Gaeltacht, and these are kept
up to date. They include Basic Irish for Parents & Carers and An Traein, published in collaboration with Gaelscoileanna, on the
transition from preschool to primary school, from naonra to gaelscoil.
Policy issues for preschool provision outside the Gaeltacht

The change (June 2011) made by the incoming Coalition of March 2011 in reserving the functions of dars na Gaeltachta
solely to the Gaeltacht , albeit with some adjustments to its economic remit, reversed the national rle for the agency originally
envisaged in the first iteration of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish (December 2010). The original intention might have resulted in
possible amalgamation of the existing support organisations and hence some separation of the funding functions of dars and
An Foras with possible adjustments to the funding from the (new) Department of Children and Youth. This could have meant
that FNT might not now be in the uncertain core-funding position it finds itself with Foras na Gaeilge.
While some funding may still be available from the Department of Children and Youth for the organisation FNT, it is
the core funding from Foras na Gaeilge (since 1978) that enabled the development of the supportive structure on which the
organisational edifice depends. Withdrawal or radical change to this could affect more than specific forms of assistance such as
the capitation or equipment assistance schemes FNT operates. Operation is possible on reduced funding but closure and future
attempts at rebuilding are rarely successful. In its submission to Foras na Gaeilge on the issue of the new Funding Model based
on competitive theme-based schemes, FNT make the following points:
- the advantages of a collaborative approach engaging all parties in the processes of planning, development and operation;
- the need for clear definition of terminology in use in explanatory material on the schemes;
- the advantages of multi-annual funding and need for indicative budgets for each proposed scheme;
- the significance of taking into account the structural differences between early childhood education and care in
NI and in ROI;
- the necessity for an appeal system to be integrated into the new Funding Model;
- the need to maintain FNT services to this large and growing sector, so vital to the future of the language,
services which comprise: ensuring compliance with State regulations; training for staff and committees;
capitation and assistance (start-up) grant;
- the need for continued research into early childhood language acquisition.
Capital expansion in preschool provision, whether in the Gaeltacht or in the rest of the country, had been provided by State
through the agency Pobal (Community). As with many official initiatives, this appears currently under threat (2011-2012)
with consequent possible implications for the Irish-medium sector.
FNT encourages the use of the curriculum course, Aistear, and the standards-oriented package, Solta, and has provided
its own version in Irish. To date, the team with Solta were unable to deliver workshops through Irish. FNT hopes to work
on implementation of this aspect during 2012. A partnership arrangement is being worked out with the NCCA to provide
workshops on Aistear through Irish also. In December 2010, a joint seminar was held by FNT and Gaelscoileanna on early years
education. It encompassed Aistear, Solta and Irish-medium Infant classes using the Primary Curriculum and was addressed by
speakers from the NCCA and the Early Years Education Policy Unit in the Department of Education.
Ensuring a cadre of well-qualified fluent personnel for the naonra is a significant policy area, given the new regulations.
FNT holds an oral test for those wishing to undergo the intensive course offered by the organisation. The vacancies section of
the notice board online is mostly and continually used by Naonra Committees to advertise for personnel.
Development in the sector outside the Gaeltacht

The most recent increased figures are given in the table below.
Naonra outside the Gaeltacht 2011-2012 in the 26 Counties of ROI

Total
Naonra
Sessions
Children
Staff
182
249
4,339
424
Included in these 182 naonra are 15 that were newly established during 2011-2012. Several naonra operate on the Montessori
method.
However, FNT function under a broad remit. The organisation also assists in establishing, sustaining and servicing a
varied range of youth and family supports functioning through Irish: crches, mother and toddler groups, after school services,
Summer activity camps. At parental request, a number of English-medium crches have begun Irish-medium sessions and FNT
is available to assist here also.
No less than 23 new naonra were announced by FNT in various locations throughout the country to open in September
2012 with 40 staff operating through Irish. In 2011, the number of new naonra was 25. FNT considers the official free
preschool year to have contributed to this development together with a growing awareness of the benefits of early childhood
education, including for language acquisition.
OVERALL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NAONRA SECTOR
Over 5,000 children are currently in the Irish-medium preschool sector.
Naonra: Total 2011-2012 in the 26 Counties of ROI

Total
Naonra
Sessions
Children
Staff
Gaeltacht
82
1,000
137
Outside Gaeltacht
182
249
4,339
424
331
5,339
561
Overall Total
GAELSCOILEANNA PRIMARY AND POST-PRIMARY PROVISION
General context
Given the range of issues described above under STATE INITIATIVES, it was hardly surprising that, by the end of 2011, the
proponents of Irish-medium education felt that the system, so painstakingly built up, was under sustained attack. However,
while the education system in general was also suffering, it was the curb in future expansion of the Irish-medium education
which could bring the more serious outcomes for the Irish-medium sector. Possible closure of small schools was the threat in
Gaeltacht areas together with the reduction of teaching personnel in disadvantaged schools as a result of a proposed increase in
the pupil teacher ratio at primary level in particular.
Even more serious were the proposed new enrolment policies mooted in July 2013 by the Minister for Education which
could prevent the Irish-medium sector from giving priority to Irish-speaking families. The organization Gaelscoileanna in its
submission sought such priority for primary level and at second level priority to those who had attended Irish-medium primary
schools. Ministers plan was intended to ensure equality of access for incomers, for those with learning difficulties, for all social
classes with the primary emphasis on the local area as first choice. The religious characteristic spirit of schools was maintained
exempt from the proposed regulations but not the linguistic.
Internal policy issues

The possibility of a merger between the two organisations engaged with Irish-medium education was also under discussion.
Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta (ESG), which encourages the continuation and development of Irish-medium education
in all the Gaeltacht areas, assented at their AGM in October 2011 to talks with Gaelscoileanna, the organisation responsible for
the coordination of Irish-medium education outside the Gaeltacht. Direct funding to both groups from their respective funders
is currently under threat. Both organisations are incorporated as legal entities.
DEVELOPMENT
Statistics
The information in the following tables is from the organisation Gaelscoileanna. Figures for the school year 2010-2011 in the
Republic of Ireland (ROI) and in Northern Ireland (NI) are first given separately, by level, and then in a composite table. Some
slight discrepancies may occur between figures issued by organisations and by the DES due to the time of year that statistics
are gathered, a new school being officially recognised or not, schools being amalgamated.
Irish-medium Education outside the Gaeltacht 2010-2011

Primary Republic of Ireland
Schools
Pupils
Teachers
Connacht
18
3,720
189 + 10 p/t
Leinster
66
15,377
775 + 43 p/t
Munster
45
9,218
492 + 32 p/t
Ulster (3 counties)
10
1,418
71 + 10 p/t
139
29,733
1,527 + 95 p/t
Schools
Pupils
Teachers
33
2,818
176
Schools
Pupils
Teachers
545
48 + 5 p/t
Leinster
15
3,971
266 + 44 p/t
Munster
15
3,001
260 + 73 p/t
371
40 + 7 p/t
36
7,888
114 + 129 p/t
Schools
Pupils
Teachers
732
74
Pupils
Teachers
TOTAL

Primary Northern Ireland
Ulster (6 counties)
TOTAL

Post-primary Republic of Ireland
Connacht
Ulster (3 counties)
TOTAL

Post-primary Northern Ireland
Ulster (6 counties)
TOTAL

Total: Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Schools

PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
139
29,733
1,527 + 95 p/t
33
2,818
176
36
7,888
614 +129 p/t
732
74
212
41,171
2,391 + 224 p/t
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
OVERALL TOTAL
The next set of tables give an overview of development for the years 2008-2012.
Irish-medium Education outside the Gaeltacht 2008/2009-2012

Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
2009-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
Schools
Pupils
Teachers
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
139
31
27,339
2,766
1,468 + 12 p/a
162
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
3
7,136
607
589 +86 p/t

58
OVERALL TOTAL
209
37,848
2,277 + 98 p/t
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
138
31
28,581
2,723
1,490 + 105 p/t

169
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
2
7,468
690
639 +102 p/t

55
OVERALL TOTAL
207
39,462
2,353 + 207 p/t
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
139
33
29,733
2,818
1,527 + 95 p/t
176
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
4
7,888
732
614 +129 p/t

74
212
41,171
2,391 + 224 p/t
OVERALL TOTAL
Irish-medium Education outside the Gaeltacht 2008/2009-2012

2011-2012
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
141
35
31,050
2,904
1,561 + 83 p/t
158
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
5
8,427
752
628 +151 p/t

69
217
43,133
2,416 + 234 p/t
OVERALL TOTAL
The organisation Gaelscoileanna additionally reports that currently (late 2012) with regard to schools and pupils in the
ROI outside the Gaeltacht:
- 4.4% of primary schools are gaelscoileanna;
- pupils in these schools comprise 5.9% of the primary school population;
- 4.9% of post-primary schools are gaelcholist or have Irish-medium units;
- pupils in these schools comprise 2.2% of the post-primary school population.
From 2008-2009, figures are no longer given for the number of families involved with Irish-medium education. However,
in 2009-2009, the following figures pertained.
Number of Families involved in Irish-medium Education 2008-2009
Primary
Post-primary
TOTAL
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
18,558
1,889
5,159
197
20,447
5,356
OVERALL
25,803
On the issue of the ethnic background of gaelscoil pupils, the vast majority are Irish, as might be expected when most
incomers are either English-speaking or wish to acquire the majority language, English. The following statistics were reported
for ROI in 2011.
Background of Pupils in Irish-medium Education outside the Gaeltacht in the Republic
2009-2010
Irish
EU
Outside EU
98.5%
1%
0.5%
99%
0.2%
0.8%
Primary
98.5%
1%
0.5%
Post-Primary
98.7%
0.8%
0.5%
Primary
Post-Primary
2010-2011
A relevant point of interest arising from a study conducted by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of
the Department of Education and Skills entitled The 2010 National Assessments of English Reading and Mathematics in IrishMedium Schools was the finding that:
pupils born outside Ireland represented 7% and 6% (2nd and 6th class) in gaelscoileanna, 11% and 13% in Gaeltacht
schools, but 14% and 15% in the national assessment.
With regard to NI, the Department of Education statistics show the total number of newcomer pupils at school in NI
(except hospital and independent schools) in the school year 2011-2012 as 8,418, up from 1,366 ten years ago in 2001-2002.
Irish-medium schools are not distinguished as part of the total. However, and as noted in the table above with respect to ROI,
Irish-medium schools on an all-island basis, will tend to have a percentage of newcomers among their pupils.
In mid-2009, it was announced that Irish-medium education organisations North and South had jointly produced
information leaflets on the benefits of Irish-medium education, directed principally at parents. The leaflets were published in
Irish and English, and in a range of other languages: French, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Russian.
For a grassroots movement which began in 1972 with 11 Primary and 5 Post-primary schools in the Republic, the
development is quite significant: to 212 Primary and 40 Post-primary schools, covering both jurisdictions, catering for over
40,000 students and 20,500 families, and employing 2,391 teachers full-time and 224 part-time in 20010-2011. One postprimary school in Galway, Coliste na Coiribe, cannot cope with applications up to 2017 and beyond.
Recent statistics give the following approximate picture (pupil numbers in brackets).
Irish-medium education 2012-2013

Jurisdiction/Level
Primary
Post-primary
Total number of pupils
RoI Gaelscoileanna
144 (32,549)
36 (8,890) incl 2 streams
41,439
103 (7,500)
21 (2,700)
10,200
36 (3,945)
1 + 3 units
3,945
RoI Gaeltacht
NI Gaelscoileanna
Research
Available research has demonstrated that a significant number of parents would be likely to send their children to an Irishmedium primary school if available. Other considerations, including ease of access, would influence their choice of secondlevel school for their children. However, several factors are currently influencing the present and possible future supply of
Irish-medium schools: changes to Government policy which now allocate schools, and the ethos of schools by patronage, in
accordance with new emphases on local planning and supply; the changes which arose from the final report of the Forum on
Patronage and Pluralism in Primary Education which, in the first instance, could affect some 250 schools across the country
particularly since two other patron bodies (in addition to An Foras Ptrnachta) now profess themselves willing to be considered
by the DES as patrons of Irish-medium schools (the Catholic Church; Educate Together); parental choice/parental rights; a
possible future policy of gaelicising existing schools; co-existence of different-type schools on the same campus; streams within
schools; lack of appropriately trained teachers (some subject teachers in particular for second level). All these factors, however,
should properly be set for examination within the aspirations of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish, which is another aspect of
Government policy.
The early 2012 announcement on schools building and refurbishment to 2014 caused both relief (to those long in
inappropriate accommodation) and anger (to those omitted once again from the list) within the Irish-medium sector.
POLICY AND SOME CURRENT CONCERNS/ACTIVITIES
These are largely covered in the section above, STATE INITIATIVES.
Three areas of activity

The organisation, Gaelscoileanna, views its work as falling into three distinct areas: establishing schools; maintaining schools;
developing school communities. Establishing schools is now somewhat curtailed by new departmental developments.
Maintaining schools takes many forms: working towards formal full recognition as opposed to temporary recognition;
campaigning for better conditions in substandard accommodation; provision of position papers on all aspects affecting medium
education, including resources, syllabuses, examinations, school policies including entrance policies; training and in-service
opportunities for boards of management and teaching staff; research; public relations; representation on, or collaboration with,
a range of education agencies including lectures in Colleges of Education on teaching in the Irish-medium sector. Development
of school communities currently means inter-school activities for school: sports and talent shows (which include Gaeltacht
schools also); an electronic newsletter; regional networks for schools; support for activities involving parents; participation
in the group, Fram Scoilphobail, (Forum for School Community Development), which includes the voluntary agencies:
Comhluadar (Irish in the home), Comhdhail Nisinta na Gaeilge (Council of 24 organisations), FNT (preschool provision),
Gaelscoileanna and two NI bodies, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta (Council) and Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaochta (Trust). More
future-oriented aspects of school community development concerns extra-school and post-school use of Irish. On these points,
several viewpoints pertain: the need for support activities to ensure use outside the school environment (e.g. clubs) and, on
the other hand, a certain sense of disappointment that post-school life seems to mitigate against continued use of Irish. There
is anecdotal evidence to support the idea that when both home and school support language use, transmission is more likely
to take place even where only one parent may speak Irish. Those with experience of Irish-medium education appear generally
more disposed towards the same experience for their own children.
In collaboration with FNT (Naonra), a booklet (An Traein) was launched in September 2011 on the transfer from the Irishmedium naonra to the Irish-medium primary school. Ideas in the publication were to be piloted in the school year 2011-2012.

Disquiet was expressed at the 2010 AGM that a number of schools (with Roman Catholic children) were unable to ensure
celebration of the sacraments through Irish in their nearest parish. Lack of coherent centralised diocesan policy appeared to
be the problem. Both Gaelscoileanna and An Foras Ptrnachta continue to lobby the Episcopate at national and local level.
NORTH/SOUTH COLLABORATION

The aim of this Committee is enhancement of teacher education in the Irish-medium sector in both jurisdictions. It includes
the teacher support units within the respective Departments of Education, the NI official body, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta,
and the voluntary agency, Gaelscoileanna. Teacher exchanges and focus groups on a small scale are currently ongoing. It has
received support at the NSMC in Education sectoral format.

Gaelscoileanna was a founder member, together with the two NI bodies, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta (Council) and Iontaobhas
na Gaelscolaochta (Trust), of the Coiste Seasta or Standing Committee on Irish-medium education; this grew out of its
forerunner, Gaelscolaocht ireann (Irish-medium Education Ireland). This now includes all relevant representative agencies. It
meets regularly and conducted a high level conference on ongoing research into aspects of Irish-medium education during the
school year 2010-2011. More detail is provided in Chapter 8, below.
Joint Policy
In September 2006, at the instigation of Foras na Gaeilge, a Steering Group on Immersion Education was formed to agree a
joint policy among the participating organisations. This policy was published, in bilingual format, in June 2009 following a
process of discussion and seminar work. The participants included, on the official side, representatives of: the two Departments
of Education, the Education and Library Boards NI, Foras na Gaeilge, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta NI; from the voluntary
sector: the two preschool organisations, FNT (ROI) and Altram (NI), An tisaonad (Resource Centre, NI), Gaelscoileanna,
Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (Teachers of Irish). The patron body, An Foras Ptrnachta, also participated, but a note in the
document states that the immersion education policy described is not that of An Foras Ptrnachta.
The definition of immersion education is based on available research and is rendered as:
Immersion education is education, wholly or in part, through the medium of the target language. For the purposes of
this policy, the target language is Irish.
The document itself is a series of statements under various headings: Aims and Outcomes, Models, Good Practice, The Way
Ahead (which also contains a mission statement).

This Review (Chapter 8), recommended, inter alia, that:
Opportunities for development and exchange should be developed, on an all Ireland and an east/west basis.
GAELSCOILEANNA AND FORMS OF PATRONAGE
An Foras Ptrnachta was established formally in1993; it is incorporated as a company without share capital. It is recognised by
the Department of Education as a patron for both primary and secondary schools operating through the medium of Irish. The
main role of patron (as set out in legislation) is to foster and maintain the characteristic spirit of the school. Patrons also appoint
Boards of Management and ensure compliance with financial and legal requirements in addition to exercising a supervisory role
in relation to certain appointments and in the proper maintenance of institutional assets. Patrons generally provide support in
these matters through training, provision of materials, information and advice for Boards. Among the four staff of An Foras
Ptrnachta is an Adviser to Boards appointed late in 2011. Schools under An Foras have a dual ethos; linguistically, all have an
Irish language ethos governing both immersion education and all forms of school administration and communication; their
religious ethos may be any religious denomination (including Catholic), interdenominational or multi denominational.
Not all gaelscoileanna have An Foras as patron; others, particularly the older schools, and depending on level (primary
or post-primary), may be under the patronage of the Catholic Church, the local Vocational Educational Committee or the
Department of Education (Model Schools). The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector established by the
Minister for Education in 2011 recognised both the Irish-medium sector as among the choices parents might make for their
children and An Foras Ptrnachta as patron. The parent surveys in Autumn 2012 in the particular areas (44 in total; initial
surveys in 5) which resulted from the report of the Forum included the choice of Irish-medium education among others. The
aim of the Forum and the surveys was to allow a more varied choice to parents and possible change to other patrons from the
existing patronage of the Catholic Church in the case of the majority of schools. Interestingly, both the Catholic Church and
Educate Together now profess themselves willing to offer themselves (to DES) as possible future patrons of Irish-medium schools
in areas where that may be the preferred parental choice. The survey itself was made available in Irish also. However, criticism
arose because the survey form was offered basically online or parents had to apply to the department for a paper version.
There are currently (2012) 58 primary schools and 3 post-primary schools under the patronage of An Foras Ptrnachta
together with some others granted by the Department for future years. New schools are encouraged to choose An Foras as
patron. The body organises meetings in areas where parents have expressed an interest in Irish-medium education. It offers
services to founding committees. These activities are also carried out by the organisation Gaelscoileanna. Both organisations
generally collaborate on all aspects of mutual concern. Several organisations (Conradh na Gaeilge, Glr na nGael, Comhluadar
and An Foras Ptrnachta) came together to establish the campaigning group, Aitheantas (Recognition). As the name implies,
the initial intention was to support one new school, Gaelscoil Rth T (Ratoath), in its efforts to acquire official recognition (and
therefore funding) from the Department of Education. However, the campaign quickly became generalised to ensure Irishmedium education as a criterion in the selection of areas for expansion by the Department. A member of the staff of An Foras
Ptrnachta is now dedicated to this function. Other organisations, especially Gaelscoileanna, were, of course, also involved
in the campaign for Rth T which opened with nine pupils (others having made other choices while departmental sanction
was awaited) on the basis of temporary private funding in August 2010 before a solution was found. In December 2010, a
new school was announced for nearby Cill Dhaglin (Ashbourne). An Foras Ptrnachta with the assistance of Gaelscoileanna
and Gaelscoil Rth T sought and was granted patronage of this new multi-denominational school which opened in September
2011 and to which Rth T was amalgamated.
The body also liaises with the Department of Education on behalf of schools, in its role as recognised patron. An Foras was
recognised by the Department in the discussions on forms of patronage instigated in 2011 where it argued for the provision of
information which could encourage demand for Irish-medium education in areas where experience of such a choice was lacking.
Other points included: discussion on the number of pupils required to set up a new school and the possibility of establishing
a satellite gaelscoil in an English-medium school rather than an Irish-medium stream in such a school where demand existed.
Experience has proved that streams are generally more difficult to maintain as totally Irish-medium within an English-medium
environment. The Department announced that gaelscoileanna (as specifically linguistic schools) would no longer benefit from a
more favourable pupil teacher ration but would revert to that pertaining in ordinary primary schools for the 2012-2013 school
year. This is a policy area where An Foras makes representations to the Department, particularly in order to ensure a panel of
appropriate teachers for Irish-medium education from among those who may now lose their posts in schools. To date, the
Department has not acquiesced on this point despite questions in the Dil (Parliament) and other forms of lobbying.
Effects of Gaelscoileanna: Domestic and European

In the domestic sphere, with the continued development of Irish-medium education, the number of children, families and
communities involved with the Irish language continues to grow. The educational standing of organisations in the Irishmedium sector is also high. At second-level, gaelscoileanna are regularly cited in informal schools league results for the high
percentage of their students who proceed to third level. Participation is clear also in official bodies and influence on policy are
areas where this expertise is acknowledged.
The Irish-medium sector continues to have contacts with other European educational systems operating through lesserused languages. Gaelscoileanna hosted the 2011 international conference of CAER (Organisation for Education in the Regions
of Europe) on the theme of The Place of Minority Languages in the Development of Multilingualism. It currently (20112012) holds the chair of CAER.
IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION IN THE GAELTACHT
General context
As shown in several surveys over the years, the mixed linguistic composition of Gaeltacht schools was, and is, a constant source
of concern and of difficulty. Statistics compiled by COGG from existing surveys and released towards the end of February 2011
show that of the 9,500 pupils in Gaeltacht primary schools, no more than 1,000 (10.52%) were native speakers, and 70% of
schools had three teachers or less. As shown above, Policy issues for Gaeltacht preschool provision, a survey in 2007-2008
showed that, in the estimation of Stirthir (Leaders), 18% of entering children were native speakers and 7% were good
speakers, leaving 75% in the beginner learner category. A research publication from COGG in 2007 (A Structure for Education
in the Gaeltacht) called for a separate Education Board for Gaeltacht education and a Minister of State with such responsibility
to be appointed in the Department of Education. This echoed previous demands which are still (2012) being sought. In
comparison with lower figures given below in statistics from the Department of Education, a table in this 2007 COGG research
cites 143 primary schools and 30 post-primary schools operating in the Gaeltacht in 2004.
Another constant refrain is the non-implementation of several reports and recommendations on Gaeltacht education, some
going back many years. But the retreat from Irish-medium education in the Gaeltacht still continues. A speaker at a conference
on the status of the Mayo Gaeltacht in April 2008 pointed out that no more than 8 of the 25 primary schools in that Gaeltacht
were operating entirely through Irish, while only 3 of the 8 post-primary schools were attempting to teach through Irish. Two
issues needed to be addressed in his opinion: community support for the language and practical supportive measures for teachers
from officialdom. Official figures from 2009-2010 show that 29 of 132 Gaeltacht primary schools were not all-Irish: 10 in
Donegal; 1 in Galway City and 6 in Galway County; 1 in Kerry; 9 in Mayo and 2 in Meath. There were 2,287 pupils attending
these schools. The size of schools ranged from 372 pupils to just 8 pupils. Of the 29 schools, 15 or 50% had less than 50 pupils.
Since 70% of Gaeltacht schools are in this latter category, with 3 teachers or less, their outlook is bleak in the current economic
climate, irrespective of the quality of education received or of the social benefits to the community of their local school.
At the start of the school year 2011-2012, three primary schools in the Donegal Gaeltacht decided on an Irish language
immersion policy for Junior and Senior Infants classes at least. These schools, Scoil Dhoire Chonaire, Scoil Chaiseal na gCorr
and Scoil Rann na Feirste are situated in relatively strong areas linguistically. That such a policy was taken is an indication of the
difficulties of mixed intake in local schools. Reaction ranged from hopes that a similar approach might prevail in other areas as
a symbol of community desire to retain the language to questions concerning the retention of Gaeltacht status by areas where
such an immersion policy is absent.
At primary level, newspaper reports highlighted that small island schools were fighting for a way of life, in the case of
Inis Mein (smallest of the Aran Islands) Irish-medium national school with nine pupils and two teachers (Irish Times, 12
October 2010) or seeking families who might relocate in the case of the three pupil/one teacher primary school on the island
of Inishturk, off the Mayo coast, (Irish Times, 14 September 2011).
The case of Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne in the Kerry Gaeltacht is another indication of the situation facing second-level
Gaeltacht schools. It involves both official policy and issues of trusteeship. Arising out of the amalgamation in 2007 of two
voluntary secondary schools into a State community school (open to all children of the community) and the type of Irish375 More Facts About Irish
medium policy followed by the school board (in accordance with the Education Act 1998 to contribute to the maintenance
of Irish within the Gaeltacht), a group of parents of 12 students (some Irish) took a High Court action against the school. In
2008, Departmental inspectors carried out a subject inspection of the school on the quality of learning and teaching in science
and chemistry, as is usual practice. In the summary of their report it is mentioned that Almost all lessons were conducted
either bilingually or in English in order to ensure that students could access the scientific concepts being taught. This is
recommended.; Lessons were well structured and in almost all instances cognisance was taken of the students needs and
abilities in using Irish as a means of communication.
A High Court settlement was reached in 2009 which protected the Irish-medium policy of the school while also ensuring
a range of supports for those students having difficulties with Irish and providing them with a bilingual education. The issue
of exemption from the study of Irish formed part of the settlement and was discussed above under Exemptions.
Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola, a second-level Community School, is situated in the Donegal Gaeltacht region but its
catchment area covers North-West Donegal. Its teachers are required to have good competence in Irish. To meet the needs of
all its students and parents, it now operates an Irish-medium unit (2011-2012).
The Irish Summer College in the same Gaeltacht region, Coliste na Rosann, set up the Gr don Ghaeltacht (Love for the
Gaeltacht) awards for second-level students in 2010, aimed at those students deemed to have accomplished some unusual deed
of commitment to the language.
An interesting initiative was taken for the school year 2011-2012 by Coliste na Rinne (1919), the long-established coeducational primary boarding school for children aged 10-13, in the Ring (County Waterford) Gaeltacht. Apart from residential
weekends for gaelscoileanna, links were established with the nearby second-level Gorey Community School on the same basis,
to cater for the increased emphasis on spoken Irish in Certificate Examinations.

Some further discussion on this issue and on the related issue of the closure of small primary schools appears above, Chapter
2, Decline and remedy: Education. However, the recent changes to the pupil teacher ratio constitute the most serious threat
ever faced by those engaged in Gaeltacht schools in the daily battle against language erosion. In acknowledgement of the task
facing teachers in linguistically mixed classrooms in the Gaeltacht, the then Minister of Education conceded a lower minimum
pupil teacher ratio in 1999: 76 pupils in order to maintain 4 teachers when the norm was 81. The latest announcement has not
alone brought that 81 to 83 for all primary schools but has simultaneously removed the previous concession to more favourable
ratios for the Gaeltacht, resulting in a jump from a requirement of 76 to one of 83 pupils. In addition, that 83 will increase to
86 by 2014; for the majority of schools, this means 5 extra pupils (current 81) but for Gaeltacht schools it will mean an extra
10 pupils. The outcome appears to be the loss of the fourth teacher in 12 schools in September 2012 and in probably another
30 after that.
Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta (ESG) and individual schools and parents engaged in intense lobbying; public
meetings, demonstrations, lobbying in the Dil. Unfortunately, funding for this support organisation, ESG, was withdrawn
in recent years by the Department with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, probably in light of the general re-organisation of
Gaeltacht schemes and funding by that department. While the battle on behalf of DEIS (disadvantaged) schools led to some
rowing back of policy, Irish-medium education is still in medias res (January 2012). While the results for individual schools
are grave, the real problem lies in the lack of an overarching comprehensive policy for the language in education and, within
that, for education in the Gaeltacht and indeed for Irish-medium education (above), given that this domain is a crucial pillar
of language support, acquisition, development, and community sustainability. This is all the more incomprehensible given
that the 20-Year Strategy for Irish is currently getting under way. The strategic element unfortunately appears lacking. Actions
are being taken unilaterally and in isolation. The policy of (perhaps) unintended consequences has triumphed over linguistic,
social and community wellbeing.
The statistics which follow are indicative of where lack of joined-up policy can lead.
Statistics
Statistics from the Department of Education on Irish-medium primary education give an interesting comparative perspective
in the time frame 1976-2011 (year end). Figures in lighter type in brackets refer to the Irish-medium sector outside the
Gaeltacht. The graph is all too clear.
Primary Schools in the Gaeltacht (and outside) taught through Irish only 1976 2011
Year end
Schools
Pupils
Total Gtacht
% through Irish
1976
153 (20)
10,789 (2,818)
1986
126 (53)
10,958 (6,747)
1996
113 (95)
8,621 (15,952)
2000
108 (112)
7,507 (19,491)
2006
106 (132)
7,303 (24,376)
137
77.8%
2011
106 (140)
7,302 (29,675)
133
80%
Again, as shown below at post-primary level, continuing development favours the Irish-medium sector outside the Gaeltacht.
Post-Primary Schools in the Gaeltacht (and outside) taught through Irish only 2008-2011
(Number of Pupils in brackets)
Gaeltacht
(outside Gaeltacht)
Total
Secondary
Vocational
Community
Comprehensive
Total
3 (575)
12 (1,385)
2 (428)
1 (295)
18 (2,683)
10 (3,197)
16 (3,715)
1 (464)
1
27 (7,376)
13
28
3
45 (10,059)
2009
Secondary
Vocational
Community
Comprehensive
Total
3 (646)
12 (1,168)
3 (921)
1 (320)
18 (3,055)
10 (2,930)
16 (3,130)
0 (0)
(0)
27 (6,060)
13
28
3
1
45 (9,115)
2008
Secondary
Vocational
Community
Comprehensive
Total
3 (674)
12 (1,114)
3 (917)
1 (325)
18 (3,030)
10 (2,849)
16 (2,838)
27 (5,687)
13
28
3
1
45 (8,717)
Year end
School Type
2011
A further breakdown of post-primary figures for the State is provided by their classification in Departmental statistics
into A1 (all subjects taught through Irish), A2 (some pupils taught all subjects through Irish) and B (some pupils taught some
subjects through Irish).
Post-Primary schools by Classification A1, A2, B

Year end
Number of Schools
A1
A2
2011
65
45
10
10
Gaeltacht
19
17
Outside Gaeltacht
46
28
The A2 school in the Gaeltacht is classified an Irish-medium Unit by the organisation Gaelscoileanna; the B school may be
one which has recently changed to providing some subjects through Irish. As would be expected, the Gaeltacht island schools
are quite small with restricted first year intake. However, technology has helped in providing a full range of subjects.
The following information is provided by Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta and Gaelscoileanna for the school year 2011-2012:
Gaeltacht Schools
Number of Pupils
Primary
7,302
Post-primary
3,145
Total
10,447
BILINGUAL EDUCATION: OVERVIEW 1976-2011

The same year-end statistics from the Department of Education quoted above also contain figures on what is referred to as
mixed medium of instruction schools. No indication is given as to whether these are in the Gaeltacht only, or outside the
Gaeltacht only, or in the State in general. The latter is assumed.
Mixed Medium of Instruction Primary Schools with Irish only classes 1976 2011
Year end
Schools
Classes
Pupils
1976
24
1986
18
29
890
1996
113
2000
13
306
2006
222
2011
17
404
Mixed Medium of Instruction Post-Primary Schools with Irish 2008 2011

(Number of Pupils in brackets)
Year end
School Type
Irish-only Stream
Some subject through Irish
2011
Secondary
Vocational
Community
Comprehensive
Total
1 (508)
8 (4,725)
1 (865)
3 (1,388)
6 (3,086)
1 (522)
10 (6,098)
10 (4,996)
2009
Secondary
Vocational
Community
Comprehensive
Total
1 (35)
8 (1,076)
1 (0)
- (0)
10 (1,111)
3 (80)
6 (29)
1 (0)
*
* (*)
2008
Secondary
Vocational
Community
Comprehensive
Total
1 (38)
8 (943)
*
*
10 (1,846)
3 (158)
6 (76)
*
*
10 (234)
Figures are reproduced as in Departmental tables, dashes, asterisks and blanks included. Since not all data were available *, no
reliable comparison may be made. Nevertheless, it appears that by the school year ended 2011, while the number of schools
remained constant (although not necessarily the same schools), there were over 6,000 pupils in Irish-medium streams within
10 second-level schools and almost 5,000 pupils were receiving education in at least one subject through the medium of Irish.
These schools may be situated within the Gaeltacht or outside it. The issue of streams, instead of all-Irish schools, is, of course,
an issue for the organisation, Gaelscoileanna.

Figures were not yet available for the year ended 2011 in the case of teachers receiving the allowances for teaching in the
Gaeltacht or through Irish outside the Gaeltacht. For 2007/8 the respective figures were 176 and 177, total 353, while for
2008/9 they stood at 202 and 177, total 379. This would indicate an increase outside the Gaeltacht in teaching through Irish.
These allowances are now targeted for abolition (late 2012) as are island allowances.
RESEARCH SUPPORT SYSTEM

GENERAL RESEARCH
Irish-medium sector
The reading aspects of The 2010 National Assessments of English Reading and Mathematics in Irish-Medium Schools, conducted by
the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills is found above, Recent research.
Results in Mathematics are found just below. Some points of general interest arising from the same study are given here:
Comparison across certain variables
- the average socioeconomic status of pupils in gaelscoileanna was significantly higher than those in the Gaeltacht
or in the primary school population nationally;
- pupils born outside Ireland represented 7% and 6% (2nd and 6th class) in gaelscoileanna, 11% and 13% in
Gaeltacht schools, but 14% and 15% in the national assessment;
- achievement and having television in the pupils bedroom: all pupils reporting such scored on average
significantly lower in both reading and in Mathematics; pupils from a lower socioeconomic background were
more likely to have a television in the bedroom;
- progression to Irish-medium post-primary school from 6th class: according to parents, 46% of pupils in
gaelscoileanna and 61% in the Gaeltacht would do so;
- language of instruction for Mathematics:
o gaelscoileanna: 2nd class 80% of pupils taught through Irish only; 6th class 50% through Irish, 50%
bilingually;

o Gaeltacht: pupils in both classes were taught bilingually.

The complexity of mathematical vocabulary was cited as a problem.
Irish language teaching and learning in schools

The following reports dealt with aspects of Irish learning and teaching at the different levels of the system:
Primary
Beginning to Teach: Newly Qualified Teachers in Irish Primary Schools (Inspectorate of the DES, 2005)
Inspectors considered that the teaching of Irish as a communicative language, and the accuracy of newly qualified
teachers spoken Irish, were also matters requiring further attention. These are matters that warrant further
consideration at the initial teacher education stage. In the one-third of instances where inspectors found that new
teachers were experiencing difficulty in the teaching of Irish, the most frequent recommendations for improvement
were that the teachers should:
o ensure the accuracy of their own spoken and written Irish;
o use Irish informally and more frequently throughout the school day;
o planning should include activities that would develop listening and oral skills;
o adapt the programme in Irish to the pupils interests and backgrounds, and
o allocate the appropriate amount of time to Irish lessons daily.
The next report deals with teachers already teaching in the system but the findings and recommendations are similar with
regard to the standard of Irish and of teaching among practitioners.

An Ghaeilge sa Bhunscoil Irish in the Primary School (Inspectorate of the DES, 2007)
- in some instances, exemption from Irish was apparently being sought in the primary school in order to ensure it
stood at post-primary level;
- 25% of practising teachers had weaknesses in their Irish language skills;
- 9% had difficulty in teaching Irish;
- no more than 50% of classes displayed a good standard of teaching and learning Irish and 6% an excellent standard;
- in a third of classes, Irish was being taught through the medium of English.
Moving into the next level, the same problems are encountered.
Post-primary
The recommendations of the following report illustrate the situation of Irish at Junior Cycle level.
Ag Breathn ar an nGaeilge sa tSraith Shisearach Irish at Junior Cycle (Inspectorate of the DES, 2007)
Recommendations
- at school level: support from the Principal; visibility for Irish in school environs; Irish in the school plan; clear
policy on deployment of staff and allocation of time to Irish; budget for resources; allocation of time to Irish in
language lab (if present); use of technology;
- teachers: joint planning and sharing of good practice; yearly assessment of targets; appointment of Coordinator
for Irish;
- methodology: planning on grammar, on excessive use of English, on use of metalanguage to obviate use of
English, on allowing students more time in class rather than teacher as sole speaker; development of oral skills;
forms of assessment and feedback.
The next report, inter alia, reveals students attitudes to Irish at Junior Cycle.
Research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) for the National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (NCCA), third volume 2007
- Irish was in fifth place, (after Mathematics, Science, French, German) in relation to perceptions of difficulty;
- Irish was first (before History, Geography, Art) in relation to perceptions of lack of usefulness;
- with regard to useful subjects, however, Business Studies topped the list, Computers came fifth and English
seventh;
- schools in more working-class areas tended to offer less school time to Irish;
- students in general did not like streaming, they felt that their ability lessened when placed in a lower stream;
- Mathematics and Irish were the most likely subjects affected where students moved to a lower level in third year
before the Junior Certificate examination;
- students were clear on what constituted good teaching and a lively engaging class experience.
International
Between 2004 and 2007, the Department of Education in Ireland and the Council of Europe were engaged in the three-part
process of devising a profile of languages teaching in Ireland. This entails first a profile drawn up internally, then a report based
on a visit from international experts identified by the Council of Europe and consultation with groups and individuals, finally
a refinement of both these preliminary reports into the Policy Profile for a particular member state. The references to Irish
could, with benefit, be revisited.
Language Education Policy Profile, Ireland (Council of Europe, 2007).
- Analysis: many of the points made n this section in relation to Irish find echoes in the reports referred to above;
the absence of an oral component (other than optional) in the Junior Certificate is mentioned as are the three
interlinked aspects of attitude/competence/use.
- Conclusions: the aim was an integrated policy for languages in the school curriculum based on statements
of principle; among the latter, Irish is viewed, together with English, as a language whose position will be
maintained in society and in education.
- Priority actions: clear statement of policy (the Government Statement on Irish of 2005 was seen as a good
example of what is required) prepared by a working group; teacher training; languages in the primary school;
assessment and certification for learners on their achievements across the language skills in their linguistic
repertoire; an awareness programme for the public at large.
These pieces of research illustrate the concerns which are expressed in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish and, to some extent,
addressed in the proposals on teacher education (mid-2011) from the Teaching Council (below).
General Overview
The Chief Inspectors Report 2010-2012, published in 2013, gives a concise overview of teaching and learning in general across
the different levels of the system. Comments from the report are given below in answer to the question, How good is the
teaching and learning of Irish? The results are not entirely encouraging.
-
Primary: Inspectors findings with regard to Irish are significantly less positive than those for English or
Mathematics. During the years 2010-2012, inspectors reported that the quality of Irish teaching was problematic
in one fifth of the lessons inspected during incidental inspections and the quality of pupils learning of the language
was problematic in approximately one quarter of those lessons.
-
Post-primary: Interestingly, in contrast with the report above, Looking at Irish at Junior Cycle (2007), improvement
was noted from the previous use of translation to increased use of the target language itself, most likely as a result
of the increase to 40% of marks for the oral component of the Leaving Certificate examination. Nevertheless,
inspectors found that the quality of students learning in Irish was problematic in almost one in three (32%) of
Irish subject inspections and deficiencies in how the subject was taught were evident in 28% of the Irish lessons
inspected.
-
Gaeltacht Primary and Post-primary: On the issue of literacy (Irish/English), In all Gaeltacht schools, literacy
standards in Irish and English ranged from good to very good.
IRISH AND MATHEMATICS IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL: RESEARCH RESULTS
The reading aspects of The 2010 National Assessments of English Reading and Mathematics in Irish-Medium Schools, conducted
by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills is found above, Recent
research. Results in Mathematics are interesting as gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht scores are the opposite of one another.
Mathematics as compared with National Assessment 2009
- gaelscoileanna: scores were significantly higher for pupils in 2nd class (boys scoring higher than girls); in 6th
class, however, mean scores were not significantly different from the national assessment; boys outperformed
girls in both classes
- Gaeltacht: in 2nd class mean scores were not significantly different from the national assessment; in 6th class
mean scores were significantly higher than in the national assessment; no significant difference between boys
and girls was noted.
Pupils had the choice of taking the Mathematics test in either Irish or English. No significant differences emerged in the
results, however. In 6th class, gaelscoileanna pupils taking the test in Irish had slightly higher scores while the opposite was true
for Gaeltacht pupils, those taking the test in English scored slightly higher than those taking it in Irish. In 2nd class, all pupils
taking the test in English scored slightly higher.
AN CHOMHAIRLE UM OIDEACHAS GAELTACHTA IS GAELSCOLAOCHTA (COGG)
This body was established as an agency attached to the DES in order to service Irish-medium education and Irish in the system.
The McCarthy report (Chapter 3: Funding), in its cost cutting exercise, recommended that its functions be subsumed back
into the DES, a proposal strongly rejected by the Irish-language Voluntary Sector. In the event, it remained unscathed at
the time. To the contrary, the Fiontar report, perhaps given the reaction of the language community to the McCarthy view,
recommended that COGG be made a statutory body with a specific funding vote within the DES budget and that the body
be tasked with devising an incremental programme towards converting learners into routine users. In the final version of the
Strategy launched by the previous Taoiseach in December 2010, COGG was given a key role in the section on education.
Nevertheless, in the Dil on 18 October 2011, the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs, in response to questions in Irish,
seemed to leave such a decision to the DES when he said [in translation]:
In [his] personal opinion, COGG possessed knowledge and views that would be of great benefit to whichever plan [in relation
to the 20-Year Strategy] will be devised with the DES.
Up to January 2012, however, COGG had not been named as a member of any of the inter-departmental committees or of
the high level group on education, in relation to planning for implementation of the Strategy although some informal contact
did occur.
Perusal of the output of COGG (below) demonstrates the volume of work accomplished in the areas of
- research on beginning or emergent literacy in Irish-medium schools;
- research on the learning support system available for Irish-medium education;
- research on the conduct of oral examinations;
- research on Irish-medium education in the Gaeltacht.
It was then a source of dismay to Irish language interests when, in the aftermath of Budget 2011, in mid-December 2011, the
Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit was again contemplating either to abolish COGG or to absorb it into the DES in the
States efforts to find ways of reducing expenditure. Once again a campaign was required and the Irish lobby, particularly in
Irish-medium education, took up the challenge.
Campaign Supporting COGG (August, 2009)

In the aftermath of the McCarthy Report, a concerted effort was made by the Irish language lobby, particularly education
organisations, to reverse tha proposal.
Lobby against recommendations of An Bord SNIP Nua to discontinue COGG

In the defence mounted by the Sector, the work accomplished by COGG since its establishment was highlighted as the example
of support given below, from the organisation Gaelscoileanna, indicates.
Gaelscoileanna in defence of COGG
An Bord Snip Nua made the detrimental recommendation to discontinue An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta
agus Gaelscolaochta (COGG). The recommendation demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of COGGs
functions as well as achievements to date since its inception in 2002.
Significant work has been undertaken by COGG in the field of Gaeltacht and Irish-medium education on a very
limited budget and it is evident that value for money is being delivered by COGG in its support of primary and
post-primary Gaeltacht and all-Irish schools in the country. Since 2002 COGG has provided 111 primary school
resources, 32 post-primary school resources (excluding state examination booklets), with 41 resources being currently
developed. In terms of research outputs, 16 research works have been completed, with 20 more ongoing.
The following list outlines the resources/activities that will no longer be available to primary and post-primary
Irish-medium schools if this recommendation is implemented:
- Textbooks in Irish other than those that An Gm publish.
- Irish versions of the mock exams for Junior Cert and Leaving Cert.
- Booklets of past Irish versions of the State Examinations.
- Management of the project *Siden S.
- Online resources for Science and Digital media through Irish (being developed).
- Online forum for teachers in Irish.
- Notes and support resources in Irish for teachers.
- Online database of resources through Irish.
- Information booklet on all resources for teaching through Irish at primary and second level.
- COGG information services including their website and travelling Irish resource library.
- Workshops for teachers.
- Intensive Irish courses for teachers teaching in Gaeltacht & all-Irish second level schools.
- Research on topics related to teaching through Irish.
- Representation on behalf of second level schools with Dept of Education, NCCA & other agencies.
- Posters, maps, globes etc in Irish.
- Distribution of the magazine Breacadh.
The campaign material goes on:
The discontinuation of COGG would undoubtedly be a huge blow to Irish-medium education. Seize the opportunity
to challenge this recommendation by supporting this campaign.
Materials from COGG

While the resources enabled by COGG are invaluable to schools, the body of research produced is of comparable significance.
See also list in Chapter 2.
*Siden S is described in publicity material as:
A comprehensive, multimedia resource pack for teaching Irish, aimed specifically at Irish-medium and Gaeltacht
schools but is suitable for use in other primary schools. This project is being financed by the Department of Education
and Science in partnership with Foras na Gaeilge.
Siden S is published by An Gm.
Among the research publications to 2010 were:
2007 Struchtr Oideachais na Gaeltachta
Struchtr Oideachais na Gaeltachta Achoimre
Cruinneas na Gaeilge scrofa sna hiar-bhunscoileanna ln-Ghaeilge i mBaile tha Cliath
Leabhair Ghaeilge do Phist
2009 An Scrd Cainte sa Ghaeilge: Plchipis (The Oral Irish Examination: Discussion Paper)
Learning to read in Irish and English: a Comparison of children in Irish-medium, Gaeltacht and English-medium schools in
Ireland (Authors: Parsons & Lyddy)
[A previous research publication on the subject matter had been:
2004 Emergent Reading in Gaeltacht and all-Irish Schools (Authors: N Bhaoill & Duibhir)]
2010 I dTreo Lnbhainistocht Scoileanna Fraincise i dTimpeallacht Mhionlaigh
Current situation
The output material from COGG as listed above from 2007 has since been augmented as shown in the selection of examples below.
COGG Recent Research Publications
2010 Tacaocht Teanga i Scoileanna Gaeltachta Language Support in Gaeltacht Schools (Author: Toms
Muircheartaigh)
2011 Riachtanais Speisialta Oideachais i scoileanna ina bhfuil an Ghaeilge mar mhen Special Needs in Schools in
which Irish is Medium of Instruction (all-Ireland research: Pobal & COGG)
Some examples of New Resources (titles in translation) for current developments in Irish-medium education
- Science for Junior Certificate
- Maths Peoject: Text and Tests 3
- Lesson plans on Energy
- Language Rights (in collaboration with An Coimisinir Teanga)
Perhaps the most-used resource from COGG is its comprehensive publication listing all available resources from all sources
for both Irish and Irish-medium education. Other forms of assistance are given below, Resources and Materials.
An example of collaboration is that with the national awards group Glr na nGael. The COGG travelling van displaying
available resources and the online resources website of Glr, www.dar.ie, have teamed up (July 2011) to offer a wide range
of services to all Irish-medium schools within an annual workplan. Displays will also be mounted at conferences and other
appropriate events. One post has been created in Glr as a result of the joint venture on the model of that created by Glr
in collaboration with Conradh na Gaeilge and the Union of Students in Ireland. COGG also keeps teachers in Irish-medium
education informed of upcoming opportunities, e.g. tutors in primary schools with the NCTE (National Council for
Technology in Education), mid-2011.
In August 2011, COGG offered a scholarship towards a PhD through the School of Psychology in University College
Dublin (UCD) on a study of the stages in the development of Irish language acquisition in children aged 7-11 who are already
fluent. Bursaries from COGG are concerned with research areas of interest to the bodys area of operations.
For several years, in response to the concerns of Principals, COGG was central in organising Summer courses for teachers
of practical subjects in Irish-medium schools, including in the Gaeltacht. From January 2012, COGG is subsidising a twosemester diploma course for teachers of Art at the National College of Art and Design. It is hoped this will provide a template
for other practical subject areas.
Campaign Supporting COGG (December 2011) and decision November 2012

Despite this impressive record, by mid-December 2011, the Central Expenditure Evaluation Unit was again contemplating
either to abolish COGG or to absorb it into the DES in the States efforts to find ways of reducing expenditure. Once again a
campaign was required and the Irish lobby, particularly Irish-medium education, took up the challenge. The output of COGG,
given the low level of State investment, should ensure that the value-for-money argument would win out over short-term
savings, if the sole criterion in use was monetary. If criteria wider than that were used, abolishing COGG would appear a
distinct waste of taxpayers money.
However, the eventual decision was announced by the Secretary-General of the DES on 23 November 2012, at the Annual
Conference of the two organisations Gaelscoileanna and Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta.
The Department had decided to integrate An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaochta (COGG)
under the aegis of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA).
These new arrangements will allow COGG to concentrate its resources on its core functions of providing teaching
resources to support the teaching of Irish in tandem with the NCCAs work on revising the curriculum. The general
administrative functions, which are a considerable burden on a small staff, will now be provided by the NCCA,
he stated.
In this new arrangement, COGG will retain a separate identity under the aegis of the NCCA. The move will strengthen
its ability to support Irish-medium education and the teaching of Irish generally.

The choice of terms is interesting: integration not amalgamation. Research is not mentioned as a function but dovetailing
the requisite ensuing provision of resources with the curricular design function of the NCCA. Both Irish-medium education
and Irish as a subject are mentioned together. The retention of separate identity may preclude the need for amendment to
Article 31 of the Education Act 1998 which established COGG. While COGG is not specifically mentioned by name in the
legislation, it is generally taken to be the body of persons of Article 31 (under Teaching through Irish) to be established to
carry out a specified set of functions. However, there are certain legislative references which may require change in the new
arrangements. They include:
- Advising the Minister (which is also a function of the NCCA)
(ii) to advise the Minister on policies relating to the provision and promotion of education through the medium of
Irish in recognised schools generally and in schools located in a Gaeltacht area
(iv)(b) to advise the Minister on strategies which have as their objective the enhancement of the effectiveness in the
teaching of Irish in recognised schools and centres for education.
- Research
(iv) to conduct research into any or all matters to which [this] paragraph applies
- Advising the NCCA (If integration takes place, it is hardly envisaged that this particular provision would
still pertain; change to the 1998 Act would then be required)
(4) The body established in accordance with subsection (1) shall, from time to time, as it considers appropriate,
advise the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment on matters relating to
(a) the teaching of Irish,
(b) the provision of education through the medium of Irish, including matters relating to the curriculum for
primary and post-primary schools which provide education through the medium of Irish and assessment
procedures employed in those schools, and
(c) the educational needs of people living in a Gaeltacht area,

and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment shall have regard to any such advice in the
exercise by it of its functions. [Bold added]
Given the change envisaged for COGG, Section 31 of the Education Act also includes the useful provision that:
(5) The Minister may by order amend or revoke any order made under this section, including an order made under
this subsection.
The new Department of Public Expenditure and Reform had promised that the fate of 48 quangos would be decided
by end 2012. Unfortunately for the Department, several events had conspired to delay implementation of the desired figure.
Some thought that COGG might have been the victim of this situation. It was always likely however that, given the several new
policy moves in relation to Irish in the education system, COGG would prove invaluable to the Department.
SUMMARY ON RESEARCH RESULTS

Research is a requisite part of any endeavour, education included. For Irish in education and for Irish-medium education,
whether inside or outside the Gaeltacht, at whichever level that education is available, ongoing research underpinning is vital.
Much of what occurs tends to respond to problems as they manifest. While much useful research has been recounted above,
no cohesive structure yet exists which might identify on an ongoing basis the areas of research required within an overall plan,
the agencies to carry it out, the required funding base, and the most effective methods of communication of results. COGG is
the nearest example to such a structure
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION

OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR IRISH IN SCHOOLS: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS (DES)

In 1999, both the Primary Curriculum Support Programme (PCSP) and the School Development Planning Support (SDPS)
were set up in the wake of the revised /new Primary School Curriculum (Department of Education, 1999). In mid-2008, these
were amalgamated to form one body, the Primary Professional Development Service (PPDS) with the aim of supporting the
development of schools as professional learning communities. The next step was amalgamation of all support bodies at both
primary and post-primary level into the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST). This includes the Second-Level
Support Service (SLSS) which operates on a subject basis in which support for teachers of Irish is included. These support
systems are funded by the Department through the National Development Plan and staffed largely by teachers on secondment.
OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR IRISH IN SCHOOLS: FORAS NA GAEILGE
The Education Section of the cross-border body supports initiatives which encourage the use of Irish in schools and outside
the classroom, through the Gleo award, or sporting activities or other youth activities such as Summer Camps outside the
Gaeltacht. The agency also supports a range of organisations although change is imminent in this area (Funding above).
OFFICIAL SUPPORT FOR IRISH IN SCHOOLS: ICT (INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
TECHNOLOGY) AND IRISH

The National Council for Technology in Education conducts courses for teachers in Irish-medium primary schools on the uses
of technology in the classroom.
Foras na Gaeilge in collaboration with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment supported the development of
Irish teaching/learning exercises by mobile phone for second-level students. This successful cross-border pilot project involving
the language agency, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and the mobile phone company Vodaphone began
in 2007 and went through three phases up to 2010. Several hundred second-level students at Junior Certificate (JC) level
were enabled to use their mobiles in order to access lessons and tuition, speak with other students in Irish, prepare for the
optional JC oral Irish examination, and undergo assessment on their progress by teachers through the project FN (Foghlaim
n Nuatheicneolaocht, Learning through new Technology).
In February 2010, the then Minister for Education and a Canadian comedian who learned Irish together launched the
online service Abair Leat! (Say it!). This is described as an online language laboratory where students may interact with native
speakers and teachers may monitor progress. The system was first devised as a CD-ROM by the Irish College, Coliste Lurgan.
With support from COGG, an Irish language version was produced the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (Dn
Laoghaire, County Dublin) of the resource for learners, Digital Creator, which teaches the use of all digital media.
An Irish-language blog, begun in Mayo Education Centre in 2009, and aimed at young people (primary and postprimary) or learners, was intended to go national in 2010, www.bladair.com.
A useful tool was developed by Coliste Mhuire Marino (St. Marys College of Education). For an annual fee of 50, an
answering service was offered to paid-up clients on queries on Irish grammar and spelling, through gramadach@mie.ie.
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION

STRUCTURES AND A DESIGNATED EDUCATION CENTRE
As described above, Voluntary Support Agencies, a range of organisations are engaged with different aspects of the Irishmedium educational system and with teachers of Irish in schools. To theses may be added those organisations or local groups
which provide extra-school opportunities for use of Irish in leisure activities and through youth clubs. These include Coliste na
bhFiann Teo., gras and ggras, Feachtas, Spleodar. Drama is provided through Cumann na Scoildrmaochta, music through
Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann, sport through initiatives of the various sporting organisations. Summer Colleges and Camps also
play a vital role. Coirm (feast or concert) is a competition for schools based on a show through Irish of 20 minutes duration
organised by the organisation Gael Linn. This organisation has been involved in many aspects of educational provision over the
years: innovative resources, debating competitions. Its third-level debating competition for law students is another example.
Some of these invaluable resources for the Irish classroom, youth clubs/activities and second-level debating competitions
in particular, are currently under threat as a result of the continuing cuts in funding and future proposed changes under the
New Funding Model of Foras na Gaeilge.
Plans for a designated Education Centre at Ballyvourney in the Cork Gaeltacht, ongoing since 1999, now appear to
be at an end since the building and site are now once more up for sale (early 2013). But some support for teachers of Irish
continues through the organisation Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge and through official structures such as Teachers Centres and
the Support Services of the DES. FNT, Gaelscoileanna and other organisations provide courses for personnel directed at the
particular needs of Naonra and Irish-medium education. Institutions also provide inservice courses.
With regard to the Gaeltacht, unfortunately, funding for the support organisation, Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta
(ESG), was withdrawn in recent years by the Department with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, probably in light of the general
re-organisation of Gaeltacht schemes and funding by that department.
RESOURCES AND MATERIALS
The various voluntary organisations and several individual gaelscoileanna continue to produce a range of materials to support
teachers in the classroom. For Irish-language teachers, Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge produces wall charts and CDs on poetry
or the conduct of the oral examination (with Comhdhil Naisinta na Gaeilge) or an audio version of one of the plays on
Leaving Certificate syllabus, as well as a research-oriented journal.
Glr na nGael (the community competition) has produced publications, posters and games, including versions in Irish of
Scrabble (for adults and for youth). All its materials may be bought on the website, www.udar.ie (author).
COGG has produced or assisted the commercial production of other materials. These include a board game for children
aged 3-7, Liosta Siopadireachta (Shopping List). Another commercial group have produced a hurling board game, Cluiche
Clir Iomnaochta. The latest resource arises out of collaboration between COGG and Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge
(NUIG). It is aimed at the upper classes in Irish-medium primary schools in the Gaeltacht and outside. It comprises 300
selected archive materials from Raidi na Gaeltachta and NUIG on a new digital channel, iTunes U COGG Channel and the
materials (audio and video) may be downloaded free from the COGG website. It is reported that since 2009, COGG has had a
license from Apple to manage and distribute educational resources for Gaeltacht and Irish-medium primary schools. Resources
for other learners are also on this channel as are plans for teachers in the use of the resources.
Other resources may be mentioned in Chapter 5, Multi-media production and the internet.
The organisation Gaelscoileanna recently produced an informative leaflet on immersion education. It is available in bilingual
format, Irish/English and Irish/Romanian, French, Portuguese, Polish, Russian. Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge continued
its seminars for second level students on the additional employment advantage of having Irish while it also collaborated with
Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge on the provision of resources in disc format suitable for schools both North and South.
In 2011, COGG published the results of an all-Ireland research survey in collaboration with the umbrella organisation, Pobal,
in Northern Ireland, Riachtanais Speisialta Oideachais i scoileanna ina bhfuil an Ghaeilge mar mhen (Special Education Needs
in Schools in which Irish is Medium of Instruction) with the aim of identifying the training and support needs of teachers in
Irish-medium schools, North and South, in engaging with pupils having special education needs. The publication points out
that in excess of 50,000 pupils attend Irish-medium education from pre-school through second level in both jurisdictions,
including the Gaeltacht. From available evidence, it is generally accepted that up to 20% of the school population may suffer
some degree of learning difficulty at some point during their school career but that not all will fall under the rubric of having
special education needs. This would mean that over 7,000 pupils in the Irish-medium sector would require support at some
level during their school career. Parents, teachers and support services personnel in the Irish-medium sector were calling for
training, diagnostic tools, standardised tests and graded reading materials among other resources which would be more directly
focused on bilingualism, immersion education and Irish as first language.
This particular research, funded by COGG, grew out of work on the same issue already completed by Pobal in the NI
Irish-medium sector under a commission from the NI Department of Education.
Two useful immediate outputs of the all-Ireland research were (i) an audit, and resulting extremely informative list, of
all available tests and resources in use and (ii) the establishment of an intense learning support programme to be used first in
Dublin and later in Belfast. The work was carried out under the direction of an expert committee.
Two main recommendations were made. The first called on the Departments of Education in the two jurisdictions (which
already engage in formal cooperation on a range of issues), either together or separately, to develop an infrastructure to service
the special education needs of the Irish-medium sector. The second asked the two Departments to support, in particular,
the development of an information and communications strategy on the issue of special education needs and Irish-medium
education.
With regard to both early and continuing graded reading resources, the voluntary organisation for Specific Educational
Needs in NI, GESO (Gaeleagras um Shainriachtanais Oideachais), offers some resources on its website while the official CCEA
(Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) was working with NI gaelscoileanna to improve provision. In general,
however, despite the existence of several publishers of materials in Irish (An Gm in the South, An tisaonad in NI), teachers
were dependent on materials generated by themselves for their own pupils. Gathering this valuable resource together was
proposed in the report.
On teacher training as pre-service or in-service, or as specific professional diploma in special education, the required
emphasis on immersion education was more or less lacking and would require new approaches, in particular to allow teachers
in small ruaral schools access such training, if made available.
On professional services in general, as detailed immediately below, the provision had not greatly improved. It was noted
that little exists in the way of comprehensive contemporary documented research on the effectiveness of bilingual education
in the case of pupils diagnosed with special education needs. However, two publications were welcomed. The first was the
extensive literature research on immersion education published in 2007 by the NCCA in the South, (Teanga agus Litearthacht i
mBunscoileanna Gaeilge: Athbhreithni ar an Litrocht Language and Literacy in Irish-medium Primary Schools). References in
the policy document of NEPS (National Education Psychological Service) in the South as part of their service delivery to the
Irish-medium sector were very welcome. These stated (based on the limited research available on special needs and bilingual/
immersion situations) that:
- There may be no advantage in moving a child from a gaelscoil to an English-medium school because of specific
learning difficulties.
- There may be no advantage in changing a child from a gaelscoil to an English-medium school on the grounds of
intellectual ability.
- It need not be assumed that children with language disorders cannot become bilingual.
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that much still remains to be done in this area of Irish-medium education in the
context of pupils with special needs. Nevertheless, NEPS has issued its general guidelines etc. in Irish.

It is understood that while the level of awareness of bilingual children has risen, and some lectures/modules are devoted to
this in professional training, no additional qualifications in the disciplines are as yet available. This leaves the level of bilingual
service quite patchy, in some areas non-existent, and in general largely dependent on willing Irish speakers with general
professional qualifications.
SPECIAL ALLOWANCES IN THE IRISH-MEDIUM SECTOR
As part of the quest within the DES to find areas of expenditure which could be cut in advance of the 2013 Budget at the end
of 2012, a range of special allowances to teachers were targeted. Among them were the allowances payable to teachers working
in Gaeltacht schools (primary and post-primary) or on islands (some of which are in the Gaeltacht) as well as those teaching
through Irish (almost exclusively in the gaelscoil sector). These allowances were in recognition of the work involved with mixed
linguistic classes, the lack of resources in comparison with teaching through English, and, presumably, to advance the States
policy with regard to language (as regularly occurs with incentives in relation to other areas of State policy). It was reported in
the press (The Irish Independent, 12 October 2012) that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform considered that
these [allowances] were a priority for elimination. Reports estimate that about 1,000 teachers overall are involved at a possible
cost of some 5 million.
TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CURRENT SITUATION
Elements of the current policy being proposed for teacher education at all levels have already been outlined above (New
national policy on literacy and numeracy). It is repeated here, for comparison purposes, in this section on teacher education.
However, much of the content of the teacher education section of the literacy and numeracy strategy had already been made
available through:
- Solta (Seeds, 2006), the quality framework, produced by the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education
for the DES and now being implemented through the Early Years Education Policy Unit of the Department.
- Aistear (Journey, 2009), the curriculum framework of the NCCA for the early years from birth to six years of
age.
- The ongoing work of the Teaching Council (An Chomhairle Mhinteoireachta) on all aspects of teacher
education.
- Policy initiatives of the DES during the period 2007-2011 to support teachers through induction programmes
for new teachers and support programmes for teachers in service, all of which had a component on Irish
language.
- More radical proposals followed in the structural recommendations of the International Review Panel
commissioned by the DES on initial teacher education (ITE) in Ireland.
These various policy moves are given below in detail.
EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION (ECCE): CECDE AND NCCA
Context
While many varieties of preschool care and education were available, and regulated, including Irish-medium centres, a
policy decision by the previous administration was instrumental in creating and continuing changes towards the educational
significance of the sector. A scheme was announced in the April 2009 Budget (for 2010) regarding the provision of a free
preschool year, to run from September to August each year. However, instead of waiting for September 2010, it was further
announced that the scheme would come into operation in January 2010. Funding was maintained in the difficult Budget for
2011 as was clear from this statement from the relevant Minister of State on 7 December 2010:
The free pre-school year is to be retained in its current form and will support approximately 65,000 children to
avail of pre-school care and education each year. Children are eligible for the scheme when they are aged between 3
years 3 months and 4 years 6 months on 1st September of the relevant year. Against the backdrop of very difficult
spending choices, the Government decided that the pre-school year represents excellent value for the State in terms of
investment in childrens educational and social development. In addition, the initiative has supported 20,000 jobs in
the child care sector and has created another 7,000 additional jobs in the last year.
Monies were also allocated in this Budget to finance the holding of a Childrens Referendum which has since been
deferred to 2012.
Irish-medium preschool facilities meeting the criteria of the scheme (level of training of personnel, for example) could, of
course, benefit from the scheme. The general national standards and criteria for the operation of preschool services (daycare)
are available in Irish on the departmental website as required by legislation, (Na Caighdein Nisinta do Sheirbhs Ramhscoile
Seirbhs Cram Lae Iomln), as are the specific criteria pertaining to the free preschool year. The organisation for Irish-medium
preschool provision (FNT) collaborates with the Department on these and related matters (registration criteria, standards,
curricula, training).
The introduction of the free preschool (3 to 4-year-olds) year for all eligible children on a national basis was entirely
successful with a 95% take-up by 2011. Quality in the training of personnel and in the provision of appropriate curricula were
given prominence as outlined below. The incoming Minister for Children and Youth Affairs reiterated support for the policy
in an address to the Select Committee on 19th July 2011:
In particular, the free Pre-School Yearis a major area of policy development and support for social and educational
equality. In 2011, it has a total allocation of 166 millionThe Government is committed to maintaining and
developing this programme over the coming years.
The Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE)

The Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education (CECDE) was established as the result of collaboration
between the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), which has a significant ECCE section, and the primary teacher education
institution, St. Patricks College, Drumcondra. It was launched in October 2002 by the then Minister for Education and
Science and administered by a board of management representing both founding institutions. It described its aim and brief in
the following terms:
The aim of the CECDE is to develop and co-ordinate early childhood education in pursuance of the objectives of the
[then] White Paper Ready to Learn and to advise the Department of Education and Science on policy issues in this
area. The Centres brief covers children from birth to 6 years of age in a wide variety of settings, including families,
nurseries, crches, playgroups, child minders, preschools and the infant classes of primary schools
In fulfilment of part of that remit, CECDE developed Solta, the quality framework for the early childhood sector, at
the request of, and on behalf of, the DES; launched the framework in 2006 and continued to raise awareness of the issues it
contained among service providers and practitioners until the Centre closed in 2008. Since December 2008, the implementation
of Solta (a registered trademark) has been the responsibility of the Early Years Education Policy Unit in the DES. In practice this
means devising the steps towards a Solta Quality Assurance Programme, including materials and processes; identifying Solta
Co-ordinators within participating organisations; field research to test the validity of these steps across all the ECCE settings. All
these measures have an impact on the Irish-medium preschool sector (in the Gaeltacht and outside).
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) was established as a statutory agency under the Education Act
1998. It advises the Minister for Education on curriculum matters for early childhood, primary and post-primary education.
Both bodies, CECDE and NCCA, collaborated in the provision of the two seminal documents in ECCE, the quality
framework, Solta, and the curriculum framework, Aistear (formerly the Framework for Early Learning). Given the degree of
possible overlap, two audit documents were produced:
- One jointly by CECDE and NCCA on Solta and Aistear, demonstrating both the links and the different
emphases in them, but also the possibilities for using both together towards the enrichment of educational
experience for children.
- The other by the NCCA on the similarities and differences between Aistear and the Primary School Curriculum
1999 (Infant classes).
Aistear went through a lengthy process of evolution based on a series of research papers, observation of children, and
wide consultation with the ECCE sector (including Irish-medium services). The first consultative document was issued in
2004, Towards a Framework for Early Learning. This was followed by the Final Consultation Report and the establishment
of a representative Early Childhood Committee comprising the sector, relevant agencies and government departments. The
materials were finally published in 2009. One copy of the English language version was distributed by the NCCA in early
2010 to the English language ECCE participating sector and to the City and County Childcare Committees. In 2011, the Irish
language version was similarly distributed through the two organisations, Forbairt Naonra Teoranta and Comhar Naonra
Gaeltachta. Presentation of materials has been taking place at seminars and courses of Stirthir (Leaders) of Nionra. Copies
of Aistear were lodged in Education Centres in 2011 for the use of primary schools, pending the upcoming review of the
Infant Level of the Primary School Curriculum 1999, which will be focussed on the language area to begin, Irish included. The
principles of Aistear will underpin this review, thus providing articulation within the ECCE sector between provision before
primary school (including the free year for 3/4-year-olds) and the Infant classes of primary school.
NEW NATIONAL POLICY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY: TEACHER EDUCATION AND THE
NATIONAL STRATEGY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY 2011-2020

With regard to ECCE, the following comments are made:
- Early years education spans the first six years of life, being conceptualised in three phases: birth to 18 months;
18 months to 3 years; 3 years to 6 years.
- Education from 4 to 6 years is provided in the primary system.
- A free pre-school place for all 3 and 4 year-olds prior to enrolling in primary school has been made available
since January 2010 (under the previous administration).
- Aistear (Journey, 2009) is the curriculum framework developed for the early years, from birth to 6 years of age
while Solta (Seeds, 2006) is the quality framework.
Given the crucial importance of the early years of development, and that teachers and ECCE practitioners are described as
the most powerful resource that we have, some interesting proposals are made for ECCE provision, those responsible for
the actions being the DES, the Department of Children, providers of ECCE programmes and accreditation bodies for such
programmes. All proposals are relevant to ECCE through the medium of Irish.
- Encourage and support the upskilling of ECCE practitioners, particularly in literacy and numeracy, 2012-13.
- Continue incentives for continuing professional development of ECCE practitioners in state-funded settings by
continuing to link higher capitation rates with higher qualification rates.
- Ensure sufficient training provision available to enable formal qualifications in early literacy and numeracy be
made a requirement for all ECCE leaders in state-funded ECCE settings, 2015, and incrementally increase
the minimum qualification requirements for personnel in such settings.
Two further comments in the document are of note.
- Lower adult/child ratio at this level;
- Prioritising of infant classes in the allocation of available teachers to schools.
The National Strategy and Teacher Education

The (then) Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for second-level teachers and initial teacher education (ITE) for
primary teachers in some colleges receive comment in this Literacy and Numeracy Strategy on the basis of being too short or
of lacking emphasis on the pedagogy of basic skills. The number of teachers who have not undergone some form of continuing
professional development (CPD) is also noted. It is, however, the remedy that is interesting, to be implemented by the DES
working in cooperation with the Teaching Council, the HEA and the education providers.
- Entry standards: The DES and the Teaching Council (whose work to date is praised):will cooperate to set
new, higher standards in entry requirements for ITE to include the potential raising of the minimum grades
required in mathematics, English and Irish for entrants to the 2014-2015 academic year.
- Duration of courses: Increase the B Ed for primary teaching [currently three years] to a four-year programme
to include an aggregate of one year school-based professional development experience, 2013-14; the PGDE
Primary [currently 18 months] to a minimum of two years, 2013-14; the PGDE second level (consecutive
model) to two years [currently nine months], 2014-15; extend the concurrent model of ITE for second level to
include more academic subjects, 2014-2015.
- Content of courses: Replace the study of humanities (academic electives) with options more related to the
practical aspects of teaching and reduce the time for such academic electives to 20% of the ITE Primary
programme, 2013-14. [This proposal met with resistance from teacher trainers; it had already been mooted by
the Minister appointed in 2007.]. Among the other proposals on content are modules on language acquisition,
special and additional learning needs; the development of second language learning, teaching in Irish-medium
and immersion settings, 2013-14. Trainees to complete mandatory courses in literacy and numeracy, 2014-15,
and to show satisfactory skills during the teaching practice (TP) component of their course, 2013-2014.
- Irish-medium settings: Provide accredited post-graduate course to equip teachers to teach in Irish-medium
settings at primary or post-primary level in at least one of the ITE providers, 2018.
- Induction: Provide intensive units on the teaching of literacy (English and Irish)make participation in
induction mandatory by 2012.
- In-service (CPD): Focus DES-supported courses on the development of literacy and numeracy and on
assessment for teachers at both levels (at second level for teachers of first language, L1, English/Irish); 20 hours
every 5 years, 2011 onwards.
These proposals are not yet all completely in the process of implementation. They were followed in July 2012 by the Report
of the International Review Panel on the Structure of Initial Teacher Education Provision in Ireland, commissioned by the DES.
TEACHER EDUCATION
Context
The various sections below cover updating on material listed in the first edition (2008) of More Facts About Irish under the
content headings:
Teacher Education
Primary
Irish: Requirements and practice
Postgraduate qualifications
Scrd Cilochta sa Ghaeilge (SCG: Qualifying examination in Irish)
Evolution of the qualification

Northern Ireland and the SCG
Gender and primary education
Teacher education through the medium of Irish: Primary sector
Teacher education and training: Post-primary
Competence in Irish and teachers at second level
Inservice
An Chomhairle Mhinteoireachta (The Teaching Council)

The Council describes itself in the following terms:
The Teaching Council is the professional body for teaching in Ireland. It was established on a statutory basis in
March 2006 to promote teaching as a profession at Primary and Post-Primary levels; to promote the professional
development of teachers; and to regulate standards in our profession.
To this end, it lays down the standards for teacher registration and for programme accreditation, and subsequent registration
of programmes, with the Council. It has initiated reviews of the programmes offered by several teacher education institutions,
in the process of recommendation to the Council for accreditation; has instigated much valuable research and has recently
published several documents on teacher education, described directly below, as basis for future policy. The content of these
finds an echo in the teacher education section of the DES literacy and numeracy strategy.
Strategy for the Review and Accreditation of [Existing] Programmes of Initial Teacher Education
Parallel with commissioned research and the preparation of other documents as outlined below, and informed by those processes,
the Education Committee of the Council drafted its strategy for one of its main functions, the review and accreditation of
programmes of teacher education. The May 2009 approved draft provided the guidelines for the reviews outlined just below
of different programmes in different institutions. The final document was approved in September 2011 and complements the
Criteria and Guidelines for Providers (below). A Strategy for New Programmes has also been prepared.
A clear distinction is made between the Councils professional accreditation, whether a programme prepares one for entry
into that profession, and academic accreditation or the suitability of a programme for the award of a degree/diploma. In the
Councils definition:
Professional accreditation is distinguished by the existence of criteria that are specific to the profession, these having
been defined in consultation with members of that profession and other relevant parties.
This distinction is seen in the following reviews.
Reviews of primary teacher education programmes

The following extracts from reviews for the Teaching Council and published on its website, conducted by independent panels,
of the primary teacher education programmes offered by three providers relate largely to comments on Irish, or to areas which
became part of Council recommendations for the future on the system of teacher education as continuum.
Some of the recommendations in the review conducted for the Council of the Batchelor of Education programme at Mary
Immaculate College of Education, Limerick (October 2011), received no small media comment. The sections of the review thus
noted were as follows:
8.1.4
The balance of time allocated to programme components
There was evidence of some inconsistency in the balance of time allocated to various programme components
For example, attention should be given to the fact that subjects such as Science, SPHE (Social, Personal, Health
Education), Geography and History are currently allotted 12 hours each as compared with the 48 hours each allotted
to other subjects such as Visual Arts, Religious Education and Mineadh na Gaeilge (Teaching of Irish)
Readers of the review more interested in education issues took note of other proposals, among which were:
In revisiting its assessment strategy, the College should ensure that it reflects the centrality of the Education components
by requiring all students to achieve a minimum of a pass grade in all Education subjects, without compensation
between subject areas. (8.1.4)
8.2 Examine the time allocated to Religious Education in the B.Ed. programme
The panel notes the time allocatedand the additional provision for an optional certificate course which is open to
students of all faithsThe panel recommends that the College examines the time allocated to Religious Education as
part of the review referred to in 8.1.4.
Mineadh na Gaeilge, as an Education component, would then require a pass without any possibility compensatory mechanism
across the Education set of components. While balance was sought in the allocation of time to all subjects, Religious Education
is the one singled out for specific mention.
Other recommendations in this report on Mary Immaculate College were:
8.1.2
The nexus of Education and Arts
[Since the Council expects integration and clear linkages between programme components}the panel recommends
that the linkages between the Education and Arts Departments be strengthened and made more explicitthe College
should ensure that the Education component is afforded sufficient time so that the purpose of the B.Ed. programme
in preparing students for entry to the teaching profession can be fulfilled to the greatest extent possible.
A previous Minister for Education had spoken several times on the need for a more practically oriented approach to teacher
education where the academic elements fed more clearly (for the student) into the applied aspects of actual teaching in the
classroom. Nevertheless, such a recommendation found, in general, well-argued resistance from some quarters, a point further
discussed below. Under National Issues, the following were proposed, inter alia, to the Council for policy consideration:
9 (i) The extension of the programme over a four year period
9 (iii) The allocation of proper resources to the programme
In the review (academic year 2010/11) of the 18-month Higher Diploma in Education (Primary) provided by Coliste
Mhuire, Marino Institute of Education, the review panel proposed as follows:
8.8 The existing course on teaching in Irish-medium contexts should be mandatory
Within the Colleges tradition of support for the Irish language, the team [panel] recommends that the current elective
course on teaching in Irish medium contexts should be incorporated as a mandatory rather than an optional unit in
the programme.
In addition to the recommendations which the panel proposed that the Council might make to Coliste Mhuire, the panel also
made a proposal on Gaeltacht courses under National Issues to be considered at policy level by the Council as was also made
in the case of St. Patricks College, Drumcondra (9 iv). In the case of Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, it was listed among
the recommendations (8.6) of the panel, but not as a national issue.
9.2 Gaeltacht courses under the jurisdiction of teacher education providers
The panel notes the importance of the Gaeltacht placement in programmes of primary teacher educationThese
matters are dealt with by local course providers and by the Department of Education and SkillsThe panel recommends
thatthe Gaeltacht experience should be under the direct jurisdiction of the teacher education providers.
The review of the Graduate Diploma in Eduation (September 2010) at St. Patricks College, Drumcondra, contained the
following recommendations:
8(ix) Develop and support the Irish strand in view of national needs
The panel notes that a number of research reports have highlighted the demand for primary teachers with specific
Irish language skills to meet the needs of pupils in Gaeltacht and all-Irish schoos. It also notes that the teaching of
curricular areas through the medium of Irish using a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach has
een strongly recommended as a strategy for improving Irish language skills throughout the system.
While noting that modules through the medium of Irish have been designed by the College so that students can
experience a significant part of their course through Irish, the panel recommends that the College further develops
and supports the Irish strand of the programme. The panel is making this recommendation having regard to the vastly
divergent competence levels of student teachers in the Irish language and to the system needs referred to above.
Under National Issues, the review panel proposed as policy issues to the Council:
9(i) Incorporate a reasonable degree of permanence in the continuity of the Graduate Diploma in Education
(GDE) so as to facilitate more rational and effective planning at College level.
As a budgetary issue, it is the DES which decides from year to year whether the course will be offered and by whom, the
number of students to be accepted by each participating provider, and the timing of the announcement.
9(ii)
Extend the programme over a two year period.
The policy issues recommended by the review panels are found in the teacher education proposals of the Council (below).
Re-titling of postgraduate programmes

It is the Teaching Council which decides on the professional accreditation of teacher education programmes for purposes of
teacher registration with the Council. However, it is the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland, in consultation, which
may make decisions on the titling of programmes and their place on the National Framework of Qualifications. In Autumn
2011, the Authority announced that, with effect from the academic year 2011/12, in relation to the initial post-primary
teaching qualification recognised by the Teaching Council for entry to the Register as a post-primary teacher:
- the former Higher Diploma in Education, later entitled the Graduate/Post-Graduate Diploma in Education, was
now renamed the Professional Diploma in Education;
- all such programmes were now designated Level 8 qualifications on the National Framework of Qualifications
(NFQ).
Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education (June 2011)

Within a year of being established, the Teaching Council began a process in 2007 of considering teacher education as a
continuum through initial education, induction, and continuing professional development. To this end, it commissioned
research (A Review Paper on Thinking and Policies Relating to Teacher Education in Ireland and a nine country cross national
study, Learning to Teach); initiated a comprehensive consultation process; produced an outline paper as a result which was
subjected to further consultation on a sectoral basis; refined the existing paper through its Education Committee which then
produced a draft policy which underwent further consultation. This led finally to the policy adopted by the Council in June
2013.
The following extracts are concerned solely with references to the Irish language in the document. The Policy on the
Continuum of Teacher Education refers to the 20-Year Strategy for Irish:
- [It] highlights the challenges and requirements that arise in preparing teachers to teach Irish throughout their
careers (page 7).
- The Council is also mindful of the Governments 20-Year Strategywhich sets out areas for Government action
under various headings including education. In line with that strategy, the Council recognises the need for
high standards of Irish among both primary and post-primary teachers in regard to teaching Irish as a subject,
using it as a means of communication and as a medium of instruction. The Council expects that this need can
be factored in at each phase of the continuum. It is confident that existing reserves of expertise and capacity
may be harnessed effectively by teacher education providers and other agencies to meet the challenges and
requirements that arise in this context (page 9, under the heading Improvement).
As part of its answer to meeting these challenges and requirements, the Council considers, inter alia, the standard of academic
achievement required in a section entitled Entry to Initial Teacher Education (page 12).
the Council considers that the entry level requirement in respect of Mathematics at primary level should be
raised. Such a review would also explore ways of facilitating entry to the profession by under-represented groups and
alternative ways of assessing competence in numeracy, literacy and Gaeilge, as appropriate, prior to entry. It should
also review the current practice of using quotas for Gaeltacht applications at primary level.
Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers (June 2011)
The Councils advice to programme providers of teacher education programmes is based on its Strategy for Review and
Accreditation and on its Policy on the Continuum of Teacher Education. The Criteria and Guidelines were prepared by an Advisory
Group established in December 2010 and approved by the Council in June 2011. These criteria and guidelines are considered
a bridge between the Councils policy and the development and implementation of what are described as reconceptualised
programmes of teacher education in Higher Education Institutions. Significantly, in the Councils view, it is now setting out,
for the first time in the history of teacher education in the State, learning outcomes for all graduates of ITE [initial teacher
education] programmes. To this end, the content of the document is categorised under three headings: Inputs, Processes,
Outcomes (processes being more for the individual institutions). Interestingly, The Council regards all areas of study in ITE
as academic studies and believes the current practice of dividing and designating studies as being academic or education
should be discontinued.
The problem with this approach for Irish has been set out by some educators. It lies in the fact that the necessary
requirement to be proficient in teaching a language presupposes proficiency in the particular language, including its literary
context. Reducing or removing the previous academic content may not necessarily provide the solution to the current attested
problem of teachers having difficulty with their own competence in Irish despite possessing teaching skills. The traditional use
of terms such as professional (or Education) and academic (or Arts) courses, and their apparent separation, may not have
been helpful. Language competency and familiarity with that languages literary wealth require perhaps closer integration with
pedagogic skills. The possibility that the academic or Arts component may become an optional choice is not seen as a solution.
On duration and programme balance, the document deals with the four current forms of teacher education: Primary
consecutive (now to be 2 years) and concurrent (4 years); Post-primary consecutive (2 years) and concurrent (4 years). All
have been extended in duration. These changes may take place earlier than those proposed for entry requirements. Extended
Gaeltacht placement is now required for both forms of primary teacher education and, where relevant, for post-primary
concurrent teacher education. (This proposal has been diluted by the DES decision to abolish the Gaeltacht grant; student
teachers must now fund the Gaeltacht requirement from personal resources.)
On Irish language competencies, the Council states:
In designing programmes of teacher education, consideration needs to be given to the standard of Irish among both
primary and post-primary teachers in regard to teaching Irish as a subject, using it as a means of communication in
school and using it as a medium of instruction. To this end, student teachers confidence and competence in Irish
needs to be catered for through a multi-faceted approach with a focus on oral Irish. Programmes should provide for
an extended and a reconceptualised Gaeltacht residency which will now form part of the overall programme and be
under the direct jurisdiction of the teacher education providers. HEI staff should have an active involvement in the
design, development and evaluation of the Gaeltacht course to ensure it has a specific focus on language teaching and
learning and is effectively integrated into the programme.
Gaeilge (Irish) is among the mandatory course elements listed. Student teachers must pass the school placement element in
order to receive the qualification; they will be offered one opportunity solely to repeat in the event of failing that element.
On entry requirements (set down in consultation with the Minister for Education), the Council intended to initiate a
dialogue in relation to revised minimum entry requirements. These proposed, for primary teacher education, moving upwards
on Leaving Certificate results held by applicants, to Grade B1 at Higher Level for Irish and English and C3 Higher or A1
Ordinary for Mathematics. It is expected that these changes will be deferred to 2016/2017 when the cohort entering postprimary education in the school year 2011-2012 would be sitting the Leaving Certificate examination. In the case of applicants
where more than five years have elapsed since sitting the Leaving Certificate examination, there will be an Irish language
Admission Test, (in addition to tests of numeracy and literacy, English), to demonstrate competence in Irish for primary
teaching applicants and for those intending to teach Irish at post-primary level. Irish language interests were of the view that a
language proficiency test should be considered for all entrants to programmes for post-primary teachers of Irish.
The raising of entry requirements in the three core subjects led to some public discussion. The proposal was described by
the head of one major college as impractical; many applicants with high points would have to be refused since they would not
meet the entry criteria for the core subjects, a situation which could lead to an overall deterioration in standards. This appears
to be more a problem of the existing points system (below) than of the required entry requirements for a particular course,
in this case primary teaching. In relation to the Irish language, a member of the Labour party raised his concerns that the
requirement might prove a barrier to students in DEIS schools (where higher level Irish might not be an option) applying for
teacher education. While accepting that the teaching of Irish was integral to primary education, the view was that these skills
might be acquired during the training period. Changed requirements in the case of the other two core subjects did not receive
mention. In addition, grade C at higher level is currently required but had not led to the same level of concern in relation to
DEIS schools as the proposed requirement of a grade B. The Minister for Education reiterated this concern on DEIS students,
citing the need for a diversity of teachers in a diverse society:
not a one size fits all approach which streamlined a particular cohort into teaching.
(Irish Independent, 19 February 2013).
Interesting discussions may lie ahead on diverse paths into what may no longer be precisely the same professional training
course for all, although the same outcomes may be the intended goal.
Among the learning outcomes to be demonstrated by the graduate is knowledge and understanding of the role of language
in teaching the curriculum/syllabus together with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy. While other outcomes listed
could be given a broad interpretation, there is no specific mention of Irish/English bilingualism or the sociolinguistic context
and needs of either Gaeltacht or gaelscoil education.
Further Education: General and Programme Requirements for the Accreditation of Teacher
Education Qualifications
In March and in August 2011, the Council published its document on Further Education: General and Programme Requirements
for the Accreditation of Teacher Education Qualifications and the Pro Forma for the submission of programmes for accreditation
by HIE providers. Further education is described as that taking place outside the general post-primary system. On the list of
expected outcomes, there is a general reference to the linguistic, pedagogic and andragogic knowledge required of intending
teachers in further education in order to enable them to teach their subject areas.
Since teacher education is a continuum, many of the core values and expected outcomes are similar across the education
programmes which prepare teachers to function at the different levels of the system.
Induction and Probation

The Teaching Council will have responsibility for the induction and probation of teachers from 1st September 2012 as
announced by the (then) Minister for Education and Skills in July 2010. This requires the enactment of the relevant sections
of the Teaching Council Act, 2001. Until then, the process is operated by the Inspectorate in accordance with Circular
0047/2011. At the same event (McGill Summer School) in July 2010, the then Minister had announced that the support
programme to enable new teachers bridge the gap between training and the actual classroom would be available for new
primary teachers from 2010 and for new post-primary teachers from 2011.
In recognition of the continuum of teacher education then, details on continuing arrangements for this new National
Induction Programme for Teachers (Primary), was published by the Department of Education and Skills in Circular 0047/2011
(replacing Circular 0058/2010). The programme was to run in Teachers Centres and other venues for a minimum of 20 hours
out-of-school time.
While induction is not compulsory, the DES and the Teaching Council strongly encourages all newly qualified primary
teachers (which includes Montessori and other categories) on conditional registration to avail of the programme which is
available through Education Centres and includes development in skills in Irish. Principals are urged to facilitate induction for
new teachers. The Council is not currently involved in the administration of this initiative.
Probation must be completed by all teachers in order to achieve full registration with the Teaching Council. Apart from
appropriate qualifications, the process entails two basic requirements: a period of satisfactory service in a school; practical
demonstration of professional competence in a school setting. For primary teachers newly qualified in Ireland, the process
involves teaching service of a minimum of 100 days and two unannounced visits from the Inspectorate who will then prepare
a report and determine a rating from (a) to (d). Until 2012 or a specified date, it is the Inspectorate which will continue to
evaluate the professional competence of teachers for the purposes of informing the Teaching Councils decisions.
The Irish language requirement (ILR), registration and probation

Harmonisation of the recognition of professional qualifications within the EU is governed by Directive 1989/48 which
was incorporated into Irish domestic law by Statutory Instrument 1/1991. This allows also for methods of improving any
differences or shortfall in qualifications between states. The mobility rights of workers in the EU and EEA (European Economic
Area), including teachers, are determined by Council Directive 2005/36/EC (EEA Countries); in Irish domestic law Statutory
Instrument No 139 of 2008.
For primary teachers who qualified outside of Ireland, one of the conditions for full registration (registration without
conditions) as teachers with the professional body, the Teaching Council, is satisfactory knowledge of Irish and its pedagogic
application in the primary classroom in accordance with Curaclam na Bunscoile (Primary School Curriculum), or the Irish
language requirement (ILR) as it is better known. Those who qualify outside Ireland tend to comprise different groups: nonIrish incomers and Irish students who go, or have to go, outside Ireland for primary teacher training (estimated at up to 600
per year in early 2010).
In accordance with the directives quoted above, two routes may be offered to prospective external candidates towards
fulfilling the ILR condition: an Aptitude Test the existing SCG (An Scrd le hAghaidh Cilochta sa Ghaeilge) or an Adaptation
Period the OCG (Oirin le hAghaidh Cilochta sa Ghaeilge). Both are administered by Coliste Mhuire, Marino, Dublin 9
which coordinates courses around the country and has published appropriate learning materials. The maximum period allowed
to satisfy the ILR is three years. Full registration is dependent on a satisfactory outcome to examinations.
Testing for both SCG and OCG now include testing applicants ability to teach Irish in a classroom setting. Formerly, a
Riteas (Statement) from an Inspector was required within two years of taking up a position in a mainstream school. This has
been discontinued since 1st September 2010. All applicants must spend three weeks in a recognised Gaeltacht area.
As quoted above, the mobility rights of workers in the EU and EEA (European Economic Area), including teachers, are
determined by Council Directive 2005/36/EC (EEA Countries); in Irish domestic law Statutory Instrument No 139 of 2008.
In May 2010, the Teaching Council issued a notice of revised procedures in relation to persons commencing initial teacher
education outside Ireland and within the EU/EEA from 1 January 2011. Such persons, before seeking registration with the
Teaching Council, must now also complete any period of post-qualification professional practice and be fully registered with
the designated authority of whichever country in which they undergo training. The notice goes on to clarify:
In effect, if probation/induction is a requirement for the purpose of gaining full registration in that State, a teacher
will not gain mobility rights under the terms of the Directive until the requirement is met. Generally, such a teacher
will be deemed exempt from the probationary period in Ireland. From September 2010, the Teaching Council is the
body that processes applications for exemptions from probation.
This does not obviate the need for satisfying the ILR.
The recent numbers undergoing SCG or OCG tests are given below together with results in general.
SCG Autumn 2011 (Aptitude Test)

Paper 1
Paper 2
Aural
Oral
Total per module
99
45
78
62
Withdrew before exam
01
00
00
02
Did not attend exam
04
04
07
06
Presented for exam
94
41
71
54
Achieved 40% (Pass) or over
63
25
48
29
Achieved 39% or below
31
16
23
25
Total number of Applicants
165
The breakdown of grades given on the relevant website reveal the following. On Paper 1 those achieving a pass were largely in
the 40-59% range; on Paper 2, most applicants were in the 30-59% range (below 40% is not a pass mark but relatively close
to it); broadly the same results as in Paper 2 were achieved in the Aural while in the Oral the majority of applicants achieved
between 30 and 49%.
OCG August 2011(Adaptation Period)

Triail scrofa
(Wrtten)
Aural
Oral
Mineadh na Gaeilge
(Teaching of Irish
based on 2 visits to
classroom)
Total per module
21
25
19
00
Withdrew before assessment
00
00
02
00
Did not attend assessment
05
01
04
00
Presented for assessment
16
24
13
00
Achieved 40% (Pass) or over
09
24
08
00
Achieved 39% or below
07
00
05
00
Total number of Applicants
38
The breakdown of grades given on the relevant website show that the majority of those presenting for, and achieving a pass,
were: in the written exam in the 50-69% range; in the Aural all above 50% with the majority in the 60-89% range; in the Oral
between 50 and 69%. These results appear to augur well for future results in the teaching of Irish by these candidates when
they will undergo that assessment.

Very useful and attractive support materials for those undergoing either course have been produced by the Irish Department
in Coliste Mhuire Marino: Cir Ghaoithe for the SCG and Sruth na Maoile for the OCG.
Given changes in the economies of most countries in recent years, it is difficult to predict whether the numbers of
incoming teachers requiring SCG or OCG training will increase or contract in future.
Given the all-island dimension to education through the NSMC, particularly in relation to Irish and Irish-medium issues,
arrangements were under discussion in 2012 to operate these courses in NI for any NI primary teachers wishing to teach in
the Republic.
Probation and Post-Primary Teachers

Currently, until the Teaching Council will assume responsibility in 2012, the system of Post-Qualification Employment (PQE)
will continue as a condition of seeking full registration as a post-primary teacher. Evidence of teaching experience of 300 hours,
verified by the school principal, must be provided to the Council. The 300 hours consist of a minimum of 200 hours teaching
of a recognised curricular subject to a class of at least 14 students; up to 100 hours may be carried out in a learning support,
special needs, language support, or guidance counselling role. This condition must be met within a maximum of three years.
POINTS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY TO TEACHER EDUCATION
Primary 2009-2012
Primary teacher education is still a sought-after career. The points required, given in brackets below, are those for the quota
of Gaeltacht applicants, if applicable. In brackets, with an asterisk *, denotes change in Second Round Offers to applicants.
Colleges of Education: points requirements 2009-2012

Institution
Year
Points
Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
2009
2010
2011
2012
480 (450)
475 (435)
470 (430)
470 *465 (430)
Colleges of Education: points requirements 2009-2012

Early Childhood Care and Education
2012
370
Primary Teaching in Education and Psychology
2012
555*j
St. Patricks College, Dublin
2009
2010
2011
2012
475 (435)
475 (435)
475 (440)
470* (430)
Marino Institute of Education, Dublin
2009
2010
2011
2012
465 (430)
470 (430)
465 (425)
465 (435)#
Church of Ireland College of Education, Dublin
2009
2010
2011
2012
440
375
400 (*390)
440***
Froebel College (Dublin and **NUIM)
2009
2010
2011
2012
465 (430)
470 (430)
465 (425)
465* 465 (425)
Early Childhood Teaching and Learning
2012
360 *350 (P/T)
Key
*Points at second round of offers to applicants.
**From the academic year 2011-2012, Froebel College of Education became part of the Education Department at National
University of Ireland Maynooth.
# Interview
*** Interview
Colleges of Education may also offer Arts or Arts/Humanities courses towards degrees.
Early Childhood Education (and Care)

In addition to the courses listed above in Early Childhood Education under Colleges of Education, some other institutions
also offer courses in related disciplines at Level 8 (honours bachelor degree) as shown below. Courses are available in several
Institutes of Technology (IT), some of which may run outreach courses in neighbouring areas. Early Childhood Education is
a fairly recent addition in Colleges of Education as a discipline in its own right, primary education being available from age 4.
Some ITs had long been offering courses, and still do, not necessarily to degree level and primarily in Early Childhood Care.
The DIT course had modules through Irish and on Irish towards the award of a FETAC (Further Education) certification.
Early Childhood Education: points requirements 2012

Institution
Course
Points
IT Carlow
Early Childhood Education & Care
315
Wexford
Early Childhood Education & Care
290
UCC
Early Years & Childhood Studies
395
Dublin IT
Early Childhood Education
435
IT Blanchardstown
Early Childhood Care
330
Dublin
Dundalk IT
Early Childhood Studies
370 to 365 (2nd rnd)
IT Sligo
Early Childhood Education
320
IT Tralee
Early Childhood Care & Education
335
Waterford IT
Early Childhood Studies
345
Post-Primary 2009-2012
Teacher education at post-primary level may be in concurrent mode or in consecutive mode, where a post-graduate qualification
in Education (Professional Diploma in Education) is acquired after obtaining a degree in particular subject areas. This Diploma
is offered in the universities. Teaching of Irish is one of the choices offered.
No change occurred since the school year 1999-2000 with regard to the Teastas Gaeilge do Mhinteoir iarBhunscoile
(TGMI), the Irish language requirement for teachers in post-primary education. The award of Certificate is required on foot
of an oral examination in Irish (conducted through the State Examinations Commission) for teachers in Gaeltacht or Irishmedium schools or who teach any subject (except Irish) through the medium of Irish. Teachers possessing a degree in Irish
or similar type qualification (listed) are exempted. The majority of programmes currently available are listed below since the
TGMI may apply if teaching through Irish is envisaged. All second-level teachers, whether secondary or vocational, will take
the same initial teacher education from 2013 onwards.
(a) Concurrent Courses of Post-Primary Teacher Education: points requirements 2009-2011

Level 8 Degree Courses
Institution
University of Limerick
St. Angelas College, Sligo
Course
Year/Points
2009
2010
2011
2112
Physical Education
500
495
495
495 (490*)
(Bio)Sciences & Phsy. Education
460
455
465
455* (445*)
Science (Physics+Chemistry) & Education
460
450
425
385*
Applied Languages
370
370
410
405
B. Tech. (Ed.) Materials & Architectural

Techn.
470 to 445*
Materials & Engineering Techn. & Ed.
420*
Home Economics & Irish
455
445
455
505 to 485
(a) Concurrent Courses of Post-Primary Teacher Education: points requirements 2009-2011

Home Economics & Biology
475
500
500
510* to
505
Home Economics & Religious Education
455
465
470
475 to 460
Home Economics & Economics

National University of
Ireland Maynooth
Science Education
470
470
470
470
Mathematics Education
National University of
Ireland Galway
Mathematics
Trinity College Dublin
Music
University College Cork
Sports Studies
500
495
420**
Science
St. Patricks College,
Thurles
Dublin City University
Mater Dei
Education, Irish & Religious Studies
335
Education,Business Studies & Religious

Studies
325
Arts: Education & Training

(described as useful for all levels but
particularly for working with adults)
345
345
350
340
365
330
Science Education
440
Physical Education & Biology
505
Physical Education & Mathematics
500
Education, Religion & History
385
Education, Religion & Music
370#
Education Religion & English
415
Galway-Mayo IT
Letterfrack (initially)
Design & Technology
Marino Institute of
Education, Dublin
Education Studies
(without teacher certification but described
in 2011 as useful for working in different
aspects of education, e.g. youthwork)
445 to 430
-
340 (310)
310
(b) Consecutive/Other Courses of Teacher Education

The majority of the institutions listed above will also provide opportunities for postgraduate work in education. Some may be
directed towards areas other than second-level teaching, e.g. youth work or adults (e.g Marino above; NUIM below).
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge, (NUIG)
MA Teagasc Teangacha Gaeilge; (Teaching Languages Irish) for
2 year
(for teachers in Irish-medium education and for teachers of Irish)
(part-time)
St. Patricks College, Dublin

M Ed Foghlaim agus Teagasc Teanga Language Teaching & Learning
(modules through Irish appropriate to teaching Irish or in an Irish-medium school)
2012
Ionad na dTeangacha (Languages Centre), National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM)

Teastas i Mineadh na Gaeilge dAosaigh Certificate in the Teaching of Irish to Adults
National College of Art and Design, Dublin
Diploma course for teachers of Art through Irish
Jan 2012
Subsidised by COGG, the Council for Irish-medium education. For several years, in response to the concerns of Principals,
COGG was central in organising Summer courses for teachers of practical subjects in Irish-medium schools, including in the
Gaeltacht. It is hoped this new Diploma for teachers of Art through Irish will provide a template for other practical subject areas.
The professional organisation for teachers of art planned to have a specific page on their website for members teaching
through Irish.
University of Limerick
Dioplma Gairmiil sa Mhatamaitic don Mhinteoireacht
(Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching, part-time, Level 8)
Advertised June 2012
Arising out of the strategic alliance between UL and NUIG, this new course is jointly accredited by both institutions, is
available through Irish or English, is directed at out-of-field (e.g. engineers, others) post-primary teachers of Mathematics. It
is free to eligible teachers, being funded by the DES in the delivery of the new Project Maths course and to help raise standards
in general. It fulfils the requirements of the Teaching Council. A quota applies.
The course was offered nationally in blended format (some elements locally in regional partner institutions, other elements
face-to-face and/or on line). The National Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Learning (NCEMSTL) at UL leads a consortium of institutions in the delivery of the DES contract. They include: NUIG, UCD, St Patricks
College, Thurles, the Institutes of Technology at Carlow, Cork, Dundalk, Letterkenny, Sligo, Tallaght (Dublin), Waterford and
the original UL Shannon Consortium IT Tralee, Limerick IT and Mary Immaculate College. The national Teachers Centres
also support the programme as does Google.
Hibernia College
Hibernia College is a private college which offers several (largely) online courses. Its officially recognised 18-month Primary Teacher
Education programme for graduates has been in operation since 2003 and has proved very successful. Up to 3,500 teachers have
graduated. The intake of males (around 25%) tends to be higher than in the similar length programme offered in some Colleges
of Education. These students must also spend the required period in the Gaeltacht. In its School of Education, Hibernia College
offers: Higher Diploma in Arts in Primary Education; Higher Diploma in Arts in Post-Primary Education (Gaeilge Irish is one
of the accredited subjects); MA in Teaching and Learning; Courses in Subject Knowledge Enhancement; recognised Summer
Courses for teachers; a suite of Autumn courses on various aspects of the primary curriculum. The College, in collaboration with
UK institutions, also offers courses towards the PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) award in England in Mathematics,
Physics and Chemistry and in Preparing to Teach in Lifelong Learning and a Diploma in the same (UK).
Gaeltacht courses
Up to 400 students of the Higher Diploma in Primary Education offered by Hibernia College attended the mandatory threeweek course in the Gaeltacht (South Kerry) in 2009 and 2010.
REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW PANEL ON THE STRUCTURE OF INITIAL TEACHER
EDUCATION PROVISION IN IRELAND (JULY 2012)
Following the two previous publications on higher education: National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 (Hunt Report,
January 2011) and Towards a Future Higher Education Landscape (HEA, February 2012), in order to complete the third-level
picture perhaps, an international Review Panel on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) was established in April 2012. The Panel
reported in July 2012. The main recommendation which drew much comment lay in the new collaborative structures for the
provision of teacher education proposed.
The Panel benefited from the content policy papers already developed on teacher education and from a review paper of the
overall field prepared for the Panel by Professor ine Hyland. She draws attention in her introduction to several salient facts:
- inter-institutional collaboration at all levels as the key to the national strategy for higher education for the future;
- the evolution of regional clusters of institutions as foreseen by the HEA;
- mergers of smaller institutions into larger ones as funding falls;
- teacher education programmes being currently available having developed in somewhat haphazard fashion
not only for the primary and post-primary sectors but also for early childhood education, further education,
adult and community education, higher education;
- difficulties arising from financial stringencies.
Precise information is given in her paper on the 22 institutions, 19 of which are state-funded, which currently provide up to 40
teacher education programmes for the two sectors, primary (including Montessori) and post-primary. Between undergraduate
degrees, postgraduate diplomas and Montessori qualifications, the total number of graduates for 2011 was 3,554.
In its report the Review Panel itself comments on:
- the high calibre of entrants to initial teacher education in Ireland (among the highest, if not the highest, in the world);
- education to Masters level for all as a longer term aspiration (as in Finland);
- teacher education as a national priority and being research-based;
- need for policy on research and associated funding;
- surprise and concern at the lack of supply and demand planning in Ireland when annual workforce planning
exercise is required in order to ensure an appropriate supply of high-quality teachers covering geographical
areas, education sectors and curriculum specialisms;
- capping of numbers (although not in private sector) when criteria for capping unclear;
- education for school leadership as an integral part of teacher education programmes (submissions from
institutions contained few references, apparently);
- the desirability, at all levels of the system, of full-time staff without resort to casualisation.
It articulates its vision as follows:
Review Panels Vision
The Review Panels vision for the structure of ITE provision in Ireland is that by 2030 Ireland will have a network of
teacher education institutions based on a small number of internationally comparable institutes of teacher education.
Each of these institutes will offer research-based teacher education in internationally inspiring environments, provided
at Masters level initially or through continuing professional development. Each will also offer further professional
development services on the continuum ranging from early childhood to in-service training of teachers and leaders.
In addition, the Review Panel gives the basis for its recommendations:
Review Panels Key Characteristics of Teacher Education
The Review Panel reiterates that the key characteristics of internationally recognised teacher education systems include
high quality instruction on both pedagogy and pedagogical content knowledge, a strong focus on research as a
basis of teaching and learning, a close and systematic engagement with schools, and real internationalisation of the
institutions providing initial and continuing teacher education.
The Review Panels experience from other education systems suggests that it is difficult to have these key characteristics
unless the size of teacher education institution is sufficiently large and thereby has a critical mass and competitiveness
for good teaching, research and international cooperation. All of these characteristics are also essential for the overall
quality of teacher education.
Mergers/Alliances
In all cases set outit is recommended that mergers/alliances will take place whereby teacher education is facilitated at
one location within the restructured setting. The new configuration may be titled an Institute of Teacher Education,
a Centre for Teacher Education, or equivalent. In the case of Mary Immaculate College and the University of
Limerick, it is intended that the new configuration will aim to be a Centre of Excellence for Teacher Education, acting
as a satellite or hub for other Institutes or Centres.
Recommendations of the Review Panel

The main recommendation of the Panel then proposed apportioning 17 of the current 19 state-funded providers across six
regional collaborative centres for teacher education as outlined below, thus removing current teacher education programmes
from both St. Patricks College, Thurles and Galway-Mayo IT:
1. DCU + St. Patricks Drumcondra + Mater Dei + Church of Ireland College of Education (CICE).
St. Patricks and Mater Dei are already in association with DCU. CICE explained to the Review Panel that it was in
talks with NUIM, having had an association with TCD up to the present. CICE is reported to be now (December
2012) in discussions with DCU. The Panels view was that CICE would fit easily and enrich either of the first three
consortia suggested. It appears that CICE may stay with the consortium proposed by the Panel.

On this proposed collaboration, the Review Panel commented on aspiration for integration being stronger than an actual
plan for its implementation which needed to be developed. The recommendation was that a strong central teacher education
hub be created, possibly centred in the campus at SPD where a major refurbishment and building programme is underway.
2. TCD + Marino Institute of Education (MIE) + UCD + National Collegte of Art and Design (NCAD)
MIE in already in association with TCD.
The Review Panel argues that this configuration would partially fulfil the continuum of sectoral teacher education since
TCD, UCD and NCAD provide for the post-primary sector and MIE for the primary sector. MIE also plans a postgraduate
qualification in early childhood education. The universities, in addition, have a research base. A single governance structure is
proposed, a single funding stream, and a new constitution reflecting joint ownership.
In December 2012, NCAD was reported to be in discussions with UCD on a possible merger although relocation to the
UCD campus did not form part of those discussions.
3. NUIM and Froebel College
Froebel College is in the process of moving to NUIM, having had an association with TCD up to the present as had
CICE and as still has MIE. These three colleges were considered the smaller colleges of education.
The Review Panel comments that For the first time in Ireland, the full range of teacher education is being accommodated
and fulfilled by one teacher education provider, i.e., NUIM. ECE and ITE for primary teachers are facilitated by Froebel
College. ITE for post-primary teachers, including those in the Adult/Further Education sector, is facilitated by NUIM. The
NUIM Teaching and Learning Centre which provides pedagogical support for academic staff in NUIM is also part of this
unit. However, the Panel also states that, despite individual strengths, the research capacity of the combined HEIs [Higher
Education Institution] in the new configuration will require development.
4. UL + Mary Immaculate College (MIC) + Limerick IT
UL and Mary Immaculate College are already in association.
The Review Panel was impressed with the research capacity of these institutions which could form a critical mass as
required in the National Strategy. It went further and recommended that the integrated UL/MIC entity might be nominated
as a Centre of Excellence for Teacher Education and act as a regional hub supporting teachers continuing professional
development in collaboration with University College Cork and the National University of Ireland Galway. While recognising
the challenges of negotiation of the integration proposed, the Panel suggests that the (extended and enhanced) campus at MIC
may be the appropriate location for the new centre for teacher education.
5. UCC + Cork IT
While the Review Panel recognised that the continuum of sectoral teacher education will not be fully satisfied in this
arrangement, it nevertheless offers current teacher supply nationally as one reason for not finding viable the wish of
UCC to extend teacher education for primary teachers, despite esisting interdisciplinary work in Early Childhood.
Instead, the Panel recommends that subject specialisms for Primary Teachers should be pursued by UCC in the
context of continuing professional development for teachers, as is currently provided for in Science Education and
with the proposed Centre of Excellence for Teacher Education in Limerick as a regional hub.
6. NUIG + St. Angelas College Sligo

The Review Panel considers that the continuum of sectoral teacher education provision will not be fully satisfied
in this arrangement even though NUIG has a regional remit in the area of continuing professional development
for teachers, including that of primary teachers, with the provision of postgraduate and doctoral programmes.
Nevertheless, the Panel recommends that the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) retain ITE for postprimary teachers. The provision for teacher education currently offered at St. Angelas College Sligo should move to
the NUIG campus and be fully integrated there. Research capacity will require development as well as links to be
developed between NUIG and the new Limerick configuration particularly with regard to the relevance of the
creation of a Centre of Excellence for Teacher Education in Limerick as a regional hub.
These recommendations were accepted by the Minister and became part of an implementation plan including cost
implications prepared by the HEA which had managed the work of the International Review Panel. The ensuing proposals
from the Minister for Education were then for Cabinet approval. The International Review Panel also commented on some
other pertinent issues on which excerpts are given below.
Ethos and Denominational Issues
The Review Panel respected the ethos of all HEIs in its deliberations and was aware, in particular, of the denominational
governance of Colleges of Education. The Panel did not undertake to make any recommendations in relation to
denominational matters other than to note that student teachers of any denomination, or none, are accommodated
and afforded opportunities to prepare, according to their individual wishes, for the teaching of religion.
Internationalisation
The Review Panel was surprised at the relatively low level of international student mobility in Ireland, for example
in the Erasmus programme, particularly in view of the fact that Ireland is an English-speaking country. In particular,
the proportion of outgoing students in teacher education institutions is very low by European standards. The Review
Panel heard that this is mainly due to demanding study programmes in Irish teacher education institutions and also
because students credits earned in other countries are not necessarily fully recognised at home. It suggests that a
concerted effort should be made, at national level, to attract student teachers to the country and to encourage Irish
student teachers to spend part of their study period abroad It may be necessary to look at the real reasons for the
relatively low levels of mobility and how credit transfers between Irish and European teacher education programmes
work. The two-way experience would be valuable and enriching for teacher education.
Funding
In place of the formula based model currently in use by the HEA of the allocation of a block grant to each institution,
the Review Panel suggests that as discipline-based clusters of institutions/centres of excellence emerge, and, more
broadly, as the National Strategy is being implemented, the HEA should consider linking funding more clearly to the
specific discipline or thematic area. The Panel further suggests that the HEA should consider ways in which funding
can support desired outcomes in relation to ITE.
The Review of Teacher Education structures and Irish

Irish is, at present, an integral part of teacher education entry at primary level and in the content of primary programmes.
Education for teaching through the medium of Irish at primary level, while sparse, has some modules in some institutions.
NUIG offers a posatgraduate degree in teaching through Irish. Irish is an integral part of the policy for literacy and numeracy.
Its position has been improved in the policy documents from the Teaching Council on entry to teaching programmes. The
necessity for all teachers to be competent to teach Irish at primary level, including those incoming from abroad, is recognised
through the provision of specific arrangements and courses for incomers.
Nevertheless, neither the terms of reference provided to the Review Panel nor the report they produced allude in any way
to this fact of Irish in the education system. That may have no immediate significance or the presence of Irish may have been
considered a given. On the other hand, mergers sometimes have the consequence of diluting or even drowning some elements
of existing practice. Such alliances could, of course, given the right conditions, strengthen and enrich existing practice. From
the linguistic angle, the new proposals may require continued scrutiny.
The only reference to language by the Review Panel occurs in the reference to the desired internationalisation:
The Review Panel was surprised at the relatively low level of international student mobility in Ireland, for example in
the Erasmus programme, particularly in view of the fact that Ireland is an English-speaking country.
Given its international composition, it might have been possible for the Review Panel to suggest systems where Irish students
could encounter other forms of bilingual education where two languages are provided in differing ways to different age groups.
Immersion systems are also available across Europe where majority and minority languages co-exist.
A policy for Irish in education does exist. The comprehensive Hyland background paper for the Review Panel lists some
particulars (although some might quibble at descriptions here and there) both in the body of the paper, in footnotes and
particularly in the Appendix, as given below:
Incoming teachers from other jurisdictions
Under the EU directive for mutual recognition of professional qualifications recognised teachers in other EU countries
may also apply for registration as teachers in Ireland. An estimated 500 teachers apply every year to the Teaching
Council under the provisions of this directive. Some of these are of Irish origin who having failed to get a place in
a teacher education programme in Ireland, travelled to another EU country to study and qualify as a teacher. Partly
because of the Church-based tradition of Irish education but largely because of Irish-language requirements, the
teaching profession in Ireland, especially at primary school level, is less culturally and ethnically diverse than in other
OECD countries.
Since the foundation of the State in 1921, government policy has required that all teachers in primary schools are
fluent in the Irish language, and are qualified to teach through the medium of that language, as Irish is a subject in the
Primary School Curriculum. While a very small number of non-Irish nationals have been successful in meeting the
Irish language requirement, this is rare. While qualified teachers from other EU countries may teach in Irish schools
pending their meeting the Irish language requirement, this recognition is limited to a five year period at the end of
which they are required to demonstrate proficiency in the Irish language.
Constitutional position of Irish
The Irish Constitution states that the Irish language (Gaeilge) is the first official language and recognises English as
the second official language. The reality for the large majority of the Irish population is that English is their mother
tongue and the language of daily usage.
Growing diversity
in recent years, a growing number of children born outside the State have enrolled in Irish schools. A significant
number of these come from non-English speaking backgrounds. It is estimated that more than 10% of pupils in Irish
primary and second level schools were born outside Ireland. Many of these pupils do not have English or Irish as their
first language and this creates new challenges for schools.
Primary Education
There are 3,309 publicly-funded primary schools (including 140 special schools for children with special educational
needs) in Ireland. 96% of these schools are under the patronage of the various churches. The remainder are multidenominational schools (in the Educate Together network) and Gaelscoileanna (schools in which all teaching is
carried out through the medium of the Irish language).
While the Irish language is a compulsory subject for pupils in all primary and second level schools, about 150
primary schools (referred to in the Irish language as Gaelscoileanna) teach all subjects through the medium of the
Irish language and the normal language of communication is Irish. In addition to these, a further 140 or so schools in
Gaeltacht areas (i.e. Irish-speaking areas of the country) also use Irish as the normal medium of communication and
teach all subjects through Irish.
The patron body for some gaelscoileanna, Foras Ptrnachta na Scoileanna Ln-Ghaeilge Teo., receives mention in the Hyland
paper in the table on patron bodies.
TEACHER EDUCATION ENTRY CRITERIA

The increased duration of teacher education programmes, as outlined in the strategy on literacy and numeracy, comes into
effect in 2013. The content of teacher education programmes is under consultation between the Teaching Council and course
providers. The proposed new entry requirements of higher grades in the three core subjects is a matter for the Minister to
set although it appears likely that he will do so. New or additional assessment modes of selection for entry may follow given
both suggestions in one of the Teaching Councils policy documents and the position paper to the Minister from the IUA
(below). These might include choices from interviews (as in the past), previous relevant experience, aptitude tests in addition
to academic criteria.
IRISH AS ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE AT THIRD LEVEL

INSTITUTIONS AND COURSES
Irish is offered as academic discipline in the universities and/or in colleges associated with them under the rubric of Arts/Liberal
Arts/Humanities. These may be followed to doctorate level. Irish is also available in other institutions. Information on courses
in different disciplines through the medium of Irish is found below, Irish as medium of instruction in higher education.
Irish is also offered as component or module in courses offered by several other institutions, some of which are also
given in the table below. With regard to the latter, matters may change from year to year or from institution to institution in
accordance with student/market demand and/or staff supply. The table shows some current possibilities. Students may later
take a subsequent Postgraduate Diploma in Education towards a teaching career.
Courses which include Irish: points requirements 2009-2011

Level 8 Degree Courses
Institution
University College,
Cork (UCC)
Course
Year/Points
2009
2010
2011
Arts
360
350
345
Commerce & Irish
455
450
440
Law & Irish
530
515
500
(Commerce and Law with Irish required higher points than with other modern languages).
(A suite of courses in Irish for adults are also offered by the Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha, UCC).
University College,
Dublin (UCD)
Arts
360
365
355
National University
of Ireland, Galway
(NUIG)
Arts
355
355
340
*Irish Studies
360
400
415
(may include some Irish)

*Irish Studies 2-year postgraduate M.A. Level 9 taught programme includes an intensive
year-long programme in Irish language. For the academic year, 2012-2013, the Tadhg Foley
Fellowship is offered to the most outstanding student at the end of the first semester.
National University
of Ireland,
Maynooth (NUIM)
Arts
375
375
380
Courses which include Irish: points requirements 2009-2011

Ionad na
dTeangacha
Languages Centre,
NUIM
Dioplma sa Ghaeilge, Diploma in Irish
Trinity College,
Dublin
Early & Modern Irish
(Accepted for entry to the postgraduate course in Primary Teaching in place of the required
grade in Irish at Leaving Certificate).
335
345
350
525
460
Irish Studies (may include some Irish)
340
335
375
Arts
445
440
450
Irish Music & Dance
370
395
325
Voice & Dance
310
355
300
Arts
300
300
290
Computer Science, Linguistics & Irish

(points requirement higher than with French)
University of
Limerick
Waterford Institute
of Technology
Business with Irish
410
MA Taighde sa Ghaeilge Research in Irish
2011
(a fees scholarship to conduct specific research on documents held by Coliste na Rinne

Ring College in the Waterford Decies Gaeltacht is being funded by the Coliste)
Carlow College
Humanities
300
300
280
St. Patricks
(Pontifical)
Maynooth
Theology & Arts
315
335
325
Mater Dei Institute,

Dublin
Irish Studies & Religious Studies
310
330
320
Dublin Institute of
Technology
Journalism & a Language
435
415
360
Journalism
405
420
415
St. Patricks College

of (Primary)
Education, Dublin
Arts/Humanities
420
415
420
Mary Immaculate
College of
(Primary)
Education,
Limerick
Liberal Arts
395
405
390
MA sa Lann Daonna, Gaeilge (Humanities, Irish)
BA sa Ghaeilge (Irish)
At the start of the academic year 2011-2012, the Tipperary Rural Business Development
Institute (TRBDI) merged with the Limerick Institute of Technology.

In 2008, a group began work on a common syllabus for Irish at third level, An Mheitheal um Theagasc na Gaeilge ar an Tr
Leibhal. There are currently up to 20 institutions, North and South, participating in the scheme which is coordinated by
two representatives from St. Patricks College of Education Drumcondra and the Department of Irish in University College
Galway. The scheme is funded by Foras na Gaeilge on a yearly basis and by the institutions themselves. This permits the group
to employ a Project Manager to ensure the provision of appropriate materials directed at teaching/learning of Irish towards BA
or BEd degrees. The third year is currently (2011-2012) in preparation. All materials are onsite at www.teagascnagaeilge.ie, a
site administered from the University of Ulster.
TERTIARY EDUCATION

The Hyland position paper (Entry to Higher Education in Ireland in the 21st Century, HEA/NCCA conference September
2011) gives the following assessment of numbers entering tertiary education together with the background of entrants:
The number of new entrants to higher education in Ireland in 2010 was 43,000 or about 65% of the relevant age
cohort. This is a tenfold increase since the mid 1960s when fewer than 4,500 students entered higher education each
year. The number of new entrants is projected to grow during the next decade to about 65,000 in 2025.
Not all those who enter higher education come directly from second level. More than 20% of those who entered
higher education in 2010 were either mature students or had come from further education with Further Education
and Training Council (FETAC) qualifications. A small number of students were admitted with alternative entry
requirements under theschemes for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and students with disabilities.
This level of 65% progression is reported to be the highest in the EU, although Government policy is aiming for 72%.
Questions have been raised whether all these new entrants are in fact suited to third level in light of the first year dropout rate
in some instances. On the other hand, the HPAT or Health Professions Admission Test, introduced in order to widen access
by suitability to the field, has been criticised as being a test for which expensive coaching pays off.
Demand and successful entry are, of course, two very different aspects of the same broad issue. The IUA (Irish Universities
Association) submission on policy options to reform the system of entry to higher education, presented to the September 2011
HEA/NCCA conference on the issue, quotes from DES projections on increasing demand:
predicted ongoing expansion of demand for higher education from approximately 165,000 students in 2010 to
between 276,000 and 296,000 in 2031, an increase of between 67% 78% on current numbers, it is clearthat
competition for places in most areas will continue to increase.
As in the Hyland paper, this IUA document also gives useful information on entrants from sources other than the traditional
second level, those who enter via supplementary routes.
In 2010, 10,886 individuals were offered and accepted places through the competitive procedures applying to each route.
This represents 24% of the net total accepts made through the CAO (Central Applications Office) system in 2010.
There are two other interesting facets to these supplementary routes into higher education.
participating universities and other colleges have set aside a quota or number of places in all undergraduate degree
programmes, which are allocated on a competitive basis to those who have applied, based on the criteria for each
routethese routes have now been integrated into the CAO systemthe assessment of these applications is based
on the specific criteria which apply to each supplementary entry route, rather than solely (if at all) on the applicants
Leaving Certificate results.
The submission from the Council of Registrars of the Institutes of Technology also places their response, on reforming the
system of entry, in a broader focus by commenting on the myriad ways in which students can, and do, enter higher education.
From their perspective, 60% of entrants come through the CAO system(s) and 40% as part-timers or post-graduates or
through direct entry. This latter percentage is destined to increase through re-skilling or through e-learning.
At the other end of higher education, over 30,000 graduates emerge each year from the higher education sector. Other successes
of the sector were catalogued in an article by the CEO of the Higher Education Authority (The Irish Times, 7 October 2011):
Our higher education system continues to have high standing nationally and internationally. The Times Higher
Education (THE) rankings show we perform well when the universities performance relative to our gross domestic
product is measured. We come sixth, ahead of Australia, the US, Germany and even Finland (often cited for its
excellent education system). This means we get a good return on our investment in higher education.

Other positives include the fact that participation, progression and completion rates compare favourably with
other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. A November 2009 report
from EU finance ministers ranked Ireland first in Europe in terms of graduates per 1,000 inhabitants and first in terms
of how employers rank our graduates. Ireland is among the countries where universities are regarded by international
peers as being excellent and recruiters regard them as providing highly employable graduates.
In an independent report last month by PA Consultants for the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Irish
companies reported direct benefits to them through investment in research in higher education institutions.

Three areas of policy dominated tertiary education in the period 2007-2011:

- the issue of funding for the universities in which were implicated issues of quality; of managerialism; of the
sometimes competing needs of education and the economy; of student fees; [the OECD Report 2004,
Review of Higher Education Policy in Ireland, and the Hunt Report, 2011 below, had highlighted the need for
investment in Third-Level education to cope with expansion in demand; the HEA report of mid 2010 also
reverted to the issue]; many institutions became over-dependent on American philanthropy;
- the strategic overhaul of the entire sector based on research and reports (e.g. the Hunt Report 2011);
- the role of the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
No more was heard of the decision of a Minister for Education of the previous administration, announced on 20 January
2010, to dissolve the National University of Ireland (NUI), a decision taken without prior consultation with the constituent
colleges; such a move had been recommended in the McCarthy Report (July 2009) which also targeted the HEA. The NUI
(1908), its Seanad and Chancellor, together with Seanad representative members (some elected by graduates), is responsible
for awarding qualifications to post-doctorate level in four constituent universities and five recognised colleges (including the
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland). It has premises in central Dublin and a staff of 15. Dissolution would require legislation
and would also impinge on the NUI University seats in Seanad ireann. Estimates of savings to the exchequer varied from 1
million to 3 million. Both graduates and course applicants were concerned that diplomas and degrees awarded would now
suffer lack of international recognition of the well-regarded brand of the NUI.
Dissolution of the NUI and its current matriculation requirements would have consequences, either positive or negative,
for Irish at upper secondary level as could other changes under discussion in curricula, in modes of assessment, in the number
of subjects permitted for examination purposes, in entry criteria for certain Third-Level courses. The future of Irish in all
these developments will depend on the alternative supportive policy alternatives provided. At the time of the Ministers
announcement, the President of National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) was of the view that Irish would remain as an
essential component of the requirements for matriculation. NUIG is, however, in a slightly different position from the other
constituent colleges of the NUI. Other commentators considered it solely a matter of time before change occurred.
Since the 2008 Budget, the rather ambitious idea of a quality assurance agency for both further and higher education
which would amalgamate existing agencies, had been mooted. This reached a degree of finality in the Bill prepared in 2011,
(Future Development of the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, above) but the Bill also decoupled higher
and further education. Implementation of the Hunt Report (below) and dissolution of the NUI could well be part of new
legislation on the higher education sector as might an enhanced role for the HEA, a body which had been one of the targets of
the McCarthy Report.
In other initiatives, Dublin City University (DCU) announced the provision of more online or blended (partially
online) courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels from 2012 onwards. Online collaboration with universities
in India, China and the US would thus be made possible. Collaborations occurred on specific ventures: University College
Dublin (UCD) with Trinity College Dublin; National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) with University of Limerick
(UL); National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM) with a nearby Institute of Technology. These moves foreshadowed
impending change.
The Hunt Report/The Strategy for Higher Education

A national strategy for higher education was first announced by one of the three Ministers for Education of the previous
administration on February 6th 2009 together with a Strategy Group under the chairmanship of Dr Colin Hunt, Managing
Director of Macquarie Capital (Europe) Advisers. After an intensive consultation process, the Hunt Report was published on
11 January 2011. It is based around three major themes as required by its terms of reference: the context for a new national
strategy; the mission of higher education in Ireland; issues of governance, structures and funding. The incoming Coalition of
March 2011 continued with the implementation of the Hunt Report as a Strategy for Higher Education to 2030. Addressing
the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education on 20th July 2011, the Minister for Education and
Skills described it thus:
The Hunt Report sets out a vision and policy objectives for the development of the sector over the next two decades.
Important implementation issues will include a framework for the development of new organisational configurations
including the development of the Technological University concept; a new performance driven relationship between
the State and the sector; quality improvements in teaching and learning; governance changes and revised employment
contracts.
Given the emphasis on preparing young people for employment in the smart economy, the humanities departments became
somewhat fearful for their future.
At the same meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee, the Minister reported that he had:
asked the higher education sector to consider and present a range of policy options for reforming the system of
entry into higher education.
The responses were later presented at a joint HEA/NCCA (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment) conference
on 21st September 2011 where a comprehensive discussion paper was also presented, the Hyland document (Entry modes,
below).
With regard to Irish in a changing educational context, the following excerpts from the Hunt Report may be considered
ad rem, depending on how policy makers and society choose to interpret them.
Hunt Report: Vision
In the decades ahead, higher education will play a central role in making Ireland a country recognised for innovation,
competitive enterprise and continuing academic excellence, and an attractive place to live and work with a high
quality of life, cultural vibrancy and inclusive social structures. At its heart, however, it will still be about people and
ideas[giving] students a sense of Irish place and identity, and will equip them with the skills to play a strong part
on the world stage; they will be the source of new ideas through excellent research.
Hunt Report: Preface
For a variety of reasons, Irish higher education is now at a point of transition: the number of people entering the
system is growing and the profile of students is changing. Unemployment and changing patterns of work bring new
urgency and a much greater emphasis on lifelong learning and upskilling. A high proportion of the skills that we need
now in the work-force are high-order knowledge-based skills, many of which can be acquired only in higher education
institutions.
Hunt Report: Summary of recommendations
Engagement with the wider society: Recognise civic engagement of students through programme accreditation,
where appropriate.
System governance:
- Collaboration between autonomous institutions (generally on a regional basis).
- No new universities on the basis of Section 9 of the Universities Act.
- Amalgamated/consolidated Institutes of Technology could apply for designation as a Technological University.
- Enhanced role for the HEA within the new arrangements.
Funding model
- Broadening of funding base through reform of student financing, including a new form of direct student
contribution based on an upfront fee with a deferred payment facility.
- Public investment in higher education must be aligned with national policy priorities, including widening of
access, enhanced performance outcomes, and greater flexibility in provision.
In July 2011, the HEA issued a consultation paper on Criteria for Designation to Technological University Status. In early
2012, two Government ministers with local connections openly supported the idea of a Technological University (TU) for the
south east (Carlow and Waterford IT) which had grown out of the loss of several local industries and consequent unemployment
the preceding year. The heads of the universities raised objections, pointing to chronic underfunding of their sector. This first
TU concept was followed by the idea of an MTU, Munster Technological University based on three institutes of technology
(Cork, Limerich, Tralee). Dublin Institute of Technology with its several schools had long been seeking university status. Five
institutes in the BMW (Border/Midlands/West) region were in discussions as were some in the Dublin area. By mid-2012
the Connacht-Ulster Alliance was formed by the ITs of Letterkenny, Sligo, Galway-Mayo in their quest for university status,
although additional criteria had been introduced by the HEA earlier in the year.
Implementation of the Hunt Report, as Strategy, reached a further stage in early October 2011 with the publication of
several consultation documents from the HEA; it was hoped to have agreement on major aspects by the end of the academic
year 2011-2012. One of the documents, entitled Consultation on Implementation of the National Strategy for Higher Education
to 2030 comprises three of the more significant proposals of the Hunt Report: Regional Clusters; Consolidation leading to
Mergers; Strategic Dialogue.
The second paper deals with the concept of a National Academy for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, building
on work that grew out of the Strategic Initiatives Fund (SIF, 2007) of the HEA. This Fund was formerly known as Strategic
Initiatives (2004) which grew out of the Targeted Initiatives (1996). The Institutes of Technology came under the HEA for
funding (instead of DES) from 2007. The HEA intended, if possible, to establish the National Academy in early 2012 on the
strengths outlined in the Evaluation of SIF commissioned and published in February 2010. The Initiatives, in accordance with
the Act of the HEA, had assisted the development of various Irish language initiatives: textbooks, curricular development for
courses or modules through Irish, projects to enhance Irish language staff skills and other language cross-campus projects.
A third paper on funding and the sustainability of the sector commissioned by the Minister from the HEA was reported on
in early November 2011. While private income streams could in future become part of the income mix for third level funding,
the State and the student body will also form the major proportion of funding. The HEA report views the quality of the sector
and its funding as interdependent, given the large increase in students (from around 40,000 in 1980 to 160,000 in 2010) and
the projected numbers. Possible policy options to deal with the developing crisis include: fees for students or loans (as in the
Hunt report, above); continued increase of the student charge (increased from 1,500 to 2,000 for the academic year 20112012 or, unwelcome as it might be, a cap on student numbers resulting in a quota for each institution with accompanying grant.
Given the twin emphases in the National Strategy on, firstly, mergers and clusters, inter-institutional collaboration at all
levels including staff, and, secondly, the rejection of duplication of courses, current Irish language academic courses or courses
through the medium of Irish will undoubtedly come under a level of scrutiny. Whether the outcomes will be positive or negative
may depend on official attitudes and on institutional and staff ingenuity.
What is described as a more co-ordinated and coherent higher education system may arise from the blueprint for future
development which the HEA intended to publish by the end of 2012. This blueprint will emerge from the final versions of
discussion papers on the future of higher education published by the HEA on 13 February together with responses to that
paper requested from the third-level sector to be given within six months. As might be expected, consolidation and mergers are
mooted as is the end of public funding for smaller stand-alone colleges and unnecessary duplication of courses. It is pointed out
that currently 44 institutions offer undergraduate courses through the CAO system. More than 20 offer research programmes.
The final versions of discussion papers following previous consultation include: Towards a Future Higher Education Landscape;
Process and Criteria for Designation as a Technological University; Guidelines on Regional Clusters. The latter includes indications
of possible future clusters of significantly varying size.
The Van Vught report on higher education

In July 2012, a group of international figures chaired by Professor Van Vught of the European Commission had finalised a
report for the HEA on radical restructuring of the third-level sector in Ireland. It was finally published in November 2012.
All the current higher education institutions (over 20) would be rationalised into just six. TCD and UCD were proposed
for merger (not for the first time) as were DCU and NUIM. Technological universities weres also put forward. Overall, this
report seemed to attract little official or political support, being seen as in conflict with agreed policies, i.e. the ongoing
implementation of the Hunt Report. In addition, invited proposals from the third-level sector, analysed and published by the
HEA, did not apparently show enthusiasm for further inter-institutional collaboration. Nevertheless, such re-organisation is
on the educational agenda and some form of it will probably emerge eventually, driven perhaps by funding exigencies.
The Van Vught report opined that Ireland could support no more than one university of international repute and that
through a merger of UCD and TCD. Other recommendations included the following possibilities for new universities. Their
interest lies in comparison with both the Hunt proposals (above) and those for for ITE (Initial Teacher Education) as well as
those proposed by the IUA itself (below).
Van Vught Report: Proposals for New Universities through Mergers
- DCU, NUIM, St. Patricks Drumcondra, Dundalk IT
- NUIG, Galway-Mayo IT, St. Angelas Sligo
- UL, Mary Immaculte College Limerick, Limerick IT, Tralee IT
- UCC, Cork IT
- National Universities of Technology:
Dublin (DIT, Tallaght IT, Blanchardstown IT)
Athlone
Carlow
Letterkenny
Sligo
Waterford
Irish Universities Association (IUA) proposals on possible re-organisation at third level

In response to the ongoing debate and desired re-organisation of the approximately 40 funded institutions operating at third
level, the IUA produced its own report which appeared in January 2013. While at all times advocating the importance
of institutional autonomy for all colleges and no enforced mergers, but also the possibilities inherent in joint planning of
educational provision and collaboration in research, the IUA proposes five regional clusters comprising some 34 institutions.
Each cluster would have a joint formal governance structure.
IUA Proposals for institutional re-organisation at third level
Dublin/North East/Midlands (11 institutions)
NUIM; DCU; Royal College of Surgeons; Athlone and Dundalk ITs; All Hallows College and Mater Dei Institute;
St Patricks, Church of Ireland and Froebel Colleges of Education; National College of Ireland.
Dublin (8 institutions)
TCD; UCD; Royal Irish Academy of Music; National College of Art and Design and Dn Laoghaire Institute of Art,
Design and Technology; Marino Institute of Education; Institute of Public Administration and Institute of Bankers.
North/West (6 institutions)
NUIG; Galway-Mayo, Sligo, and Letterkenny ITs; St Angelas College; Shannon College of Hotel Management.
Mid-West (5 institutions)
UL; Limerick and Tralee ITs; Mary Immaculate College of Education; St Patricks College, Thurles.
South (4 institutions)
UCC; Cork, Waterford and Carlow ITs.y
HEA draft proposals 2013

Proposals from the Higher Education Authority on reconfiguring the third level sector were expected for continued consultation
in early 2013. They were duly published on 16 January as a further discussion paper, entitled Completing the Landscape
Process, in a reference back to the HEA consultation document of February 2012 entitled Towards a Future Higher Education
Landscape. The 2013 paper is based on national policy, submissions from the third-level sector and external advice. The outline
of the possible reconfiguration is given in two appendices, A on emerging institutional possibilities and B on possible regional
clusters. The Initial Teacher Education Review proposals are also included as are current or proposed collaborations from the
institutions themselves. Reference is also made to institutions where collaborative plans have been shelved or changed.
Basically, the existing 39 institutions are cut to 24 through mergers, particularly of Institutes of Technology. The document
gives the figure of over 1 billion in total annual funding (core grants and grants in lieu of fees) and the figure of 170,000 for
the student population at third level. Improved quality and increased student capacity are seen as the drivers of the proposed
reform as well as sustainable resourcing. The underpinning principles are listed. They include:
- coherence of approach;
- distinctiveness and diversity of mission;
- specialisation in specific strengths identified;
- collaboration or even consolidation within and between institutions; regional collaboration in particular;
- cost effectiveness and flexibility of response to changing circumstances.
In tandem with these principles is:
respect for institutional autonomy while ensuring that the sector as a whole meets national objectives.
Even more important than this is, perhaps, the statement in bold underlined print on the actual configuration of institutions
given in the document:
This does not represent, at this point, the considered conclusions of the HEA.
The issue of future technological universities is not addressed in detail as yet. As this was the final set of proposals on third
level to appear, they are given below at D, after the other proposals from differing quarters, to allow for comparison. Final
proposals to the Minister will follow consultation on the HEA discussion document. Implementation of ensuing ministerial
decisions will then expected to take place over time.
A. Review Panel on Initial Teacher Education (ITE, July 2012): Recommendations on 6 regional collaborative
centrs for teacher education
1. DCU + St. Patricks Drumcondra + Mater Dei + Church of Ireland College of Education (CICE).
2. TCD + Marino Institute of Education (MIE) + UCD + National Collegte of Art and Design (NCAD)
3. NUIM and Froebel College
4. UL + Mary Immaculate College (MIC) + Limerick IT
5. UCC + Cork IT
6. NUIG + St. Angelas College Sligo
These proposals would end current teacher education programmes from both St. Patricks College, Thurles and Galway-Mayo IT:
B. Van Vught Report (November 2012): Proposals for New Universities through Mergers
- DCU, NUIM, St. Patricks Drumcondra, Dundalk IT
- NUIG, Galway-Mayo IT, St. Angelas Sligo
- UL, Mary Immaculte College Limerick, Limerick IT, Tralee IT
- UCC, Cork IT
- National Universities of Technology:
Dublin (DIT, Tallaght IT, Blanchardstown IT)
Athlone
Carlow
Letterkenny
Sligo
Waterford
C. IUA Proposals on third-level re-organisation (January 2013)
Dublin/North East/Midlands (11 institutions)
NUIM; DCU; Royal College of Surgeons; Athlone and Dundalk ITs; All Hallows College and Mater Dei Institute;
St Patricks, Church of Ireland and Froebel Colleges of Education; National College of Ireland.
Dublin (8 institutions)
TCD; UCD; Royal Irish Academy of Music; National College of Art and Design and Dn Laoghaire Institute of Art,
Design and Technology; Marino Institute of Education; Institute of Public Administration and Institute of Bankers.
North/West (6 institutions)
NUIG; Galway-Mayo, Sligo, and Letterkenny ITs; St Angelas College; Shannon College of Hotel Management.
Mid-West (5 institutions)
UL; Limerick and Tralee ITs; Mary Immaculate College of Education; St Patricks College, Thurles.
South (4 institutions)
UCC; Cork, Waterford and Carlow ITs.
D. HEA Proposals: Completing the Landscape (Discussion Document, January 2013): From 39 to 24
Institutes of Technology (Some existing alliances with universities remain)
Non-merged (3)

Athlone, Dundalk, Limerick ITs
Mergers (11 ITs in 4 regional mergers)
*Dublin Alliance (Dublin, Blanchardstown, Tallaght ITs)

**Munster (Cork, Limerick, Tralee ITs)
*South East (Waterford, Carlow ITs)
Connacht Ulster Alliance (Galway-Mayo, Letterkenny, Sligo)

*These ITs have jointly expressed interest for status as Technological Universities.
**These ITs had initially expressed interest. LIT withdrew. The other two had not as yet submitted a further expression
of interest.
Universities (Recommendations on Initial Teacher Education remain as do existing Research Alliances.
No formal inter-university mergers proposed. Linkages are given below.)
Linkages (16 bodies in 7 linkages; some arising from Initial Teacher Education Review)

UCC, CIT
UCD, Marino Institute of Education
TCD, Marino Institute of Education, Royal Irish Academy of Music
NUIG, St Angelas College Sligo, Shannon College of Hotel Management (both to become colleges of NUIG)
NUIM, Froebel College of Education
UL, Mary Immaculate College of Education (talks on merger have proved inconclusive)
DCU, St Patricks College of Education Drumcondra, Church of Ireland College of Education, Mater Dei
Institute of Education
Other institutions (for further discussion, 9)
Dublin Dental University Hospital;
National College of Ireland;
National College of Art and Design; Dn Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design;
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies;
St Patricks College Maynooth; All Hallows College;
St. Patricks College Carlow; St Patricks College Thurles.
With regard to the Irish language, its current position may be affected either at entry requirement level; at course provision
level; at the level of status and recognition in any re-organisation arrangements.
DEBATE ON ENTRY MODES TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Expansion
The expansion of the tertiary sector in Ireland has meant that, in recent years, over 48% of the age group 25-34 possess a thirdlevel qualification (significantly above the EU or OECD average) and there are more women than men in that age category.
Acomparative table of applicants to the CAO (Central Applications Office) seeking third-level places is shown below:
Applicants for Higher Education Courses through the CAO

Year
Total Applicants
2000
60,321
2005
60,126
2009
67,634
2010
71,843 (including 11,969 over 23 years)
2011
71,466 (including 12,321 over 23 years)
The following table gives an indication of those accepted as full-time undergraduate entrants to the higher education sector
funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), that is 7 universities with 6 colleges to which they award degrees (13 in all)
plus 14 Institutes of Technology (IoT) and the Tipperary Institute (15 in all).
Full-time undergraduate entrants to Higher Education (HEA Statistics)

Year
2007-2008
Overall Total
2009-2010
Overall total
2010-2011
Overall total
Sector
Male
Female
Total
University
8,231
12,118
20,349
IoT
8,563
7,124
15,687
28
16,794
19,242
36,036
University
9,741
12,165
21,906
IoT
10,836
8,074
18,910
28
20,577
20,239
40,816
University
9,808
12,222
22,030
IoT
10,628
8,091
18,719
28
20,436
20,313
40,749
It is to be noted that these are full-time first entry undergraduate students. The total number is higher due to post-graduate
entry or part-time entry or other alternative entry routes. The total student body is, of course, much higher, encompassing all
years of study. These figures comprise the entry student body of the designated institutions funded by the HEA. Other (some
private) third-level institutions exist also and three colleges of education funded by the DES.
Some university speakers at the McGill Summer School 2011 had pointed to the continuing inequality of access. While
the average rate of progression from second to third level is in the region of 66%, this apparently may vary from 10% to 90%
depending on area and home address.
The points system

On the issue of proposals towards reforming entry modes to higher education as requested by the Minister for Education in June
2011, the emphasis was on the current points system which assigns points to Leaving Certificate results in the various subject
areas, a system which may be crudely mathematical but is considered at least open and fair. The system and the subsequent
establishment of the Central Applications Office (1976) was predicated on the predictive validity of the Leaving Certificate
examination, as borne out in some research studies of the period. Dissatisfaction led to the establishment of the Points
Commission in 1997 which issued its report and recommendations in 1999, after wide consultation. Little change occurred.
The 2012 IUA report to the Minister suggested several options discussed below, University presidents, the points system and
report to the Minister.
Grade inflation
Criticism of the points system centred on the downward cramming and rote learning effects on teaching and learning at
second level; the tendency for students to opt for subjects which might attract good results and, therefore, more points; loss of
more analytical skills and independent critical thinking; possible dumbing down and grade inflation (a charge also levelled at
results at third level based on increased levels of higher awards by both HETAC and the universities).
The media comment in previous years had concentrated on the failure rate in Mathematics and the low take-up of the
sciences. Reports now pointed to ongoing voices of concern with regard to the standard and quality of Irish education in general:
expressed by employers through a submission to the DES from the agency, Forfs; indicated in research from 2006 from a
group of academics based at the Institute of Technology at Tralee (ITT), the Network for Irish Educational Standards; arguments
placed before the (then) Minister for Education in a December 2009 high level meeting with international industrialists based
in Ireland. The latter led to two enquiries or profile analyses of grades by the DES.

Results (in March 2010) showed that there had been increases in the number of higher grades awarded at Leaving Certificate
Higher Level: A and B grades reported at 27% in 1992 but at 43% in 2009; ABC grades rose from 62% to 76%. (ABC
grades for Irish Higher Level (LC) rose from 75% in 1992 to 84% in 2011). However, it appears that most of the increases were
in the 1990s and stabilised after 2003, when the State Examinations Commission was established. The Hyland position paper
(Entry to Higher Education in Ireland in the 21st Century) prepared for the joint HEA/NCCA September 2011 conference on
the issue did, however, point out that, notwithstanding these criticisms, examination results over the past decades do not show
any deterioration in student performance.
Reports on the universities appeared to show, not unusually, variation between institutions and disciplines with regard to
the awarding of honours degrees. Nevertheless, the DES investigation found a significant increase in the number of first-class
honours degrees awarded between 1997 (8%) and 2008 (16%). The increase in first-class honours degrees awarded by the IoTs
rose from 11% in 1998 to 17% in 2008.
The (then, March 2010) Minister referred to the various agencies responsible for quality assurance at third level and their
planned merger into a single body (Legislation, above).
Policy options for third-level entry

The responses of the higher education sector to the Ministers request for a range of policy options for entry to tertiary education
were presented at a joint HEA/NCCA conference in September 2011. The commissioned Hyland paper, after a very informative
description of the current situation, gives a detailed series of possible options for future change under three headings:
- (A) Decouple selection for higher education from the Leaving Certificate.
- (B) Add or include further assessment modes to the final Leaving Certificate examination or to selection criteria
(whether at second level or at third level by the institutions themselves; some current examples are available).
- (C) Variations (12) on the current points system.
- A generic first year at higher educational level with postponement of specialised courses, the first semester to
concentrate on the skills/knowledge for the course of choice (some past and current examples available).
In their submission, the Council of Registrars of the Institutes of Technology, from their particular sectoral perspective,
made the following points, inter alia:
- the need to maintain fairness and transparency as perceived in the current points system;
- the desirability of recognising prior learning of whichever kind or existing qualifications;

- English and Mathematics LC results to be included in all calculation of points;
- either a match between LC subjects and the higher education course being applied for OR
- supplementary assessment (matriculation) by the institutions with acknowledgement, however, of the difficulties
associated with this proposal;
- similarly, practical difficulties could arise with the concept of the generic first year; lengthening the academic
year was instead proposed;
- confusion was admitted in relation to the Leaving Certificate (LC) at both level 4 and at level 5 of the National
Framework for Qualifications and a proposal instead that LC4 applicants progress to programmes below level 8;
- the subject areas for the international baccalaureate were proposed instead of the current LC spectrum [this
would include two languages: native and foreign];.
The IUA Working Group, while admitting that there exists no perfect system, provided an analysis also in their paper;
proposals, giving the pros and cons of each approach,. included the following:
- reform assessment modes at second level as has occurred at third level;
- change the more competitive courses to graduate entry only and so remove some of the distortions in the
current system;
- options along a continuum from high through medium to low connection to LC results; high would entail a
quota for certain groups:

high: expansion of supplementary entry routes

percentile-based points system
reduction in points granularity to give the same points to all grades within bands, (i.e. all A grades,
whether A1 or A2) etc. plus random selection with perhaps a weighting on subject choice
supplementary testing
supplementary modes of school based assessment
provision of supporting evidence from schools
medium: variants of a threshold entry system
low: minimum entry requirements and guaranteed first year place

minimum entry requirements and lottery
The overall conclusions appeared to favour some form of retention of the points system but calculated on assessment
modes wider than the current LC. Whether those alternative modes would come from second level or from the institutions
was not entirely clear. At any rate, it provided encouragement to the call of the Minister on widening modes of assessment at
second level. The criteria for entry are, of course, by legislation, a matter for the institutions. The generic first year of higher
education is probably not seen as feasible.
Another issue brought forward in the IUA paper is the nature of second-level education in Ireland:
In European terms, Irish second-level education in unusual in that over 90% of the second-level cohort are in an
academic 2nd level stream (as opposed to vocational), and then over 60% of that cohort enter HE [higher education].
In many other OECD countries, there is an important second-level vocational stream, with a more differentiated
tertiary education system which caters for a broader range of post-second-level learners. By comparison, less than
7% of total Leaving Certificate candidates sit the Leaving Certificate Appliedwhen the overall issue of supply and
demand is being considered it will also be necessary to look at the full range of post-second-level options for school
leavers, not just at those within HE.
To some extent, the proposed FET (Further Education and Training) developments would provide part of the answer at third
level, but not at second level without further changes distinguishing academic and vocational education or vocational streams
in schools, a move which might not appeal to Irish parents, given past experience. Clearer distinction between the nature of
university and IoT courses might also prove useful.
In February 2011, up to 6,700 Irish students applied to universities in the UK. The figure is, however, falling. By August
2011, given the rise in fees for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an increase occurred in applications to Irish universities
to almost 2,500.
Joint HEA/NCCA proposals to the Minister

Outcomes from the joint conference of September 2011 were published on 22 December 2011 (From Transaction to Transition)
as a report to the Minister for Education. The report did not recommend decoupling the Leaving Certificate examination from
entry to third-level education. The thrust of the main recommendations coming through the report echoed much of what had
occurred at the conference. They included:
- retention of LC results as passport to third level (and therefore a points system);
- return to an 8-point grading system for the Leaving Certificate (LC) results (A1, A2, B, C, D, E, F, G) instead of
the current 14-point system which contains more internal differentiation; this move could result in a lottery for
third-level places among students bunched under the same overall grade;
- removal of predictable questions in the LC examination (an assessment to be made jointly by the NCCA and
the SEC, State Examinations Commission, for report before end 2012);
- introduction of a broad-based first year at third level with less duplication of over-specialised courses;
- the possibility of marks in English and/or in Mathematics being compulsorily included in the calculation of
total CAO points for all courses (to be examined during 2012).
Clearly, no change could take place immediately. Two reports (predictability; compulsory inclusion of Mathematics and/
or English in CAO points calculation) hadyet to be prepared. While the Minister agreesdwith the thrust of the report and
intended to take immediate action, he referred also to implementation within two/three years. In the meantime, the changes
to Junior Certificate will provide the basis for a similarly oriented approach at Senior Cycle.

The wording of the proposed action on inclusion of certain subjects in CAO points calculation is as follows:
Conduct research into the viability, and potential benefits and consequences, of including Mathematics and/or
English in the calculation of points or all courses {through] a research paper to be prepared in 2012.
The rationale for this is explained in terms of support for improving literacy and numeracy and in prior attainment in
Mathematics (and to a lesser extent in English) as a predictor of successful progression at third level. In fact, research in the
1970s had also shown Mathematics as a reliable predictor. Nevertheless caution is urged:
as, if all learners are required to present English and Mathematics for points calculation, it will be important to
ensure that they all have access to higher level English and Mathematics. [This is the first mention of the issue of
level at which the subjects might be taken]. Requiring learners to present English for points calculation may have
implications for learners for whom English is not their first language.
Another implication of such an approach, if adopted, would undoubtedly be a downgrading of Irish at Leaving Certificate and
possibly as entry requirement to some third-level institutions.
University presidents, the points system and report to the Minister

By June 2012, and another Leaving Certificate examination underway, the Minister expressed his dissatisfaction that he was
still awaiting proposals on the points system as promised by the presidents of the seven universities the previous September,
asking them to put aside individual institutional ambition in order to provide a mutually agreed policy. In fact, some of the
discussion towards such a policy had occurred at a conference in TCD in May 2012 although much of the subject matter of
the HEA/NCCA September 2011 conference was again rehearsed.

The presidents report through the Irish Universities Association (IUA) was finally made public in August 2012. It criticises
both the Hpat system for medicine/health and the bonus points for Mathematics for their unintended consequences. The range
of possible options for third-level entry outlined in the report echo much of the content of the previous conferences: reduction
of LC grades; more graduate entry programmes for some professional courses; different (and rather complex) ranking systems;
general entry courses before specialist courses/subjects are chosen. These options, including the recommendation on Irish
(below), were to be assessed by a taskforce which was to report by end 2012.
IRISH AND THIRD-LEVEL ENTRY

In fact, given the content of the September 2011 joint HEA/NCCA conference and the reference to the international
baccalaureate from the IoT Registrars, together with the many other factors including proposed reduction of the number of
subjects at second level, policy towards Irish at LC level, and the possible demise of the NUI, it seemed likely that the universal
maintenance of Irish within the requirements for entry to third level could become highly contentious in the near future. A
possible cap on student numbers might provide its own unwelcome solution.
Entering the debate later than others quoted above, a joint report in January 2012 from the National Competitiveness
Council (NCC) and Forfs, the Government policy advisory board for enterprise, trade and science, sought radical change
throughout the education system (with an emphasis on Mathematics) and in business practices. The chair of NCC was
reported as follows:
The elephant in the room is Irish. Giving a huge amount of time to teaching Irish doesnt seem to have worked, and
we have been doing that since 1922.
Despite the economic importance of education, there has been a strong bias in the department to the social and
cultural roles of education but you wont have a vibrant social or cultural society if there is no work. (Irish Times, 12
January 2012)
Both the NCC and Forfs are two of the Government agencies now threatened with either absorption into the host Department
of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Forfs) or having its future reviewed (NCC) during 2012.
The IUA proposal on a matriculation Irish examination in fifth year is probably more than either the NCC or Forfs might
have put forward. The IUA final report to the Minister recommends having examinations in Mathematics and in Irish for
matriculation purposes at the end of fifth year at second level. Fairly similar suggestions in relation to Irish had been made in
the past but in relation to the Leaving Certificate; to have pass (Ordinary) level examinations, or examinations in some skills
at either Ordinary or Higher Level, e.g. Reading Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Oral in fifth year but without
precluding candidates from taking higher level in the Leaving Certificate if Ordinary Level had been taken in fifth year.
RANKINGS
Several methods exist for ranking third-level institutions, none sufficiently multi-faceted as to provide a thoroughly rounded
picture by which to appropriately judge institutions. Nevertheless, rankings howsoever limited are taken very seriously as
indicators of performance in certain areas and as tools of information. The EU Commission hopes to provide a more multidimensional assessment tool by 2013.
While the method of using the number of citations as a benchmark for research in the sciences is not without its critics,
the system remains influential. During 2010 and 2011, Irish researchers reached a world rating of 1st in molecular genetics
and genomics, 3rd in immunology, and 8th in materials science.
In the QS World University Rankings, Irish universities were reported in the top 200 for 24 of the 26 subjects surveyed.
In electrical engineering, seven institutions in Ireland were in this list of 200 while both Trinity College and University
College Dublin were in the top 50 for politics and sociology. These two institutions also figured in the top 100 for three areas:
economics, law, finance. Employer as well as academic ratings were used for purposes of the survey.
Nevertheless, reduced exchequer funding and consequent decline in third level employment appears to have resulted
in slippage for all but one Irish institution in the most recent (2011) results from the QS rankings of global university
performance, based on four main criteria: research, teaching, employability and internationalisation. Outside the first 300,
rankings are usually given by range. The Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings for 2011 also noted a
fall, explained by increased staff-student ratios arising out of funding cuts and rising demand for third-level places. By March
2012, in the same Times Higher Education Rankings no university in Ireland was among the top 100 institutions. However, QS
ranked DCU in the group of 50 top new (less than 50 years old) universities in 2012.
QS Global University Ranking Overall

Institution/Year
THE
2012
2011
2010
2009
2012 (2011)
TCD
67
65
52
43
110 (117)
UCD
131
134
114
89
187 (159)
NUIG
287
298
232
243
301-350
UCC
190
181
184
207
301-350
DCU
324
326
330
279
DIT
451-500
401-450
395
326
UL
451-500
451-500
451-500
401-450
NUIM
501-500
501-550
401
437
351-400
The table shows results from the two main ranking agencies for 2012, QS in the first column and THE in the final column in
brown. It is no mean feat to have five Irish universities in the first 400 and two of those in the first 200 in a world context, on
the criteria used by the two main compiling agencies whose respective results clearly use differing criteria. It has been suggested
that setting ones own university and national agenda might be a more profitable exercise than competing on a rather uneven
world stage.
Investment in research
Forfs is the policy advisory board for enterprise and science. In a recent report (August 2011), it gave the following figures for
Government investment in research, across all departments and agencies:
Year
Government investment in research
2008
946 million;
2009
941 million;
2010
872 (estimated).
In general, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) was responsible for disbursing one third and the Science Foundation Ireland
(SFI) for half that amount, 17.2%. This foundation (Fondireacht Eolaochta ireann) arose out of a study commissioned by
the Government in 1998, the Technology Foresight Ireland Report, being established in 2000 under Forfs to administer
Irelands Technology Foresight Fund. The proposal to make it a separate statutory entity in the Programme for Government
2002 was realised in the Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Act of 2003. It uses Government funding to
invest in researchers and teams generating and developing new knowledge. The 2010 annual report (September 2011) of the
Foundation reveals a good return on that investment. The number of collaborative studies across research teams, or in matched
funding from international sources or private sector firms, has risen sharply:
Year
Number of joint projects
2008
311
2009
601
2010
867
Ireland is (2010) ranked 20th in the world for research, above the EU and OECD countries average.
In fact, the first decade of the millennium saw the establishment of several research bodies and methods of funding:
PRTLI (Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions); Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences
(IRCHSS, 2000); Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS, 2000); Irish Research Council
for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET, 2001); Science Foundation Ireland (SFI, 2003 as statutory entity). The
IRCHSS funded several pieces of research into matters relating to Irish in literature and in education. This Council is now
(2012) to be merged with the IRCSET to form one body, the Irish Research Council.
CURRENT ARGUMENTS FOR IRISH IN THE THIRD-LEVEL SECTOR

MATRICULATION REQUIREMENTS AND THE IRISH LANGUAGE
No more was heard of the decision of a previous Minister for Education, announced on 20 January 2010, to dissolve the
National University of Ireland (NUI), a move recommended in the McCarthy Report (July 2009). Dissolution of the NUI
and its current matriculation requirements could have consequences for Irish at second level. Following much debate on entry
modes and the points system for third-level entry, the IUA (Irish Universities Association) final report (2012) to the Minister
recommended having examinations in Mathematics and in Irish for matriculation purposes at the end of fifth year at
second level. Fairly similar suggestions in relation to Irish had been made in the past but in relation to the Leaving Certificate;
to have pass (Ordinary) level examinations, or examinations in some skills at either Ordinary or Higher Level, e.g. Reading
Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, Oral in fifth year but without precluding candidates from taking higher level in
the Leaving Certificate if Ordinary Level had been taken in fifth year. A task force was intended to examine all proposals and
report back. This report was not yet to hand at end 2012.
Since the 2008 Budget, the concept of a quality assurance agency for both further and higher education which would
amalgamate existing agencies, had been mooted. This reached finality in the July 2012 Qualifications and Quality Assurance
(Education and Training) Act. The future development of the Further Education and Training (FET) sector is ongoing.
These issues will all form part of the final policy decisions arising out of the ongoing consultation on the Strategy for Higher
Education to 2030.
So far (November 2012), issues relating to the status of Irish at third level have not received official departmental attention,
although the HEA was hoping for action on implementation of policy on the sector by the end of the academic year 20112012. The Irish language sector is aware of the issues but has not yet joined in offering possible alternatives.
IRISH AS ENTRY REQUIREMENT TO THIRD-LEVEL COURSES
Courses in or through the medium of Irish require an honours level of Irish at Leaving Certificate as does entry to Primary
Teacher Education. Raising the honours grade requirement for the latter has been proposed and is for implementation.
IRISH AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION
The number and type of courses offered through the medium of Irish in higher education tends to change from time to time
and from institution to institution. They may be offered at undergraduate or postgraduate level, at degree or diploma level.
Some may be provided off-campus or be supported by external funding to the institution or through scholarships for students.
The following tables give an indication of courses currently on offer. These comprise what may be described as an Irish-medium
university, particularly when concentrated in a particular unit within an institution, as in the case of Acadamh na hOllscolaochta
Gaeilge in the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), or of Fiontar in Dublin City University (DCU). Strategic
planning by the relevant authority (HEA) and funding for provision on a national scale appears to be still absent. Development
is more haphazard and more subject to market (and student) demand than is beneficial.
1. Courses through the medium of Irish 2011

Institution/Course
Duration
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG)

Degree Courses
BA Cumarsid Communication
4 years
BA Gaeilge & Lann an Aistrichin Irish and Translation Studies
4 years
BA Gaeilge Fheidhmeach Applied Irish; Fee % 3,055 with tax rebate

MA Lann an Aistrichin Translation Studies; Galway Gaeltacht, Ceathr Rua
4 (part-time)
1 calendar
MA/Postgraduate Diploma
Aistrichn Reachtaochta & Dl Legislation Translation & Law]
1 academic
Ateangaireacht Chomhdhla Conference Interpreting]
(Diploma)
Galway Gaeltacht, Ceathr Rua
1 calendar
*Pleanil Teanga Language Planning]
(MA)
*It is understood that from September 2012, a new combined course will be offered:
MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Language Studies (Lann Teanga) with three streams, translation,
language planning, advanced language skills.
MA Teagasc Teangacha Gaeilge; Teaching Languages Irish
2 (part-time)
Diplomas
Scileanna Teilifse Television Skills; Donegal Gaeltacht, Gaoth Dobhair
Romhaireacht & Gaeilge Computers & Diploma in Irish; Galway Gaeltacht, Ceathr Rua
1 (full-time)
25 weeks
Romhaireacht don Riarachn Gn Computers for Business Administration; Galway

Gaeltacht, Galway Gaeltacht, Carna
1 (full-time)
Ciri & Stitsi an Cheoil Thraidisinta Traditional Music; Ceathr Rua
1 (full time)
Scileanna Aistrichin Translation Skills
2 (part-time)
Baloideas & Lann an Taidisiin Folklore & Traditional Studies; Donegal Gaeltacht, Gaoth Dobhair
Teastas Certificate in Folklore
Diploma Lann an Traidisiin
Year 1
Year 2
Higher Diploma (postgraduate)

Lann an Aistrichin Translation Studies; Galway Gaeltacht, Ceathr Rua
1 academic
(full-time)
Cumarsid Fheidhmeach Applied Communications (Broadcast/Jounalism)
1 academic
(full-time)
Drmaocht Drama; Galway Gaeltacht, Sailearna (Theatre)
2 (part-time)

In addition to the extramural courses listed above in centres in the Donegal and Galway
Gaeltachta, Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG) was granted almost 20,000 by
the Department with responsibility for the language in 2010 to equip a former school near
Dingle in the Kerry Gaeltacht as a teaching centre.
Fiontar, Dublin City University (DCU)
Degree Courses
Year/Points
2009
2010
2011
BA Gn agus Gaeilge Business & Irish
385
345
330
BA Gaeilge & Iriseoireacht Irish & Journalism
420
450
465
Duration
MA sa Ghaeilge, Socha & Teanga Irish, Society & Language (some scholarships were
available)
2 years
MA sa Ghaeilge, Acmhainn Teanga Irish, Language Resources
2 years
*MSc Gn & Teicneolaocht an Eolais Business & Information Technology
2 years (part-time)
* This programme is recognised by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) under the
Graduate Skills Conversion Programme. This means that EU students pay fees of only about
2,000 instead of the usual postgraduate degree fees of around 6,500. While tax rebates are
generally available for postgraduate fees, this HEA approval is important. Fiontar views it as
particularly significant since such recognition underpins the relevance of third-level education
in Irish as an integral part of economic development.
University College, Cork (UCC)
Degree Course
Law & Irish

(This 4-year course, which required higher points than when offered with other modern
languages, is described as the sole full-time law course in which law, and Irish, and law
through Irish is available).
The Honorable (sic) Society of Kings Inns
The following new courses were offered, with some funding from the Department with
responsibility for the language, to help cater for vacancies and opportunities at home and in
the EU. In July 2010, Kings Inns advertised for a Course Coordinator for these new parttime courses which included:
-Ardchrsa sa Dltheangeoaocht agus san Aistrichn Dlthiil (advanced Lawyer-Linguist and
Legal Translation Course)
-Ardchrsa san Aistrichn Dlthiil (Advanced Legal Translation Course)
Year/Points
2009
2010
2011
530
515
500

This third course below arises out of changes in the law governing the qualifications system
for both solicitors and barristers in the Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Act 2008.
These courses were advertised for the period from January to July 2011 preceded by a
qualifying examination for prospective candidates in December 2010. A preparatory course
was also advertised for intending applicants.
University of Limerick (UL)
Degree Course
BA An Ghaeilge & na Mein ra Irish & New Media
Year/Points
2009
2010
2011
375
370
400
University College, Dublin (UCD)

Degree Courses (advertised to begin in the academic year 2009-2010)
MA Scrobh & Cumarsid na Gaeilge, Riarachn Writing & Communication in Irish,
Administration
MA Scrobh & Cumarsid na Gaeilge, Ateangaireacht Interpreting
MA Scrobh & Cumarsid na Gaeilge, Aistrichn Translation
MA Scrobh & Cumarsid na Gaeilge, Eagarthireacht & Cipeagarthireacht Editing and
Copy-editing
MA Scrobh & Cumarsid na Gaeilge, Iriseoireacht Journalism
Institiid Teicneolaochta Bhaile tha Cliath
Duration
BA Gaeilge don Saol Proifisinta Irish for Professional Life
MA Gaeilge Fheidhmeach Applied Irish (some scholarships were available)
2011
2 years (part-time)
Ionad na dTeangacha (Language Centre), National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM)

Duration
Dioplma Iarchime san Aistrichn agus san Eagarthireacht (Ar lne), On line Postgraduate
Diploma in Translation and Editing
2 years (part-time)
Institiid Teicneolaochta Phort Lirge

Ard-Dioplma i Liri Teilifse Television Direction
Nemeton TV (a Gaeltacht company) in collaboration with IT Phort Lirge and with funding
from dars na Gaeltachta. Further expansion in media courses are planned.
1 year
(2012-2013)
2. Sections of courses or Modules offered/available through the medium of Irish 2011

Institution/Course
National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG)
The first year of the following disciplines may be followed through the medium of Irish in different administrative colleges of
the university:
Stair; Matamaitic; Eacnamaocht; Ceimic; Fisic; Matamaitic Fheidhmeach
History; Mathematics; Chemistry; Physics; Applied Mathematics
Classes through the medium of Irish are offered to first-year students in the following disciplines:
Treolaocht; Staidar Socheolaochta & Polaitochta
Geography; Sociology & Politics
In addition, the language modules in each year of French are offered through Irish and the end of year examinations may be
taken in Irish and English.
The Huston School of Film and Digital Media in collaboration with the School of Irish and Acadamh na hOllscolaochta
Gaeilge, from 2010, offered a specific module through Irish on the Irish language in these media since 1920 to include a
weekend in the Gaeltacht.
A new four-year BA degree in Drama, Theatre and Perfomance Studies is scheduled to begin at NUIG in September 2012. A
partnership is proposed with well known drama companies and arts festivals. Since the list includes the Irish language theatre,
Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, it is presumed that some modules of the course will include Irish.
Several courses offered or advertised in recent years appear to be ended or suspended for 2011: BA Gn agus Cumarsid
(Business & Communications) at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology; BA Riarachn Gn (Business Administration) at
Letterkenny Institute of Technology (in collaboration with NUIG); MSc Teicneolaocht Faisnise (Information Technology)
at Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG); Teastas/Dioplma/MA sa Chleachtas Dtheangach (Certificate/Diploma/MA in
Bilingual Practice) at Fiontar, DCU.
Research as opposed to taught degrees towards the award of MA or PhD may be conducted in most institutions offering courses
in, or through the medium of, Irish.
It is clear from the nature of the courses described that many are directed at specific areas of employment. In addition
to the information publications on Irish and employment prospects provided in the past by Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge
and COGG/Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta (NI), a staff member of Fiontar (DCU) has more recently produced a useful guide,
published by Graduate Careers Ireland and financed by the Department with responsibility for the language and the HEA.

With regard to courses through the medium of Irish, many of the extramural courses (offered by Acadamh na hOllscolaochta
Gaeilge NUIG in particular) described in the section would fall more easily under Further or Continuing Education.
The Irish Language Officer in NUIG was reported recently (March 2012) to be concerned at the erosion in the number
of courses through Irish at NUIG in comparison with the situation ten or fifteen years ago.
3. Courses in Irish for Specific Groups

These may be offered by academic institutions, voluntary organisations, Vocational Education Committees, Gaeltacht
organisations (co-operatives) or companies. Cultural activity holidays and courses run by Oideas Gael in Glencolmcille in the
Donegal Gaeltacht attract well known persons. The company, Gaelchultr, provide courses in Irish at all levels, including for
teachers and online. They also provide courses specifically for public sector training. An indication of the recession was found
in the fees reduction offered by Conradh na Gaeilge for its modestly priced courses. The organisation, Gael Linn, run a suite
of courses in Dublin and in Gaeltacht areas, for adults (all levels), student teachers, teachers from outside the State, students
preparing for examinations. Some scholarships are funded by Foras na Gaeilge for the Gael Linn courses in respect of students
from Northern Ireland.
The courses listed below are from academic institutions.
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG)

Institution/Course
Duration
Dioplma sa Ghaeilge (Dl) Diploma in Irish (Law)

(for law students, may be followed concurrently with law studies)
2 years
(part-time)
Dioplma sa Ghaeilge Diploma in Irish

(offered to all students, at three levels of proficiency, A2, B2, C1, concurrently with studies)
2 years
(part-time)
Courses in Irish language (basic level or A2) and culture for international students
Gaeltacht courses in Irish for students, for adults, and for international students having basic
proficiency
Ionad na dTeangacha Languages Centre (NUIM)

* Dioplma sa Ghaeilge Diploma in Irish; Maynooth and Kilkenny
2 years
(part-time)
*Dioplma sa Ghaeilge Diploma in Irish

(available to full-time students at Maynooth in 2nd or 3rd year)
2 years
(part-time)
*These Diplomas satisfy the Irish requirement for the post-graduate course in Primary Teaching, in
place of Leaving Certificate Irish Higher Level honours.
Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG, European Certificate in Irish)
This is a structured graded course in Irish for adults at home and abroad; examinations are recognised
by ALTE, Association of Language Testers in Europe; examination centres are provided on specific
dates around Ireland and abroad.
Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha Centre for Spoken Irish (University College Cork/UCC)
Proficiency courses at various levels are offered to students, staff, adults and teachers.
The information from the universitys website is given in its entirety below as indicative of the Irish language facilities
available in all the universities and in many institutions. Not all services will be available everywhere but many will, whether
through central administration, through Language Centres or through the office of the Oifigeach Gaeilge (Irish Language
Officer). The provision of such services will undoubtedly come under increasing threat as third-level funding declines. Policy,
and funding for such initiatives, from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) will form a significant plank in the future of
Irish language support services at third level.
Irish Language Facilities at UCC
Irish
The principle of bilingualism in Irish and English has been formally adopted by University College Cork, as part of
its official policy. In order to give practical effect to this policy a wide-ranging programme of language courses and
cultural events is organised.
Among the highlights are:
- The running of a resident Irish speaking community of students with an attractive scholarship scheme
- Excellent courses in conversational Irish for all students, particularly for those not taking Irish as part of their
formal degree requirements.
- Special applied skills courses in Irish e.g., computers, business, journalism, translation.
- A flexible and comprehensive Gaeltacht scholarship programme for interested undergraduate, postgraduate and
mature students of all faculties.
- Diploma in Arts (Applied/Professional Irish).

- Diploma in the computer assisted learning and teaching of Irish.
- Weekend and longer immersion courses, for organised groups of students in the congenial ambience of Dn
Chomhin, the Gaeltacht centre.
- An Irish Language public lecture/seminar series with the participation of well known national and international
speakers.
- Lunchtime sessions of traditional music and song of national standing and regularly held, under the auspices of
the Irish Traditional Music Society, in the Seomra Caidrimh, a special room in ras U Rathaille designated by
Bord na Gaeilge for Irish Language and related activities.
Coliste na hireann (sic)

As a training agency, Gaelchultr had been providing a series of courses in Irish which were tailored to the needs of adult
learners, many of whom were in government departments. After some years, the agency was recognized in 2013 as a provider
of 3rd level qualifications up to level 9 postgraduate diploma (in translation skills) of the National Qualifications Framework.
Under its new title, Coliste na hireann, it was launched by An Coimisinir Teanga on 3 September 2013. Its courses are
provided in blended format.
HIGHER EDUCATION AUTHORITY (HEA)
The HEA had been targeted in the report known as that of the Bord Snip Nua for integration back into the DES.
However, as outlined above, it has, so far (2011-2012) not alone remained as it was since its inception but appears to
have strengthened its rle and influence.
In relation to some third-level courses, due to the economic downturn, the Implementation Plan 2011 of the D/AHG for the
20-Year Strategy, carries an ambiguous statement on future funding, in light of limited financial resources, for certain courses
through Irish which had been operated in collaboration with the HEA.
A reviewin order to cater for market demand in the context of the status of the Irish language in Ireland and in Europe.
SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR IRISH AT THIRD LEVEL: SCHOLARSHIPS, BURSARIES,

ACCOMMODATION AND STUDENT ORGANISATIONS
CURRENT PROVISION
Existing scholarships and accommodation which groups some students in Irish-speaking blocks in third-level student
apartments continue to be available, particularly in the universities. Teach na Gaeilge (Irish House) UCD celebrated 10 years
in existence in September 2010.
Some recent (2011-2012) and perhaps one-off additions to scholarships are given below.
Waterford Institute of Technology: a fees scholarship to conduct specific research on documents held by Coliste na
Rinne Ring College in the Waterford Decies Gaeltacht is being funded by the Coliste.
Fiontar DCU: MA sa Ghaeilge, Socha & Teanga Irish, Society & Language. Some scholarships were available.
Six paid internships were also advertised in mid-2012 for graduates with Irish. The successful candidates were to
receive training in the skills of research, editing, and management on the digital databases maintained by Fiontar:
focal.ie, logainm.ie, ainm.ie and the European terminology website. They would be based in the offices of An Brainse
Logainmneacha (The Placenames Branch) and An Coiste Tarmaochta (The Terminology Committee) in Fiontar.
Dublin Institute of Technology: MA Gaeilge Fheidhmeach Applied Irish. Some scholarships were available.
University College Dublin, School of Psychology: PhD on Development of Irish in fluent children aged 7-11.
Bursary available from COGG.
Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge & Scoil na nEolaochta Slinte (School of Health Sciences), NUIG:
Doctoral Fellowship worth 17,000 p.a. (from academic year 2010-2011) to research literacy skills among native
Irish speakers.
COGG offer some bursaries for further degrees in areas cognate to the work of the organisation.
Scholarships for Gaeltacht visits to enhance language skills are available from several third-level institutions. Ionad na Gaeilge
Labhartha (Centre for Spoken Irish), University College Cork, offers:
a Gaeltacht scholarship programme for interested undergraduate, postgraduate and mature students of all faculties.
Postgraduate bursaries and funding to third level institutions for courses through Irish (some of which are included in
tables above) are described in Chapter 3, Government Department with responsibility for language affairs.
THIRD-LEVEL SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME (DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS)
As part of the ongoing costcutting exercise, the Budget for 2012 contained a reference to abolishing the existing scholarship
schemes available, some of which pertained to those studying through Irish or from the Gaeltacht and for which no means test
existed, although certain criteria had to be fulfilled. These have been described in More Facts about Irish 2008 as the third level
scholarships scheme limited to Gaeltacht students; the two scholarship schemes for students who had studied through Irish:
one open or unlimited as to the future field of study, the second limited to listed courses through the medium of Irish; the
Easter Week Commemoration scholarships (named after signatories of the Proclamation). The Donogh OMalley scholarships
(in honour of the Fianna Fil minister who introduced free second-level education) had also been available.
For the academic year 2012-2013 these five existing schemes were abolished although current holders would be financed
for the rest of their studies. In their place a new scheme of an annual bursary of 2,000 will target exceptional students from
disadvantaged areas by focussing on DEIS schools only. These scholarships are awarded on a regional basis and on criteria
which show evidence of personal or family disadvantage (waiver of Leaving Certificate fee). Successful students may also apply
for maintenance grants or student contribution fee. A number of these new bursaries are directed at the STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)subjects and named after Ernest Walton, co-recipient of the Nobel science prize for
splitting the atom. The criteria are close to those in use for the all-Ireland McManus scholarships although in this instance the
schools are non-fee paying schools.
While the move to support DEIS school pupils was welcomed, the decision to remove any reference to Gaeltacht, Irish
language or signatories of the Proclamation was seen as a retrograde step in the light of the upcoming 1916 commemoration
and the linguistic vision of the founders of the State. Additionally, the removal of DEIS status from some second level Gaeltacht
schools was criticised, in light of the many DEIS primary schools from which their pupils came.
OIFIGIGH AGUS CUMAINN GHAEILGE (IRISH LANGUAGE OFFICERS AND ORGANISATIONS)
The Irish Officer at TCD in cooperation with the Accommodation Service had provided a Cinne Gaelach (Irish Corner) or
section in the student Buttery (restaurant) where Irish-speaking students and others could gather, Monday to Friday. Since
October 2012, an even better arrangement, Seomra na Gaeilge (Irish Room) has been available and was officially opened by a
personality from Raidi na Gaeltachta. An Cumann Gaelach at TCD is reported to be one of the largest of the various student
organisations in TCD as well as being one of the largest third-level organisations for Irish.
In UL, the student association, An Cumann Gaelach, sought to make Irish an official language of the overall organisation
for students at third level, Aontas na Mac Linn in irinn (Union of Students in Ireland). In the event, in mid-2012, the
national council (Comhairle Nisinta) of the organisation adopted a new more active policy for Irish in place of the existing
bilingual policy.
Towards the end of 2011, the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) wished to reduce the number of officers in the
organisation. To this end the constitution was reviewed and a proposal made, inter alia, that the honorary post of Irish Officer
be put under the aegis of the Equality Officer (not unlike the Government plans for the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga).
Lobby by student members resisted, however, and the post for Irish remained intact. The holder of this post assists the various
organisations for Irish in third level institutions and helps to progress the language within the USI itself.
Students have mounted protests in recent years in support of official status for Irish in the EU, of the Office of An
Coimisinir and against the policy of the Fine Gael party to remove Irish as a core subject for Leaving Certificate.
In 1972 the USI in the Republic and the NUS (National Union of Students) in Britain combined through a bilateral
agreement to ensure services for all students in NI through NUS-USI. The latter has a significant Diversity Programme. In
2012, to celebrate 40 years of that agreement, an event was held at Stormont at which a tripartite agreement was signed
between all three, USI, NUS and NUS-USI. The occasion was attended by the Tnaiste from Dublin and the deputy First
Minister at Stormont. As a student, the Tnaiste had been involved in the early days of the bilateral NUS-USI.
Third-level institutions having Language Officers are listed in Chapter 3, Irish language officers.

GENERAL
In the Gaeltacht, the group Breacadh (Dawn), in collaboration with the Vocational Education Committees, continues (since 2000)
to mount adult literacy classes in Irish, produce appropriate resources for these classes in the three main dialects, commission
research, and publish vocabulary lists in areas of work integral to Gaeltacht life. The results to come from the doctoral fellowship
at Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (above) on literacy levels among native Irish speakers will be of assistance to Breacadh.
Voluntary and statutory agencies continue to provide courses in Irish at all levels. These have proved popular with some
incomers. As indicated below, there is now available a recognised certified graded course for learners and a training course for tutors.
Ionad na dTeangacha (Languages Centre), National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM)
TEG + Teastas i Mineadh na Gaeilge dAosaigh Certificate in the Teaching of Irish to Adults
Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG, European Certificate in Irish)
(structured graded course in Irish for adults at home and abroad; examinations recognised by ALTE, Association of Language
Testers in Europe)
With regard to courses through the medium of Irish, many of the extramural courses (offered by Acadamh na hOllscolaochta
Gaeilge NUIG in particular) described in the section on Irish as medium of instruction in higher education would fall more
easily under Further or Continuing Education.

GENERAL
The same range of organisations as previously described in More Facts about Irish 2008 still provide activities for young people
through Irish. They include gras (established by Conradh na Gaeilge), ggras for younger people, Feachtas and clubs/activities
run by local groups or schools and sports bodies. Coliste na bhFiann invested in a new premises set in extensive grounds during
2010 with the intention of enhancing the range of activities, from Colist Samhraidh to youth cubs, currently provided on a
country-wide basis. In 2010, Conradh na Gaeilge advertised 15 Campa Samhraidh (Summer Camps, age group 8-14 usually)
in County Galway. The organisation Gaelscoileanna organise a popular talent show, Sclip, in theatres North and South. Gael
Linn conduct debating competitions at second and third level. Spleodar runs Irish language Summer courses for both junior
and senior students in Connemara with the twin objectives of developing an appreciation of Irish in teenagers and developing
their skills of co-operation and leadership.CONCOS, the group representing Colist Samhraidh (Summer Colleges) continued
its work in more difficult circumstances (below). Both the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Foras na Gaeilge
continued to fund specific youth-oriented activities in the Gaeltacht and outside the Gaeltacht respectively.
COLIST SAMHRAIDH (SUMMER COLLEGES)
Some of the colleges have a long history back to when they were a means of equipping teachers with the linguistic skills
required for the education system just before and after the freedom of the State. Coliste Chonnacht celebrated its 100 years in
2010. Nowadays, the colleges number up to 47 and are generally run by committees, organisations or groups or, occasionally,
an individual, in accordance with Departmental regulations; they function largely but not entirely exclusively in Gaeltacht
areas and usually comprise three three-week courses in June, July and August. An umbrella association, CONCOS, represents
the majority of the colleges. Their usual clientle consists of second-level students in the Summer and, in some cases, trainee
teachers although recognition is also given to Colist to run courses for adults who may be in the public service or in the
professions and, in addition, for courses designed to train those who will function as leaders in charge (Ardchinnir) with the
students on courses. All courses will have linguistic and cultural input. Courses run by Gael Linn use the language course
developed at the Language Centre at Maynooth (NUIM) and usually include some specific activity such as water sports or
filming through Irish. Students stay with local families of whom some 700 are recognised for grant purposes across the different
Gaeltachta. Grants are paid by the Department only in respect of attendendees at colleges in the Gaeltacht. Foras na Gaeilge
subvents Summer camps or courses outside the Gaeltacht.
During the period 2007-2012, several factors had effects on the system. On the official side, two departments had differing
areas of responsibility in relation to the Colist educational and accommodation. Overall responsibility was transferred from
the Department of Education to the Department with responsibility for the language in late 2010. However, Department of
Education inspectors are still to some extent involved with the Colist. Earlier in April 2010, the Department for the language
had issued new more stringent regulations for recognition of households. The recession had several effects: departmental
funding for accommodation in households (Scim na bhFoghlaimeoir Gaeilge or Mn T, Learners Scheme or Women of the
House) was reduced by 5% for 2011, a measure announced in late 2010 before a new Coalition took office in March 2011. By
late 2011/early 2012, the Mn T were concerned at new regulations confining the number of students in any one household
to fourteen, particularly since some households had arranged accommodation for a larger number and had undergone the
expense of installing alarms in every room as required.

The drop in student numbers had more devastating effects for a period even though some Colist reduced their fees. A three
week course (all found) costs on average 850. It was hoped that matters might improve once the decision on raising marks
for the oral examination to 40% in Irish in State examinations became a reality (Curricula above: Leaving Certificate 2012;
Junior Certificate optional now but gaining in popularity although further change is envisaged for the cycle 2014 2017).
Representatives of the central organisation for 47 of the Colist (CONCOS) were philosophic, they had experienced recession
in the past and come through. Forecasts from 40% to 20% reduction for 2010 were made; the lower figure eventually prevailed
although unevenly across colleges, courses and regions. The table below shows the figures available from the Department of
Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The recession continues to bite but not excessively, figures for students in 2011 were at 88%
of those in the best year for attendance during the period, 2008. However, the trend is downwards at the moment.
Attendance at Colist Samhraidh (Summer Colleges) 2007-2011

Year
Students
Adults
Total
2007
25,184
1,087
26,271
2008
26,907
1,205
28,112
2009
26,363
1,223
27,586
2010
23,942
1,178
25,120
2011
23,694
1,020
24,714
In 2012, the August numbers were lower than usual leading to Irish course providers having to rethink schedules for 2013. It
is reported, however, that the uptake for Summer courses in English and in continental languages is on the rise.
TRAINEE TEACHERS
The linguistic and economic benefits of the system of Gaeltacht courses are significant. This was borne out in January 2012 as a
result of the online teacher training college, Hibernia, transferring its summer courses from the south Kerry Gaeltacht of Ubh
Rthach (Iveragh) to the nearby relatively stronger Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne. The south Kerry region was endeavouring to
implement a stronger linguistic policy in their area. Recognition was a major aid towards this apart from the loss of some 1
million in economic terms. As part of their education, trainee teachers are required to spend a three-week session in the Gaeltacht.
In its publication, Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers (June 2011), the Teaching
Council had given its view on this aspect:
Programmes should provide for an extended and a reconceptualised Gaeltacht residency which will now form part
of the overall programme and be under the direct jurisdiction of the teacher education providers. Higher Education
Institutions staff should have an active involvement in the design, development and evaluation of the Gaeltacht course
to ensure it has a specific focus on language teaching and learning and is effectively integrated into the programme.
The Department of Education had generally given grant-aid towards this Gaeltacht programme. However, by end 2011,
the indications were that this would be withdrawn, given the economic situation; by early 2012 the decision was announced.
Such a move could have repercussions and ramifications far beyond the sums expended. The aims of the 20-Year Strategy in
the area of education would be affected; the aims of the Teaching Council might not be met for many more years; the linguistic
competence of teachers, and therefore of their pupils, could suffer; the Gaeltacht economy could suffer. It seemed to the Irish
lobby another instance of the gradual erosion of the support system for the language and a totally non-strategic approach to the
undoubted economic situation. It was not clear whether the requirement for trainee primary teachers to undergo this Gaeltacht
period was to be relaxed, given the withdrawal of funding; neither were the consequences spelt out.
GAELTACHT
Some implications of Gaeltacht accommodation grants in respect of students attending Colist Samhraidh (Summer Colleges)
are given in Chapter 2: Colist Samhraidh.
Research on the general scheme of Colist Samhraidh Gaeilge (Irish Summer Colleges) and the associated grant scheme
of the Department with responsibility for the language, Scim na bhFoghlaimeoir Gaeilge (SFG, Scheme for Learners of Irish)
was put out to tender by COGG in late 2010. It is now underway and the results expected in Autumn 2012.
A report based on a survey of the students benefiting from the Scim (which supplanted two existing schemes in 1972)
was carried out by the Department with responsibility for the language and published in November 2010; a debate also took
place in Seanad ireann on 2 November 2010. The recommendations on language and community were, in general, reflected
in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish.
IRISH AND THE DIASPORA

GLOBAL
UK
In October 2010, a conference was convened in Oxord to consider the growth of interest in the Irish language among young
people and the rise in informal learning groups then happening in Britain under the title Gaeilge na Breataine. Among many
others, Oxford has its own Ciorcal Comhr, (Conversation Circle).
USA
A report entitled Inter-changes: Irish Language Learning & Teaching in the US was published in September 2011 by the IrelandUnited States [Fulbright] Commission for Educational Exchange. The initiative began with Departmental funding in 2010,
arising out of references to provision for third-level courses abroad in the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. The publication was based
on research conducted during 2011 (by the Language Centre, National University of Ireland Maynooth) and a conference held
in May of the same year at the University of Notre Dame. The findings were of no small interest.
In 2006, Irish was being taught in approximately 30 institutions in the US. The recent research found that the figure was
now 51 third-level institutions and 36 other community based centres, 87 in total, throughout the US, involving some 3,000
American citizens as learners. Many more individuals are learning the language in other ways, including online. This may be
because Irish is generally available at third level for no more than two years or four semesters. However, the Department of
Irish Language and Literature at the University of Notre Dame announced a new undergraduate course in December 2011 to
begin in the academic year 2012-2013. It is considered the first time a university outside Ireland is offering an Irish major. It is
intended to offer both language-intensive and literature-intensive tracks and these as both primary and supplemental majors.
Of respondents in the survey conducted, the majority of learners were English speakers (97.2%); over 50% were in the age
group18-25 and almost 65% were female. As might be expected, motivation centred on reasons of family/heritage, culture/
music, although academic skill and linguistics were noted also. Tutors would welcome more varied and focused resources
in addition to having an association for tutors and more co-operation from and between diplomatic sources, Irish-language
organisations and departments in institutions.
These considerations were reflected among the key actions in the Recommendations of the report, which also listed
the development of a common framework for learning, teaching and assessing Irish in the US (using materials developed at
NUIM) and the continuation of the Fulbright Irish Language assistantships and awards (available since 2006) for Irish people
to teach Irish or study in the US together with the existing funding for US tutors and students to atten courses in Ireland.
Twenty people attended courses in the Gaeltacht on this scheme in July 2011. Overall funding comes from the Department
with responsibility for the language and the National Lottery.
These key actions would form part of the development by the Fulbright Commission of a strategy for Irish learning and
teaching in the US in consultation with stakeholders and agreed with the Department.
Unfortunately, due to the economic downturn, the Implementation Plan 2011 of the D/AHG for the 20-Year Strategy,
carries a warning on funding in light of limited financial resources:
to ensure a strategic and coordinated approachin light ofthe numerous demands on the Fund for Third-Level
Education Overseas.
In New York, a group are (2012) gathering signatures to persuade the authorities to set up a gaelscoil for Irish families
in the city.
CANADA
The Permanent Gaeltacht Project continues its work. In October 2011, the same group organised a conference at the Official
Languages and Bilingualism Institute (University of Ottawa) with the aim of developing a longterm vision for the Irish
language in North America, in line with the 20-Year Strategy of the Irish Government, directed at the 40 million plus people
of Irish extraction. Of the four sessions of the conference (run predominantly in Irish with simultaneous translation) of which
the theme was Research and Teaching of Irish in North America, one was devoted to developing co-operation between thirdlevel institutions and the Irish language community. The speakers came from many parts of North America and from Ireland.
Oireachtas Cheanada was successfully organised in 2011 and 2012 while the regular Gaeltacht immersion sessions continue
in Kingston.

The Ireland Canada University Foundation (1993) initiated an Irish Language Programme in 2009. It operates on the same
lines as the Fulbright Commission programme with funding from the Department and the National Lottery. Applications are
invited yearly (at the moment, 2012-2013) for nine-month posts as Irish language instructors in selected Canadian universities
while a number of bursaries are provided to enable Canadian students attend a month long residential course in the Gaeltacht
(National University of Ireland Galway). A visiting Professor in Irish initiative is also organised by the Foundation. At the
presentation of awards in Dublin in August 2011, the Tnaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) announced that his Department
was providing 40,000 towards the operation of the Foundation from the Emigrant Support Fund. He also revealed that six
Canadian universities now have Chairs of Irish or Celtic Studies.
In Montreal, in the heart of Quebec, Concordia University has a Canadian Irish Studies School since 2009 where Irish
classes form part of the programme.
EUROPE
Third-level institutions in Germany, Sweden and in the Czech Republic were funded by the Department in recent years.
It was, however, the 1.95 million funding provided for refurbishment to the Irish College in Rome (founded 1682), still
functioning as a Roman Catholic seminary, which raised some questions. The other two Irish Colleges which received such
funding (Louvain/Leuven and Paris) are no longer in Church hands. The Rome College is still seen as a resource to the Irish
community in Rome and to the many Irish visitors.
OTHER
In other parts of the world, the Department also funded Irish language studies not only in Australia where there is a large
population of Irish extraction but in China also. Over 70 people attend the annual Scoil na Gaeilge Sydney (Irish School) which
has been running since 2002.
FUNDING
The continued funding for the Irish language abroad has many facets. Speaking in July 2010, the then Minister with
responsibility for the language saw the funding programme as being Extremely successful in raising the profile of the Irish
language at home and abroad, and in opening up opportunities for personal and career development for young Irish language
teachers and other professionals.

The Minister of State in the succeeding administration at the newly named Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht,
speaking at the launch of the Fulbright study (above) in October 2011, made clear that his Department was committed to
working with the Fulbright Commission, the Ireland Canada University Foundation and other relevant bodies to implement
the recommendations contained in the report. He considered that A genuine economic opportunity[had] arisen to create
learning materials for Irish language learners and teachers in the US and that the report was timely.. as the Irish Government
prepares for Octobers Global Diaspora Forum.
Funding is reported as follows in recent years:
2006 609,893
2009 770,000 (to 40 institutes world wide)
2010 1m (with the largest amounts for disbursement through the Fulbright Commission and the Ireland Canada
University Foundation)
2011 786,371 (Table below from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht))
Funding for Third Level Institutions Abroad 2011

Institution
U.S.A. & Canada
Fulbright Commission
181,500
Ireland Canada University Foundation
170,800
University of St Thomas, Texas
46,394
University of Montana, Missoula, Montana
24,000
UWM Foundation (Wisconsin University), Milwaukee
20,000
Glucksman Ireland House, New York University
13,600
Lehman College, New York

Subtotal
Britain
Funding
8,000
464,294
England
University of Sheffield
25,482
University of Cambridge
21,534
Scotland
University of Edinburgh
15,504
Wales
University of Wales, Aberystwyth
24,000
Cardiff University
16,279
Subtotal
Europe
102,799
Austria
University of Vienna
16,000
Czech Republic
Charles University, Prague
8,800
Funding for Third Level Institutions Abroad 2011

Europe
France
University of Brest
19,267
Coliste na nGael, Paris
13,398
Germany
Universitat Mannheim
48,800
University of Bonn
24,000
University of Freiburg
14,480
Ruhr-Universitat Bochum
12,378
SKSK (Studienhaus fur Keltische Sprachen und Kulturen)
4,800
Philipps-Universitat Marburg
4,320
Martin-Luther University, Halle-Wittenburg
2,560
Volkshochschule Buxtehude
608
Poland
Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan
13,200
Spain
University of Alcal
12,640
Sweden
Uppsala University
Subtotal
Asia
11,353
206,604
China
Australia
Beijing University
5,440
Subtotal
5,440
University of Sydney
7,234
Subtotal
7,234
Total
786,371
ASSESSMENT
Examinations towards the Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge or European Certificate in Irish, developed at the Language Centre,
National University of Ireland Maynooth, were held in 2010 not only in Ireland but in centres in New York, London, Prague
and Paris.
IMMIGRANT DIASPORA IN IRELAND
Until the definitive results of Census 2011 become available, it will not be possible to give a totally precise account of the
different facets of immigrants in Ireland. However, there are some indicators available. A press release issued with the preliminary
results of Census 2011 on 30 June 2011 stated:
There continued to be net inward migration, measured at 118,650 over the period 2006-2011 or an average of 23,730 p.a.
However, Irish-born families over the period are not in this figure nor those who may have left again. The population on census
night (10 April 2011) was 4,581,269, an increase of 341,421 on Census 2006.
A publication from the Central Statistics Office, Women and Men in Ireland 2011, gives the following information in the
accompanying press release.
The years of high immigration to Ireland were 2005-2008. In 2006, immigration peaked at 60,300 for males. A year
later, it peaked at 52,100 for females. Since then, immigration has fallen very sharply to about 20,100 for males and
22,300 for females in 2011.
Unfortunately, emigration patterns changed also during the period.
Emigration rose steeply between 2006 and 2011 to about 38,700 for males and 37,800 for females [in 2011] resulting
in a net outflow leaving the country in 2011 of 18,600 males [emigrants 38,700 minus immigrants 20,100] and
15,500 females [emigrants 37,800 minus immigrants 22,300].
Overall the, in 2011 the total number of immigrants was 42,400 and the total number emigrating was 76,500. Numbers are
not given for the nationality of either immigrants or emigrants. However, there is now a very sizeable immigrant population in
Ireland, many of whom are taking out citizenship, vowing fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State of Ireland, in colourful
public ceremonies.
The Live Register is another source of data. It comprises persons under the age of 65 who are claimants for Jobseekers
Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance. It includes those who are engaged in part-time, seasonal or casual work. In January 2012, Irish
nationals comprised 82.2% of those on the Live Register and 17.8% were non-nationals. These were the same percentages as in
January 2011. Of the 17.8% (78,151) who were non-nationals, 4% were from the UK; 0.8% from EU 15 countries excluding
the UK and Ireland; 9.7% from the other 12 EU states; 3.1% from other countries.
ACQUISITION PLANNING THROUGH FAMILY TRANSMISSION AND IRISH IN

COMMUNITY LIFE
Context
services for families were quoted. The Strategy spells these out in more detail.
Aims
Proposals
- the existing scheme of cntir teanga (language assistants) in Gaeltacht schools will now be available to all
Irishmedium schools
- differentiated forms of support will be available for local family networks, for the extended family
(grandparents), for families where only one parent is an Irish speaker
- language awareness programmes will be initiated for care professionals
- the Irish Summer Colleges programmes will be more oriented towards family use.
SUMMARY ON IRISH IN EDUCATION 2007-2012

An assessment of developments in relation to the Irish language and the education system during the period 2007-2012 might
well reach the conclusion that, on the whole, the debit column almost cancels out the credit column. In his address on 23
November 2012 (to the Annual Conference of Gaelscoileanna and Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta), the Secretary-General
of the DES listed some positive developments in respect of the Departments key areas for action:
Supply
- at primary level, increasing the supply of Irish-medium schooling and availing of the process of divesting of
schools, a process currently ongoing (contingent on parental demand);
- at second level, halving to 400 the threshold demand for gaelcholist from the 800 required in ordinary cases
and exploring other options such as units and streams;
Curricula
- revising Irish curricula at both primary and post-primary levels;
- providing an optional short course in advanced Irish for the Irish-medium sector;
Assessment
- compulsory in place of current optional oral component for the new Junior Certificate;
- DES fully committed to implementation of ambitious actions including availability of Irish-medium education
to all students whose parents wish to make that choice;
Teacher Education
- substantial change (level of Irish requirement at entry; content and duration of courses; Gaeltacht courses).
To those enumerated by the Secretary-General might be added:
- recognition of Irish and Irish-medium education for purposes of the National Strategy on Literacy and
preparation of appropriate diagnostic test materials;
- delineation of a core curriculum at second level junior cycle to include Irish;
Irish abroad
- growth in interest and in number of courses, informal and at third-level institutions world-wide;
Third Level and Matriculation
- proposal from IUA (Irish Universities Association) to have examination towards matriculation requirement in
Irish and in Mathematics taken in fifth year of second level education (preferable to removing current Irish
requirement).
On the other more negative aspects might be included:
- axing of third level scholarships for Irish-medium and Gaeltacht students;
- axing of grant towards Gaeltacht courses for trainee primary teachers;
- integration of COGG with NCCA;
- axing of allowances for teaching through Irish and in island schools;
- closure of small schools to the detriment of the language community;
- subsequent proposed amalgamations without due regard to pupils linguistic background or competencies;
- reduced funding for courses through Irish at third level and for Irish courses abroad;
- continuing rise in exemptions from the study of Irish;
- possible revision of proposed raising of entry requirement in Irish for teacher education;
- little progress on implementation of radical change sought in education in the Gaeltacht;
- revoking or changing of legislation and creation of new legislation without sufficient cognisance of the needs or
(previous) obligations relating to Irish;
- lack of defined overall policy for Irish in education.
While the IUA proposal appears positive if the alternative is axing of the Irish requirement for matriculation, nevertheless
it once again raises the as yet unanswered question of the retention of Irish as a core subject up to Leaving Certificate level, a
political issue for the Fine Gael party but included in the 20-Year Strategy which is supported by Government.
Overall, it is the continuing air of uncertainty that surrounds policy for Irish in education that has proved unsettling.
Vision and integration of policy are not immediately apparent.
STATUS
PLANNING
This chapter gives an account of developments during 2007 onward across the range of domains associated with
enhancing the status of Irish in public and social spheres.
TELEVISION, RADIO, FILM, MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCTION

CONTEXT
Two main challenges faced the broadcasting sector, both public service and commercial, in the period 2007 onward: operating
costs in a context in which sponsorship and advertising income were falling; problems of adapting to a rapidly changing and
varied technological environment, with queries being raised on funding for public service broadcasting.
The TV station, Channel 6, which began in 2006, was later sold to TV3 and now operates as 3e. The Dublin-based
TV channel, City Channel, had to close in 2011. While the Irish side of Setanta Sports continues, expansion into the UK
reportedly had not the same success. Commercial radio continues on a wide basis of national, regional and local stations.
Hopefully, they will all prosper. Reported audience numbers moved upwards and downwards for various programming hours
as the unemployed no longer listened to the car radio on the morning and evening journeys to and from work. reported a loss
of 70 million from mid-2008 in annual commercial income; staffing was reduced and salaries were cut even for front-line
presenters. This process continues.
These are the factors which have effects on income for both commercial and public service broadcasters, and therefore on
the nature and quality of the programmes they may produce, programmes in Irish or having a cultural context included.
In addition, the public service broadcasters are dealing with three further issues. Firstly, arising out of EU regulations,
analogue transmission systems was replaced by digital systems by end 2012. invested in upgrading at a high cost funded from its
own resources and borrowing. This is without any increase in licence fees being envisaged by the State and the recommendation
in the Snip report that, in future, TG4 would be part-funded through this same fee (whether as licence or universal charge),
a recommendation taken up in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014 and later in legislation (Communications Regulation
Act of August 2011). The new digital terrestrial television (DTT) service, Saorview, replaced the analogue transmission system.
Saorview is free (not to be confused with the similar system in the UK, Freeview) but requires an additional box for older
television sets; it was pruned from more ambitious initial plans and currently includes public service stations ( ONE and TWO
HD, News Now, ONE + 1, Aertel Digital, the Irish language channel TG4) and commercial stations (TV3 and 3e) as well as
a selection of radio stations (including Junior for children from age 2 to 12). There is no advertising on the News Now and
Junior channels.
Secondly, competitors were not happy at the rate of developments. In fact, the original proposals for digital expansion
- which, for various reasons came to nothing - had envisaged several commercially-funded digital platforms to include some
public broadcasting. The print media (NNI, National Newspapers of Ireland) sent a submission to the then Minister for
Communications in September 2010 asking that the expansion by the licence-funded of its commercial activities in digital
media be curtailed since the NNI viewed it as a distortion of the market. This position was refuted by the national broadcaster.
A year later, in September 2011, and on similar grounds but related to advertising income in this instance, the Independent
Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI) were seeking a comprehensive review of the State-run radio stations, the abolition of the
broadcasting levy, and changes to the proposals of the BAI (Broadcasting Authority of Ireland); the latter were intended to
prevent monopoly. The Independent Broadcasters view their contribution in the independent sector as providing a strong
public service dimension. In fact, the levy was reduced.
Section 33 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 is relevant to this annual levy paid by broadcasters to the BAI, as is Statutory
Instrument Number 7 of 2010 which sets out the procedures by which the amount of the levy is calculated.
The offer in early 2011 of free clips from television news bulletins which newspapers could then use on their websites was
also criticised by the IBI. shared its coverage of the visit of President Obama with TV3 in Ireland and with all broadcasters
worldwide.
Thirdly, digital expansion means many things. The constant evolution of what constitutes media is resulting in a blurring
of the traditional lines between radio, television and print. Each medium may now provide its content not only through the
other media types, but through a range of media forms from iPhones to online networks, and at any time, not necessarily at
actual broadcast time. Such changes leave each media type not only in competition with others of the same type but with all
other types also. Legislation was being prepared (mid-September 2011) by the Department of Communications on the issue
of media mergers, particularly given the convergence nowadays between the various media types. The newspaper industry was
calling for a Minister for the Media.
The corollary of this technological fusion is public debate on several fronts: maintenance of competition given perceived
dominance; the existing licence fee to ensure the provision of public service broadcasting versus the universal broadcast charge
proposed for the future. On the one hand, funding by licence was for the modes of radio and television only (as was the 7%
of licence revenue allocated through BAI to programmes on culture, heritage and adult literacy) and almost solely for what
was regarded as public service broadcasting. So how are concepts such as universal and public service to be defined in future?
It is also argued that public funding of broadcasting through the designated licence fee allows for more independence for
broadcasters than would funding by central Government through a charge paid into central funds.
The Chair of BAI comments on the changing scene in his Foreword to the bodys Strategic Plan 2011-2013:
The very notion of broadcasting is changing. Long-standing concepts are being challengedThe rise of on-line
sources and the impact of the have forever altered the context. New and varied sources of information, news and
entertainment are a fact of contemporary and future life
Into this rapidly changing context has been introduced the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with a role quite
different from any previous broadcasting regulator in Ireland. Responsible for public, commercial and community
broadcasting and working within a legislative framework which at once prescribes closely defined obligations and sets
broadly based and far-reaching objectives
Central to the approach of the Authority will be the values that it identifies for itself and for broadcasting in general.
A fundamental principle that animates the Authoritys work will be that it sees all broadcasting as being an essential
component of a modern democracy; and as making a crucial contribution to this communitys understanding of itself
and of its place in the world. Individual broadcasters may adopt different approaches, respond to different priorities,
but they are bound together by sharing in that essential purpose.
Some commentators had difficulty with this seeming convergence of values between public service and commercial broadcasters.
It was welcomed by others. The Foreword finishes:
The legislation embodies structures that were developed in a conceptual environment quite different from that which
obtains now [2011]. Part of our regulatory challenge will be to evaluate the continuing appropriateness of the existing
approaches reflected in the Act and in regulatory practice for a rapidly changing world. We must be certain that
our focus is on what really matters and not on issues of second order importance. The Authoritys understanding
of broadcasting and its role in contemporary society will inform and guide the nature of its relationships with
broadcasters and with audiences.
It is of note that the list of quangos for critical review by end June 2012, which was published in November 2011 by the
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, envisaged merging the Commission for Communication Regulation with the
existing statutory Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI, 2009).
The next section looks at the 2009 legislation.
LEGISLATION: DOMESTIC
Broadcasting Act 2009

The latest Broadcasting Act was finally passed in 2009 and enacted in mid 2010. It is a comprehensive wide-ranging document
of 181 pages which both consolidates and updates much existing legislation and looks also to the future of this fast-changing
world of media. Enactment was preceded by an unusually intense period of wide consultation in which Irish language interests
played a significant role. No less than 23 previous Acts, from 1926 to 2007, are repealed either in total or with regard to specific
sections in them, thus simplifying the area to some extent for the interested reader or researcher.
The new Act provides for the implementation of digital broadcasting, establishes the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland,
BAI, (dars Craolachin na hireann), and deals with licence issues. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and
the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC) are dissolved and their functions subsumed into the new BAI. There was
some initial delay in appointments to the BAI. These were cleared by the Attorney-General in early 2010. The functions of the
new BAI, as a comprehensive regulatory body, also include new responsibilities in relation to the allocation of public funding
and oversight of public service broadcasting; the latter area had two possible new channels added, an Irish film channel and
a channel for the Oireachtas (legislature). Two committees were envisaged for the BAI: a Contract Awards Committee and a
Compliance Committee to monitor and enforce compliance by broadcasters with contracts and codes.
Irish and the Broadcasting Act 2009

Provisions in the 2009 Broadcasting Act relating to the Irish language are both general and specific in nature.
BAI
Section 25 (1) (a) lays a general obligation on the BAI in the following terms:
That the number and categories of broadcasting services made available in the State by virtue of this Act best serve the
needs of the people of the island of Ireland, bearing in mind their languages and traditions and their religious, ethical
and cultural diversity.
In Section 25 (2) (h), a more specific obligation is stated:
To promote and stimulate the development of Irish language programming and broadcasting services.
TG4
With regard to future funding, several provisions could prove beneficial, to TG4 especially: an increase from 5% to 7% in the
proportion of the licence fee income from to the Broadcast Fund TG4 benefits from this Fund through the independent
sector. More specifically, Section 120 (1) clarifies the programming contribution of to TG4:
- RT shall provide to TG4 programme material in the Irish language of such amounts and at such times as
may be agreed between them, being of such amounts and at such times as, in their opinion, will result in the
equivalent of one hour of such programme material being provided daily by to TG4.
More beneficial terms are available for public service broadcasters in respect of archive schemes for Irish language broadcasts.
More significantly, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources will look at multi-annual funding to
meet the needs of TG4 according to Section 123 (5). While this is no more than a commitment to consider the issue, it has at
least now received official recognition and the provision is couched in terms of the more definite wording shall consider. In
addition, TG4 may now provide on-line services in Irish.
The Act also clarifies that:
- Teilifs na Gaeilge means the body established by section 44 of the Act of 2001
- TG4 means Teilifs na Gaeilge.
In rsum, Section 114 of the 2009 Act lays obligations on :
- to provide a comprehensive range of programmes in the Irish and English languages that reflect the cultural
diversity of the whole island of Ireland;
- to provide programmes of news and current affairs in the Irish and English languages (proceedings of the
Houses of the Oireachtas and the European Parliament included);
- to facilitate or assist contemporary cultural expression.
As noted above, Section 120 (1) refers to RTs obligations in respect of TG4.
Statutory Instrument (SI) No. 67 of 2011

This SI No 67 of 2011 conferred additional functions on the BAI in relation to consulting with and seeking expressions of
interest from broadcast content providers on the provision of content on the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) or possible
BAI-established multiplexes. This task was subsequently confined to free-to-air services. The BAI report on progress was presented
to the Minister in early May 2011 and consent received to publish in July 2011. In the meantime, Saorview, the Irish DTT
platform was launched. Expressions of interest received concerning Irish language content are given below, The BAI and Irish.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND THE IRISH LANGUAGE
As would be expected, the Irish lobby made their views clear on the position of the language when the Broadcasting Bill (later
Act 2009) was being debated, particularly in relation to TG4 and to funding issues. Similarly, representations were made on
the content of the childrens channel in particular when the Saorview service was being proposed. In 2010, when the then
Minister for Communication appointed consultants on his proposals to have certain sports events designated free-to-air, Irish
language commentary was put forward by the Irish organisations. The sports bodies were very concerned at loss of revenue
and the proposal lapsed.
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: TELEVISION, RADIO, FILM
General
Provisions in the 2009 Broadcasting Act relating to the Irish language are also reiterated in the 20-Year Strategy as is Objective
9 of the Government Statement of 2006 which ensured the delivery of high quality broadcast services through the medium
of Irish, especially through the continuous development of , Raidi na Gaeltachta and TG4. Measures in the Strategy under
Media and Technology as areas for action underpin these commitments. Firstly, it is unequivocally stated that the Government
will specifically ensure that the support provided to the Irish language services of the public service broadcasters is further
strengthened and this in fulfilment of the obligations created by [the Communications] Act. The term specifically is fairly
definite in connotation.
As the national public service broadcaster, in line with the objectives of the Strategy, and in extension of the possibilities of the
annual Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Language Week), will normalise the use of Irish and English in their broadcasts.
RT Raidi na Gaeltachta
The Irish language radio service will be further developed by to ensure a broad spectrum of high quality programmes for the
differentiated listening audience.
Youth radio
A new service targeted at youth will be developed in both conventional radio mode and accompanying mode.
TG4
The Strategy recognises the crucial role of funding in enabling TG4 to fulfil its remit in a highly competitive environment.
Such support will enable the station to increase its output of Irish language programming from 4.4 hours daily to a target
of 6 hours. Additionally, TG4 will enhance its subtitling to enable increased access for both fluent speakers (who require no
subtitles) and learners (who could benefit from subtitling).
The independent production sector

All improvements in the programming schedule of TG4 should also help to increase employment opportunities, particularly
in the Gaeltacht, for the independent production sector.
DARS CRAOLACHIN NA HIREANN (BROADCASTING AUTHORITY OF IRELAND - BAI)
The Broadcasting Act 2009 established the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, (dars Craolachin na hireann) and
thereby dissolved both the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission (BCC)
whose functions were then subsumed into the new BAI. There is also a possibility that the Commission for Communication
Regulation may be merged with BAI as it is on the list of quangos for critical review by end June 2012, which was published
in November 2011 by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The responsibilities of BAI include the licensing of broadcast services whether independent, community/special interest,
institutional or in the area of temporary radio licences. It also has responsibility in relation to the licensing of multiplex services
and entering into contracts concerning electronic programme guides (EPGs). Unusually, the BAI also has responsibility in
relation to certain aspects of the regulation of the public service broadcasters, and TG4. These cover the Annual Statement of
Performance Commitments and Annual (as well as Five Year) Review of Public Funding. Licenses granted may cover national,
regional and local stations; cable, MMDS and satellite in relation to television. has its own transmission service.
Currently, the licensing functions of BAI cover the following stations:
- Public Service Broadcasters: RT (radio and television) and TG4(television)
- Commercial broadcasters: Radio (34); Television (6)
- Community Radio: (20); Community of Interest Radio (5); Special Interest Radio (1)
- Community Television (3)
- Institutional Radio (4) hospitals
The commercial radio services include one national service, one quasi-national service, three regional (youth) services, two
multi-city services, one Dublin City and commuter belt service and one local service designated a youth service. The remainder
are local radio services. There is one national commercial television station (TV3), a cable/MMDS/digital service (3e), three
local cable/MMDS services and a cable/MMDS/satellite sports service (titled Setanta Sports Ireland; Setanta was the original
name of the legendary C Chulainn whose statue is found in the General Post Office).
The Community of Interest radio stations include the Irish-medium Raidi na Life in the Dublin area and the Irish-named
Raidi Pobal Inis Eoghain (north Donegal/Foyle area) and Raidi Corca Baiscinn. (south west Clare).
On the live list of temporary radio licenses is Raidi R R for the period 5-25 March 2012 inclusive, in three cities:
Dublin, Cork and Galway. Raidi R R was established under the auspices of members of Conradh na Gaeilge, primarily for a
youth audience.
In accordance with the 2009 Act, the BAI published a Strategic Plan 2011-2013 and a Broadcasting Services Strategy
(March 2012).
The BAI and Irish

Provisions in the 2009 Broadcasting Act relating to the Irish language are both general and specific in nature. Section 25 (1) (a)
lays a general obligation on the BAI in the following terms:
In Section 25 (2) (h), a more specific obligation is stated:
To promote and stimulate the development of Irish language programming and broadcasting services.
The website of BAI is available through Irish as are some of its policies and publications.
As an example of BAI broadcasting policy and Irish, the following excerpt is taken from the Authoritys policy on
community broadcasting in relation to the inclusion in all contracts of an approved programme schedule and programme
policy statement (as was the case with the previous Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, BCI):
Statements will be expected to include clear commitments in relation to areas such as speech/music ratio, Irish
language programming, music policy and externally-produced programmes. Any changes to the agreed schedule or
policy statement will requireapproval in advance.
The Community of Interest radio stations licensed by the BAI include the Irish-medium Raidi na Life in the Dublin area and
Raidi R R on the live list of temporary radio licenses for the period 5-25 March 2012 inclusive, in the three cities, Dublin, Cork
and Galway. Raidi R R was established under the auspices of members of Conradh na Gaeilge, primarily for a youth audience.
Among the expressions of interest (3 for radio; 11 for television services) considered by the BAI in relation to DTT
multiplexes in their report as of May 2011 were the following concerning Irish:
- TG4 for an Irish language mixed channel; young people during the day and TG4 + 1 in the evening. Capital
cost 275,000 to come from the Exchequer. Inclusion recommended to the Minister, subject to a satisfactory
outcome of a sectoral impact assessment and public value review.
- Raidi R R for a current affairs and music channel for young people; public service in nature as through Irish.
Inclusion recommended but on provision of further financial development.
The advent of Saorview, which includes an childrens channel, temporarily at any rate, put these plans on hold.
The portion of the television licence fee allocated to the Broadcasting Funding Scheme, administered by the BAI, was
increased from 5% to 7% in the Broadcasting Act 2009 and was approved by the EU Commission as being compatible with
EU competition rules and State aid to enterprises.
There are several sources administered by the BAI from which Irish language broadcasters may benefit. They include:
Under Sectoral Development, three possibilities:
- grants to groups of co-operating bodies, as Network Funding, to deliver specific training to the staffs;
- funding, through the Community Broadcasting Support Scheme, for both radio and television community
broadcasters to conduct internal or external evaluations of their services;
- research-based initiatives conducted by the BAI in links with the sector and research collaborators, through the
Media Research Funding Scheme.
The Broadcast Archiving Scheme (Act 2009):

- available to the public and to the independent sectors, radio and television.
The Broadcast Funding Scheme, Fs agus Fuaim, Sound & Vision, is probably the best known funding source. It is open
to all:
- specifically directed at programmes on Irish culture, heritage and experience and adult literacy;
- media literacy and global affairs were added as theme categories in the Broadcasting Act 2009.

Up to Round 9 of this scheme in 2010, 63m had been granted. TG4 depends on this sector for much of its programming.
Sound & Vision: BAI Broadcast Funding Scheme Grants for TELEVISION
Number of Programmes in brackets
Year
Round
Irish
English
Bilingual
2010-
1,900,000
27
4,500,000
64
635,000
2011
10
2,066,500 (12)
30.7
3,902,000 (28)
58
760,000 (5)
11.3
Special Scheme
610,000 (2)
11
2,356,000 (12)
30
3,738,000 (21)
47.5
1,767,000 *(10)
22.5
* These 10 bilingual programmes included one bi/multilingual programme from TG4.

Results from Round 12 are not yet online. In Round 9, TG4 received 30% of the funding, compared to 40% in 2008.
Sound & Vision: BAI Broadcast Funding Scheme Grants for RADIO
Number of Programmes in brackets
Year
Round
Irish
2010-
118,000 (9)
12.3
810,000 (76)
2011
10
87,900 (4)
7.37
11
16,000 (1)
2.0
English
Bilingual
84.7
28,000 (3)
2.9
1,070,616 (124)
89.8
33,200 (3)
2.8
706,400 (88)
88.7
74,000 (7)
9.3
This one programme in Round 11 was from Raidi na Gaeltachta.

The differences in the much higher percentage of grants being awarded to Irish programmes for television as compared
to grants awarded for Irish programmes for radio is explained by the difference in the number of television as opposed to the
number of radio stations which are potential applicants.
Many more applications are made than may eventually be approved to receive a grant. Grants may be given for no more
than a percentage of the sum applied for. Applications go through a rigorous process. Rounds 13 to 16 of the Broadcast
Funding Scheme will be considered during 2012, closing dates in January, April, July and September.
FUNDING CONTEXT
Comment from some official reports on aspects of public service broadcasting was made above in Chapter 3 under Funding.
In accordance with section 124 of the Broadcasting Act 2009, the BAI published in June 2013 the first of its five-year statutory
reviews of the public funding of RT and TG4, prepared with the assistance of Crowe Horwath as independent consultants
who, in particular, conducted an evaluation of the five-year plans of RT and TG4. Overall, the BAI accepted the thrust of
the consultants report.
Three key questions were central to the evaluation and recommendations of the BAI in its review:
1. What is the role and purpose of public service broadcasting in the current and emerging environments?
2. What is the expectation of a contemporary audience in terms of the schedules of public broadcasters?
3. How is the deployment of public funding to be evaluated and justified?
On funding, the BAI recognizes the effect on RT licence revenue of the increase to the Sound and Vision Fund, transfers
to TG4 and the limits on licence payments by the Department of Social Protection; commercial revenue also had decreased for
both RT and TG4. Nevertheless, any future increase in public funding for RT is made contingent on four conditions which
include reduction in costs, additional programming largely through the independent sector and/or further investment in digital
services, a re-balancing between public funding and commercial revenue (perhaps to the benefit of TV3, the independent
commercial broadcaster).
In the case of RnaG and TG4, and the challenge of reaching a varying linguistic audience, it is acknowledged that the level
of cost per unit of audience will be disproportionately high relative to other broadcasters. Nevertheless, it is recommended
that TG4 needs a more detailed analysis of its existing audience and a more rigorous evaluation of the audience-generating
potential of its schedule proposals. Given that such a significant part of its income is from public sources (TG4 had a total
budget of 36m or 92%), and against a very volatile background, the review accepts that a decrease in public funding to TG4
would be inappropriate at this time; it also recommends, however, structural changes which could include closer relationships
with RT. Both the consultants report and the BAI review were considered by the Minister for Communications.
In the event, a revised plan was requested of TG4 (with no increase in funding for five years) and a review of RnaG, as part
of a review of RTs expenditure, to be carried out by the state agency for ensuring co-ordination, NewEra, was announced in
July 2013.
The following point from the BAI review is relevant to Irish language broadcasting. In relation to the distinction made by
RT between core and complementary services, the review refers to the difficulty of seeing how Irish language content, given
the statutory obligations on RT, could lie outside its core services.
TELEVISION: PUBLIC SERVICE NATIONAL BROADCASTER
Background
Generally, it was somewhat ironic that the (relatively low key) celebration of fifty years of Television, which began on New Years
Day 2012 and will continue throughout the year coincided with two other ongoing events: the problems associated with the
continuing economic downturn on the one hand and the challenges of the many technological changes so swiftly overtaking
one another, Context above. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that Television has, despite some criticism, largely endeavoured
to be what its name intended: a medium for the people of Ireland. A recent article (The Irish Times, 7 January 2012) concluded
with this comment:
Ultimately, the strongest arguments in favour of continuing to fund public service content are cultural, not commercial.
In a globalised, media-saturated world, the need for Irish people to hear and see their own stories and experiences
reflected and explored on screens of whatever sort or size remains.
In the new environment now developing, RT has embarked on a new policy of partnership and sharing with other
broadcasters. The national transmission infrastructure is the responsibility of RT through its subsidiary NL. The McCarthy
Report had mentioned it as one of the possible assets for disposal by the Government but it was not on the recent list.
Nevertheless, is currently (March 2012) separating the subsidiary more clearly from the broadcast function.
By the end of 2011, commercial revenue to RT had fallen to levels of the early 2000s. Licence fee income fell by
some 18 million due to percentage increases for the Sound & Vision Fund (BAI) and for TG4. Budgetary problems led to
continuing cuts, among them the cancellation of the Spring 2012 tour by the RT National Symphony Orchestra during
April as well as a proposed concert for children in May. Up to 25 million in cutbacks to offset ongoing financial deficits were
announced in March 2012. These involved announcement of the closure of the London office, a new voluntary redundancy
scheme, reductions in salaries for top presenters and in regional broadcasting costs as well in buying sole broadcasting rights to
some sports events.
Legislatively, RT is still bound in these more straitened times by the obligations of the Broadcasting Act 2009.
The Irish language did not escape the general problems of RT. Towards the end of 2011, a consultant was appointed
to report on Irish language provision, including operating structures and cost, across the various television and radio stations
of RT, with particular emphasis on possible rationalisation of the news services of Raidi na Gaeltachta, TG4 and Nuacht .
Apparently, separate Irish language staff report for Nuacht and for Raidi na Gaeltachta while TG4 has its own news section.
A merger of these might have practical implications with regard to editorial control and pay levels, in relation to bilingualism
if Irish-service staff were to become part of the general service, and possibly for the statutory obligations of RT in respect
of Irish, both general and specific. The latter include stipulations on the provision by RT itself of programmes (without
directions as to number or duration) as well as the provision of 365 hours per annum to TG4, including news and which may
also include repeats of RT-generated material. Co-operation, not merger, of news services was the preferred explanation at
the time. Raidi na Gaeltachta embarked on a three-year strategic plan for its own provision in early 2012. The reductions
in regional broadcasting operating costs in order to avoid duplication announced in March 2012 specifically mentioned Irish
language news activities although no reduction in output was envisaged.
It was also reported at the time that, in line with other reductions, the programming time and staff time in use for Irish
would be curtailed in 2012. From 43 new Irish programmes broadcast in 2011 (29 of which were made internally), no more
than 28 were intended for 2012 (16 internally). It was hoped that 12 programmes would be supplied by the independent sector,
6 each with assistance from the BAI Broadcast Fund and the Irish Broadcast Fund in Northern Ireland. As a consequence,
staff (8) in Ranng na gClr Gaeilge (Irish Programming Section) would be redeployed to other areas for the second half of
2012. Assurances were given that the Ranng (Unit) was not being shut down, that one staff member would remain to ensure
programming and contact with the independent sector. (The former Commissioning Editor for Irish Language, Multiculture
and Education was appointed deputy director of TV programmes in late 2010). The reductions were viewed as a temporary
measure, apparently due to the additional costs to RT, in a climate of reduced income, of covering Euro 2012 and the London
Olympics in 2012 following on the visit of President Obama in 2011.
One example of RT Irish language programming was a programme on RT1 in March-April 2012 with the aim of
encouraging people to use whatever Irish they had and to form a virtual club; the introductory programme featured well
known individuals. It was fronted by former world boxing champion Bernard Dunne who toured the country enrolling people
in his Brd (Pride) Club. Foras na Gaeilge assisted with funding as did and the Broadcasting Fund of BAI. The social media
(Facebook, Twitter) were also involved so club members could be in contact; they were also invited to register with the new ID
service.
While it is generally admitted that the number of RT-produced programmes in Irish decreased with the advent of TG4,
the argument has always been made that Irish should not be confined to Irish-medium media solely but be seen as a normal
part of the provision for the people of Ireland by all broadcasters, both public service and independent. That this perspective
appeared adrift without an overarching linguistic strategy became clear when criteria for reduction or re-organisation of Irish
language output was required as part of the new reality facing the national broadcaster. This led to the commissioning of a
discussion document dated January 2012 which was published for public consultation in November 2012: An Bealach ar
Aghaidh (The Way Forward), A Proposed Strategy for RTs Irish Language Output.
An Bealach ar Aghaidh (The Way Forward), A Proposed Strategy for RTs Irish Language Output
The Introduction states that the document is:
a review of RTs Irish language content production and broadcasting within thecontext [of the new situation
prevailing]. The main focus of the report is to establish an Irish language strategy for RT that can be implemented
across all its services.
To this end, the report examines how RT is complying with the Broadcasting Act 2009 and its Public Service
Broadcasting Charter. It also explores how RT could play the role envisaged for the station in the 20-Year Strategy for
the Irish Language 2010-2030 recently adopted by government.
The report provides a comprehensive background to the current landscape of Irish language public service broadcasting,
analyses what is described as the benevolent tolerance of the Irish language in RT and makes a series of recommendations
across RTs services, including the 3-year strategy of RnaG. Much information is provided along the way.
With regard to RTs provision for Irish it is clarified that:
- RT produces and broadcasts Irish language material on RT TV (mostly on RT One); 45 half hours in
2011 on weekly Monday slot at 7.30 pm. In 2013 this will be cut to 28 half hour programmes. Some of these
programmes are co-funded. Nuacht (News) is broadcast from 17.45 just before the 6.00 News in English.
- RT Radio 1 broadcasts one hour weekly of Irish language content between 7 and 8 pm on Saturday nights.
While produced by Radio 1, this content is first broadcast on RnaG and subsequently on Radio 1. Two news
bulletins daily are broadcast in Irish on Radio 1 (12.30 and 3.30 pm); these are produced by Nuacht RT.
- The producer responsible for Irish language programmes on Radio 1 reports to the Ceannaire (Head) of RnaG.
- Appropriate development of the existing incidental use of Irish by presenters on Radio 1 is a topic for
discussion.
- Nuacht RT provides news in Irish on five media: RT ONE TV, Radio 1, 2fm (daily slots at 13.30 and
16.30), Lyric FM (???) and TG4 (Nuacht TG4 is one half-hour evening programme geared to the TG4
audience.
- Nuacht RT plus Nuacht TG4 cost 8.45m annually.
- The RT online services and the RnaG website have some Irish content provided by RT.
Additionally,
- RT Raidi na Gaeltachta broadcasts 24 hours a day to a changing audience and in face ofj a new definition of
Gaeltacht in linguistic rather than in territorial terms. It is allocated 12m annually.
- RT provides one hour per day of programming to TG4, news content comprising half of that.
However, with regard to the overall policy context, this provision is said to occur without a coordinated cross-departmental
common purpose or updating of Irish language policy, in a context where a common editorial approach is difficult to
identify leading to a fragmented Irish language output and discussion focusing on cost rather than value. The consultant
also makes the very pertinent points that:
- Irish language content is differentit is a language, not a subject area and requires different treatment from slots
allocated to genres, e.g. young people or drama.
- The value of Irish language to RT in terms of fulfilling its public service remit cannot be dismissed
This latter argument has been made in the past by RT representatives.
- The existing Irish Language Advisory Committee deals with obligations arising out of the Official Languages Act
with respect to the use of Irish internally and with the public but not with programming content in Irish. The
internal group which dealt with such issues in the past has been disbanded.
- Similarly, in recent times the former Irish Language Department became a Unit with executive producer; then
the unit was closed down (temporarily) and programming cut by 35% (as reported above).
- While there is no lack of statements of intent with regard to Irish (the Broadcasting Act 2009; RT Public
Service Broadcasting Charter; Public Service Statement 2010; 20-Year Strategy for Irish), precise definition of
overarching implementation is lacking with the result that interpretation is loose, individual and non-strategic.
- The concept of normalisation is central to the 20-Year Strategy. The rle of the media and of RT in particular
has long been recognised in that regard.
- Given that cost and value have importance for an Irish language strategy for RT, these issues need to be
clarified in advance.
- Ratings and audience share form part of the argument.
Concerning a possible coherent strategic future for the Irish language in RTs services, the report begins with the accepted
policy approach:
- The situation is urgent.
- Strategy demands defined outcomes that are understood by all; resources are then allocated in alignment with
these defined outcomes.
The overall recommendation is:

- investment in those services where there is passion for the Irish language namely TG4 and RnaG and where
return will be highest, financially, legally, socially and in terms of RT being seen to play its full role.
Other key recommendations include:
- national focus for RnaG;
- comprehensive national news service from TG4;
- RT services that feel distinctly Irish with the language seen and heard more frequently in presentation, content
and personalities;
- A single RT Nuacht service providing co-ordinated news services in Irish to TG4, RnaG and online.

Structures led by the Director General (DG) to underpin this approach are recommended accompanied by clear
interpretation of RTs legal commitments followed by specific definition on Irish language output (whether in terms of
time or allocation of resources) with clear objectives assigned to each area of content provision and constant monitoring of
implementation of objectives. The initial recommended structure comprises, not surprisingly, a high level group led by the DG
and representative of the existing Irish language output areas, Nuacht, the Language Advisory Board and legal advice. Later, the
role of the Advisory Board might be extended to monitoring and reporting. Further expansion of the functions of the (now
disbanded) Irish Language Unit is also envisaged if it is re-instated.
On RnaG, it is understood that the stations review of all aspects of its provision and resulting development plan is being
considered by RT.
In general, it is recommended that:
- normalisation, through a bilingual approach also, be a driver of provision;
- new audiences be cultivated (in particular through the social media);
- online news services be developed and a News Agency for news in Irish;
- a review be conducted of staffing and duplication across current news services;
- reduction of provision whether on RT TV or for TG4 be revisited lest it impinge on RTs legal obligations.
Overall, what becomes clear in this document is evidence for the misgivings of Irish speakers over the last years: that RT
was increasingly reducing its Irish language structures and provision on arguments of cost and that any overarching policy
for Irish did not exist. The report expresses well the situation (found in fact across many organs of state) as a form of benign
tolerance or, in other words, inactive neutrality. No strategy can thrive in such a climate. Worse still, there is little to argue
against or to rouse into action from such a state of seemingly self-satisfied general torpor. It remains to be seen whether RT
will implement all or some of this particular Bealach ar Aghaidh. Following this internal report, a cross-departmental Head of
Irish is to be recruited by RT.
For a time in mid-2013, it appeared that the weekly (five nights) news bulletin in Irish on RT Radio 1 (8 minutes long,
just before 10.00 p.m.) would be discontinued. However, it has apparently survived.
TELEVISION: TG4
The relatively short history of TG4 has seen quite a few milestones: 1996: establishment on air (after a small committed Gaeltacht
group who set up and funded their own illegal/pirate transmitters had proved that it was possible back in 1987 a feat which
led to sustained lobbying); 1999: change of name from Teilifs na Gaeilge (TnaG) to TG4 after the inception of the independent
channel TV3; 2007: independence from ; gradual increase in broadcasting hours and in hours of core Irish language programming.
Over the period under review, TG4 gained an increasingly appreciative audience among television reviewers. In sport,
arrangements with the Gaelic Athletic Association on broadcasting certain matches (GAA Beo GAA Live); the history of
rugby (Gualainn le Gualainn Shoulder to Shoulder); distinctive archived matches; the Spanish League; Tour de France; tennis
at Wimbledon; very local matches, all have ensured a new following. The February 2012 election debate between the three
main party leaders won it high praise.
The soap, Ros na Rn, although running since 1995 continues to explore topical and sometimes socially controversial themes. By
January 2010, it had aired its 1,000th episode. As part of a new series he was producing for the BBC on minority languages, the British
actor Stephen Fry agreed to participate in an episode of Ros na Rn, filmed in late 2010, and to learn his lines as Gaeilge (in Irish).
It has also won industry awards (including IFTA - Irish Film & Television Awards and Celtic Media Festival) for several
of the programmes broadcast, particularly thriller-type, comedy drama and teenage comedy drama. It continues to maintain a
vital independent production sector since over 90% of its programming is commissioned. TG4 pioneered with the BAI three
training initiatives in short film making for writers and directors, open to beginners and professionals, based on literature
themes: Sol (Seed). dar (Author), Scal (Story). The chosen participants were mentored by experts and underwent workshop
training before filming. In early 2012 it was reported that the international media company, NBC Universal, had purchased
the format for a popular series made for TG4, entitled C a Chnaigh i mo Theachsa (Who Lived in my House?). A new reality
series to encourage use of Irish also began in January 2012, An G-Team (The G-Team, G standing for Gaeilge, Irish). Each
week, over ten weeks, a programme was based on communities which were screened for 24 hours, Gaeilge-Day, to see which
used most Irish on a daily basis in an effort to win a Foras na Gaeilge sponsored prize of 40,000. Twelve applicants were chosen
from over a hundred small towns and villages which responded to the initial advertisement. The final was screened live. The
overall aim was to ensure more long term use of Irish in the areas chosen and to encourage other communities to do the same.
Apparently almost 50,000 people took part in the actual filming in one way or another. 1 ran a similar type programme based
on encouragement to use Irish (above).

Despite competition from digital television and decreasing income, TG4 is maintaining its audience proportion (of around
3% North and South); more male than female and over 70% in the age group 35 plus. It has an international audience via the
web, particularly among learners abroad. Being distinctive linguistically and creatively appears not to be a barrier.The soap, Ros
na Rn, attracts a weekly audience of some 300,000. As part of its rights to Sunday games in the Allianz Hurling League, TG4
drew an (independently verified) audience of home viewers of 430,000 for the Dublin Kilkenny final in May 2011; this figure
meant one of every three television viewers and a reach of some 610,000. By Christmas 2011, at some points 70% of television
viewers were choosing TG4, or some 2.7 million people. This represented a 3.2% share of national viewing and fifth place
overall in a context of high choice for viewers. Use of Irish in commercials from advertisers also appears to be on the increase
although income from this source is falling, as is the case with all broadcasters.
RT provides 365 hours programming per annum to TG4, 50% of it news. Some years ago, a new news suite was opened
by RT at the TG4 site in the Gaeltacht with the intention of providing news across the different stations.
TELEVISION: THE INDEPENDENT SECTOR

In 2010, TV3 acquired broadcasting rights to the minor finals of GAA games, commentary on which had traditionally
been through Irish when on RT. The independent station said it would consider continuing the tradition. In the event,
transmission in English takes place on TV3 and in Irish on the digital station 3e.
COMMUNITY TELEVISION
A community television station, ScrogallTV, was established in Corca Dhuibhne on 26 November 2010, following a public
meeting. After six months training, the station began broadcasting in May 2011 on the basis of a monthly programme, now
called An tSil Dhuibhneach (Eye of/on Corca Dhuibhne), which is directed at the local community.
RADIO: PUBLIC SERVICE NATIONAL BROADCASTER
RT
Fears grew towards the end of 2010 that cutbacks in RT would seriously affect programming through Irish on the RT Radio
1 station. RT, however, gave assurances that no reduction in time would occur but that the time slots would be filled with
programmes, suitable for the range of Radio1 listeners, to be provided by Raidi na Gaeltachta instead of from within Radio1
itself. For listeners to both stations this was disappointing.
Raidi na Gaeltachta (RnaG)

Raidi na Gaeltachta celebrated its 40 years of existence in 2012 as RT Television celebrated its 50 years. Having begun
with just two hours daily broadcasting on Easter Sunday 1972, RnaG now broadcasts 24 hours daily seven days a week. The
radio began as part of the movement for civil rights for the Gaeltacht, Cearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta, and by now provides
a distinctive service to all Irish speakers, wherever in the world they reside. A joint project between RnaG and Acadamh na
hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (National University of Ireland Galway) is ensuring that the valuable linguistic archives of RnaG are
being preserved in digital format.
The station was caught up in the ongoing funding cuts of the parent company RT and, in 2012, in consultant reports
and discussions on mergers or at least more co-operation between the various news services, above. By early June 2012,
RT had submitted a position paper to the Group of Unions on the stations projected plans in which repositioning was
mooted in relation to Raidi na Gaeltachta and Lyric FM, a plan which had not, apparently, been discussed with RnaG
personnel. Clarification was provided in mid-June 2012 with additional information on RTs cost cutting. Consolidation of
Irish language news services was intended through amalgamation of RnaG, TG4 and Nuacht (News) in a single unit. Possible
problems with such an arrangement were reported in the media. These problems comprised the cost of transferring the current
TG4 news broadcasting room/equipment to the RnaG station; the inability of the RnaG broadcasting infrastructure to receive
the television unit; imbalance in parity of pay between television and radio news staff. In future, as a result of the restructuring,
RnaG would provide RT English services with news items in Irish. By August 2012, the merger plans to be implemented from
January 2013 were given in greater and more precise detail. This resulted in even more concern to RnaG staff as conveyed in
statements issued. For some, it seemed to forecast the end of RnaG as a unique service in its own right. The proposed changes,
as reported, included:
Services
- Nuacht (News) TG4 to provide national and international news for both television (TG4) and radio (RnaG);
- television journalists to supply radio reports for some RnaG programmes;
- RnaG still to provide local news but also, in additional change, to provide short news bulletins in Irish for Radio
1, 2FM and Lyric Radio; these are currently provided by TG4 Dublin staff;
- a specific editor to be provided for this latter news bulletin service with the additional responsibility of
developing the associated news service online.
Staffing
- Some staff to move from RnaG to TG4 and to relocate offices accordingly (both are quite close to each other
Casla and Baile na hAbhann);
- some new posts to be advertised in September 2012 (some existing staff are taking early retirement) at TG4 for
which journalist staff at RnaG might apply;
- training to be provided from October in television and in radio skills for those moving from one medium to the
other or providing service to both media (television staff to be quartered at the radio station for a period).
Salary
- Since (English language) and TG4 journalists are on a higher salary than those working with RnaG, unions have
long been seeking parity.
- This issue is not part of the new arrangements; only those relocating to TG4, or successfully applying for one of
the new posts there, will receive TG4 rates.
Consultation is ongoing on the proposals. The Ceannaire (Head) of RnaG viewed the proposals as providing the opportunity
to develop an online news service through the resources of RT which would serve contemporary needs and demands.
The RnaG station receives approximately 12 million per annum from RT. On its own behalf, in early 2012, it began the
process of a three-year strategic plan for the station as it attempted to cater simultaneously for a very varied listening public: a
Gaeltacht of declining native speakers, a nation of speakers of differing competencies, and listeners scattered across the world up
to 30,000 who tune in on RT Radio Player. In recent years, it has developed its services in education (Leaving Certificate oral
examinations and literature) and undoubtedly would have a role in the development of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish. Learners and
the general public, then, will form part of discussions for the future of the station; developments which may have implications for
language content and standards. Maintenance and development of the listening public, particularly among youth, is a challenge
for any general station but more so for RnaG as it tries to be many things to many people in an evolving linguistic context.
RnaG had the distinction of being awarded Radio of the Year at the Celtic Media Festival 2011. It is reported to have an
estimated weekly listenership of 150,000.
One of the more striking aspects of the 40-year celebrations of RnaG were the references, particularly by those broadcasters
involved in the early days, to the linguistic changes in the Gaeltacht community they served. In comparison with the past, the
community is now totally bilingual.
Both RT and Raidi na Gaeltachta were subjected to criticism in early 2010 when the Irish medium radio reduced its
weekly Sunday Mass in Irish to one a month. In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, Mass cannot be pre-recorded; it must
constitute a simultaneous event for participants. Pre-recording would solve the problem for the cash-strapped radio seeking to
reduce the level of outside broadcasting.
At the time, the larger Gaeltacht communities also suffered some cutbacks in radio coverage of GAA matches. In late 2011,
the County Mayo Gaeltacht regional station was closed down and staff accepted redundancy packages.
COMMUNITY AND INDEPENDENT RADIO SECTOR: RAIDI NA LIFE AND OTHERS
Raidi na Life
The Irish language community station, Raidi na Life, continues its service of varied programmes for a varied audience,
including children, in the capital from its Dublin base. It broadcasts constantly, including repeats, apart from 20 hours per
week, from four to eight a.m. Monday to Friday. Its eclectic taste in music is considered a major strength. It has also conducted
some outside broadcasts in Dublin locations. Many of its former volunteers are now in a variety of posts in radio and television
in Ireland. As with most broadcasters, it is available through podcasts on www.raidionalife.ie.
It too celebrated an anniversary in 2012 20 years of community broadcasting in Irish in the capital city.
Community and independent radio sector

With financial assistance from the BAI, a monthly bilingual electronic newsletter in Irish, Cogar (literally Whisper; colloquially
Tell us before a request for news or information), is prepared by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge to help broadcasters in Irish
in the community and independent radio sector to fulfil and develop their Irish language obligations. This service began in
2005 and has evolved over the years to what is described as a comprehensive information service (including job vacancies,
industry news, training courses) and networking resource for Irish language broadcasters on English medium stations, many
of whom present bilingual programmes. The service is provided through the website www.cogar.ie. This website also provides
comprehensive listing of Irish language programming nationally across 54 radio stations, including RT Raidi na Gaeltachta.
Digital applications have increased access for listeners no matter where their location, even outside Ireland.
A company, Digital Audio Productions, produce two programmes in Irish. One is Top 40 Oifigiil na hireann on music
choices presented through Irish used by over 10 English language stations. Another useful service from the company is the
short daily lifestyle newsbites, Giota, also through Irish.
In several areas of the country, community and independent radio stations broadcast more in Irish than is statutorily
required. Among these are local stations in Ennis, County Clare and kclr96fm (in the Kilkenny/Carlow area). The latter
broadcasts an hour long live programme on Wednesdays from the Carlow studio, Tobar an Cheantair (The Local/District
Well). The broadcast is available on the web after the live broadcast.
Global listening
Many listeners tune in to Irish-medium stations from abroad. Of those who listen to Raidi na Gaeltachta on Radio Player,
just under two thirds are abroad (and over one third in Ireland). Of those abroad, apparently 28% are in the UK, over 12% in
the USA and 22% in other countries.

All Irish language stations, or stations offering some programming through Irish, if on line, will be accessible to the interested.
YOUTH BROADCASTING: RADIO
Raidi R-R
Raidi R-R, now in its fifth year (2012), functioned live on FM in cities across the country on the basis of a temporary licence
during March each year. It is now the official station of the annual Seachtain na Gaeilge. It is entirely a youth-focused musiccharts based station although provision is also made for educational material on using Irish. Youth vox pops are organised
through schools. It was hoped to have eventually a full broadcasting licence. In the meantime, a free app was available
(www.rrr.ie/phone/) to enable listeners receive this music service through Irish at any time they wished online. Other modes
of phone delivery (Android, Nokia, iPhone) were also available through TuneIn. Towards the end of June 2012, the station
went live finally on a 24 hour basis, on the DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) platform, in Dublin and Waterford; Cork and
Limerick will be serviced by end 2012 after which the station goes national. Albums of chart favourites translated into Irish
have been issued. Planning is ongoing by the radio group towards digital television. The station is run by Raidi X Teoranta
(Limited).
The BAI issued a consultation document in March 2012 on its plan for proposed future licensing. The document indicates
that, in spite of the recession, most existing radio stations re-applying for their licences are viable in financial terms although
having suffered revenue losses from 10% to 30%.
While the BAI intends not to change its current franchise map, it did recommend that its Contracts Awards Committee
should seek applications for provision of services to differing age groups including three music-focused services: two for those
in the age cohort 15 34 in general music as well as in new music and a third music station for those in the age bracket 25 44.
To ensure diversity, applications for a niche-driven service was also invited. As a result of these various criteria, the application
from Raidi R-R was successful in mid-2012 to broadcast on the digital platform through Irish to youth.
In mid-August 2012, in acknowledging the role of media in capturing a youth following for the Irish language, the
Minister for State for the Gaeltacht announced a grant of 27,000 to Raidi R-R for the purposes of developing studio
facilities for digital audio broadcasting.
Publications on broadcasting
An account of the campaign to establish an Irish language television station was published in 2003, Escaping the Global Village
by Niamh Hourigan.
FILM
English language Irish made films, from North and South, especially shorts and animation, continue to make the shortlist in
international awards, including the Oscars. There were more Irish nominees than usual for the 2010 Oscar Awards of Merit
from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. They represented a range of categories: animated feature film (The
Secret of Kells); animated short film (Granny OGrimms Sleeping Beauty); short live action film (The Door); sound mixing (Star
Trek); visual effects (Avatar). In the event, the latter was the sole Oscar winner among the names from Ireland, north and south,
but nomination itself carries no small kudos, especially for small companies working to small budgets. This trend continued
with an Oscar for a Northern Ireland teams short film in 2011.
It is reported that the first full-length talkie in Ireland was produced, directed and acted in by locals in Killarney in 1936.
Titled The Dawn, it ran for three weeks in New York to critical acclaim, including for the innovative filming techniques used.
It drew on (then) recent history in Ireland for its story line.
Irish language drama and documentaries on TG4 and on 1 have received awards and some have been bought by other
stations. The Irish Film and Television Awards (IFTA) now include a Special Irish Language Award. Irish language programmes
may also figure in the short list of the Peoples Choice Award.
In addition to available funding through the Fs agus Fuaim (Sound and Vision) programme of the BAI (above), TG4 and
the Arts Council have collaborated in the Splanc (Spark) initiative over seven years to the latest season announced in 2011 for
broadcasting in 2012. A production budget of 120,000 is available for a series of Irish language or bilingual documentaries (2
by 50 minutes or 4 by 25 minutes, subtitled) on the arts in Ireland today. Employment of film workers working through Irish
is encouraged by both partner bodies.

The tax incentive offered by the Irish Government to film production companies filming in Ireland is in the region of 28%;
this has resulted not only in some work for Irish actors and others in the industry but also in over 50 million being spent in
Ireland by British companies between 2008/9 and 2012. A similar incentive extended to television drama which would be
operative by 2013 was signalled in the 2012 British budget. While this could have opportunities for Northern Ireland, it led
to two separate reviews in the Republic: the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht ordered a review of the likely impact
of the change on the industry while the Minister for Finance set in train a review of the existing section 481 tax reliefs for the
film and television industry in the Republic.
AWARDS: RADIO
RT Radio had the distinction of being awarded the title of broadcaster of the year in both 2011 and 2012 and gold medal
awards in the prestigious New York Radio Awards. Individual programmes across the radio stations maintained by RT picked
up no less than 25 other awards in 2012, among them four gold medals.
In 2012 also, the independent station, Newstalk, received a gold medal in the best writing category for a radio play while
bronze awards went to Classic Hits 4FM (human interest category) and to 98FM (comedy category). An Irish independent
producer, Audio Orchard, was awarded a silver medal.
MULTI-MEDIA PRODUCTION AND THE INTERNET
The Irish language is no stranger in cyberspace or in the social media, whether smartphone, Facebook, Twitter or whichever
is the latest. Apps are available even for vocabulary for preschoolers (Cla 4,Culacaint2, Olly an Veain Bheag Bhn, Ag Spraoi
le Claude from TG4; Bbg Baby); for word or phrase seekers (Get the Focal, Word; Clisaocht as Gaeilge, Flirting in Irish);
for learners (Enjoy Irish; Abairleat, Say It). The latter hopes to reach 15,000 users by 2015; 70% of any post must be in Irish
but help is provided through both an inbuilt spellchecker and an integrated version of Google translator. This social network
is primarily directed at youth and students of Irish. Up to 5,000 had registered in the first three weeks but mostly people
outside the education system. The Irish language learning site, www.talkIrish.com, offers interaction and learning resources
to its thousands of learner members. It won several awards for its creator: Barr 50 Gn le Gaeilge (Top 50 Irish Businesses)
nomination; Irish Web Awards (Best Education/Third Level Website award) and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (in Dublin,
2009) award; Talk Talk Digital Heroes award (2010, Belfast).
To ensure accuracy in Irish, the company, Cruinneog, has developed Gaelspell, Ceart (for grammar) and, more recently,
Anois. The bilingual website funded by Foras na Gaeilge, www.scriobh.ie, from the company Drud Teoranta, offers information
on all forms of online assistance for Irish, including dictionaries.
For mobile phones, Samsung promised Gael Fn on all its phones from 2009 including predictive text. Predictive text
for Irish was also provided free in a joint venture between Foras na Gaeilge and Vodafone Ireland in early 2009, http://wap.
teacs.ie/. Predictive text became available on Android phones recently (2012) for three Celtic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic
and Manx) through Adaptxt, downloadable from Play Store. Nokia and the group Gaelchultr (which provides specialist
courses in Irish) supplied a free karaoke download (2010) that included the Irish national anthem, Amhrn na bhFiann, which
became very popular abroad, especially in Turkey and Vietnam. An Irish interface is available for Skype (Windows only) at
www.nascanna.com. However, use of Irish for a texting a message longer than 70 characters is charged to the consumer as
three SMS messages because of the length mark over vowels in some cases. Apparently, this cost conforms to the standards of
the European Telecommunications Institute. Regulations of the EU allow the charge. In countries such as Turkey, Spain and
Portugal, matters are different. Mobile phone producers and operators must allow usage of the languages without additional
charges. Devices that do not comply cannot enter the market in Turkey. Since the phone companies are private businesses,
An Coimisinir Teanga has no role in regulation. The body in question is the regulator for communications, Comreg, which is
now (July 2012) being approached to adjudicate on the issue. While cost is an important aspect for the consumer, of greater
importance is not to discourage the use of Irish on mobile phones.
An iTunes channel of language resources for primary and post-primary students (and others) was launched in early
2012, iTunes U COGG. COGG is An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaochta (Council for Irish-medium
Education). Archived materials from Raidi na Gaeltachta in Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge (NUIG) were used for this
resource. The agency COGG itself received the official eGovernment Award in 2012 for its website.
A free translator application of 13,000 words is available for iPhone and Android, Get the Focal, produced by the IT firm,
Maith (Good for You!), and with content approved by Foras na Gaeilge.
A cheap and very useful iPhone app has been perfected by a lecturer in computer science who is also a traditional musician.
Tunepal is capable of not only identifying any one of 13,000 traditional tunes, whether played or sung, individually or by a
group. It will give not only the title, or titles, but an archive of background information which is very helpful for musicians at
live sessions or when preparing sleeves for discs. Although traditional musicians all have a personal approach to their playing,
this does not confuse the app. The website OAIM (Online Academy of Irish Music) is an interactive site (www.oaim.ie) which
provides tuition in a range of instruments for beginners and in extending the repertoire of more experienced musicians.
Participants may also interact with each other. Fees are not high.
For visitors (or locals) a site was developed with information on events through Irish in Dublin (Baile tha Cliath), www.
baclegaeilge.com. A bilingual walking app at a minimal cost of 1.99 is available (July 2012) for the Nire Valley in County
Waterford from the company ZolkC in collaboration with local interests. The app includes maps and information on history,
culture (including some old songs newly discovered during the research for the app), restaurants and accommodation of the
region. The latest version of Google Maps (mid-2012) now offers placenames in Irish and in English for parts the Republic. It
is hoped to extend the availability later. Since Irish is not official in Northern Ireland, Irish versions of placenames there do not
currently appear on Google Maps. Google operates on the basis of states official languages with English as the default language.
Practically all the Irish media forms are available on the web. The founder of the online news source, www.nuacht24.com,
(funded by the NI Broadcasting Fund), is of the view that the offers the advantage not only of communication with a widely
scattered public but of communication and interaction between members of that widely scattered public. Another online news
source, www.nuacht1.com, offers access to news from all Irish media sources: print, radio, television. A recent (June 2012) is
the Belfast-based online resource, Meon Eile, www.meoneile.ie, (Another Disposition) for Irish speakers, offering news, sport,
music, cultural features and items of interest.
With regard to access, most web browsers have capability in Irish. On programming, the website of Foras na Gaeilge, for
example, carries an update for Windows 7 Irish Language Interface. OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) is free (for Windows
and Apple) and available in 30 languages, including Irish. A choice of 50 languages (and Irish) comes with the browser Firefox
(www.getfirefox.org). Some books in Irish, including the classis, Cr na Cille by Mirtn Cadhain, are now available for
e-book readers (Amazon Kindle; Sony Reader).
Collections of folklore digitised for online perusal are valuable resources (e.g. www.dho.ie/doegen) as are digitised
publications and manuscripts. A recent addition (November 2011) to the databases already maintained by Fiontar (Dublin
City University) is www.ainm.ie, (ainm name) an online version of the nine volumes of biographies of 1,693 Irish notables
from 1560 by Diarmuid Breathnach and Mire N Mhurch. New additions are made as provided. This first phase of this
venture was funded by the Department with responsibility for the language. Digitisation has provided further refinements
of the material; theme search, timeline, cross-referencing. The other databases developed by Fiontar are on placenames and
terminology: www.logainm.ie and www.focal.ie, (focal word).
Among the more prolific tweeters in Irish is a student at Notre Dame University in the US, nominated by the website
Indigenous Tweets (St. Louis University, US).

In 2009, it is reported that the online magazine, Beo! (Live, Alive), received almost 11,000 hits from some 90 different countries.
Blogging through Irish has reached the stage where the genre enters both Irish and industry based competitions. The Irish Times
began an English language blog at end 2009, Ultach (Ulsterperson or Ulster as adjective), on events and issues relating to Irish.
The information site hosted by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge, www.gaelport.com, was awarded an Irish Web Award for
Best Irish Language Website at the 2010 and 2011 Irish Web Awards and a Golden Award at the 2012 Digital Media Awards.
From January to December 2010, the website was reported to have had two million visits, the number of hits being higher still.
It has over 600 followers on the social network siteTwitter.
Shopping for Irish goods (books in particular) is possible on www.udar.ie and www.siopagaeilge.ie, among other sites; Irish
language publishers and bookshops tend to have their own websites. The site, www.litriocht.com, which has been operating
since 1999, is reported to sell up to 25,000 books in Irish annually. It has over 5,000 titles on offer. Initially, online customers
were from the US and Finland. Nowadays, the number has grown to 66 different countries, including China. In 2008, Bard
na nGleann (the company which owns the site) received a Golden Spider award for the best Irish online company. By 2011,
electronic versions of Irish books to download began. A sister company (2011) is www.localbooks.com; this deals with books
in Irish or English with a very local bias, likely to appeal to the Diaspora.
The online reading club, www.clubleabhar,com, established in 2009, received a European Language Seal Award in 2010.
Multimedia entertainment and learning products are easily available in Irish for both children and adults. The company
Fios Feasa (1997) is one example of a provider of a varied selection of games and interactive stories on CD-ROM.
Gaming in Irish has produced (2012) the game K, a very modern take on the saga hero, C Chulainn (Hound of
Culann). Foras na Gaeilge assisted in the production. The language agency also assisted in the production of An Caf Craosach,
launched in October 2012 as the first videogame in Irish. It is an Irish version of Dead Hungry Diner, downloadable at 4.99,
www.deadhungrydiner.com, suitable for learners and speakers.
Irish language events (e.g. Tstal na Gaeilge) are often found on line as they occur. Another exemplar was Otv (Oireachtas tv)
whereby continuous videotaping of Oireachtas 2011 events were streamed during the festival on the website of the newspaper
Gaelscal.
A valuable addition to Irish studies at several levels is the speech synthesiser for Irish developed by a team in the Phonetics
and Speech Laboratory at Trinity College Dublin, www.ABAIR.ie (Say it!). Funding was received in the early stages from
Foras na Gaeilge. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has now (2012) provided 3-year funding to develop the
project. The resource is already available in the Ulster and Connacht dialects. Further dialect work is ongoing as is the provision
eventually of a linguistic and technological resource for teachers and learners and the application of the synthesiser for uses in
education and for speech problems.
Inter-school links between Ireland and Scotland are facilitated through the project Tonnta (Waves) which links schols in
Belfast (NI), Donegal (ROI) andf North Lanarkshire (Scotland) through podcasts.
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: MULTI-MEDIA
PRODUCTION
Multi-media production, publishing and the development of language skills

Given the highly technological environment of the modern world, particularly with regard to youth culture, the Strategy
envisages a much less traditional approach in the future to the development of language skills, especially reading and writing.
An integrated approach is put forward in the Strategy in which the results of life long education are practically enhanced
through seamless connections with both traditional and innovative approaches together with the arts.
Information and Communication Technology

Three practical measures are envisaged in ICT:
- a governmental request that Irish be included in all EU-developed ICT programmes;
- the embedding of all IT developments in Irish in educational, social and work-related practices;
- the development of a comprehensive IT strategy on all possible areas from terminology, lexicography,
translation, corpora to e-learning; from speech synthesis and speech and handwriting recognition to
multilingual web pages; from localisation to metadata and mobile devices.
It is not clear where or how this IT strategy is to be developed. It is so comprehensive that many partners may be required.
No agent is stated to carry out this work. This section on ICT is in stark contrast to the more definitive tone of other sections
citing areas for action in the Strategy.
Two other measures appear in a final section of the Strategy headed Cross-Cutting Initiatives: a portal site offering easy
access to all and every materials pertaining to the Irish language; a digitisation programme to allow central access to Irish
language materials of national importance, including manuscript material, in archives, repositories, libraries and universities
all over the world. This measure is a continuation of the work already in progress on two existing programmes, and the Digital
Humanities Observatory. It will be in celebration of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Irish Script on Screen (ISOS) produces digital images of Irish manuscripts for display on the web. It is a joint project
between the School of Celtic Studies, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, and the School of Computer Applications,
Dublin City University, in partnership with Trinity College Library, Dublin. The Observatory (DHO) is an all-island project
of the Royal Irish Academy. It works in collaboration with Humanities Serving Irish Society (HSIS) and international partners
as a resource in the furtherance of e-scholarship in the field of humanities topics.

In the same Cross-Cutting Initiatives section of the Strategy, there is a commitment to ensuring that Irish (as an official
language) is included in all research and development programmes, both domestic and in the EU, particularly in areas dealing
with language, whether processing, learning, machine translation or other technologies. In addition, advantage will be taken of
platforms already developed for other languages. No specific agent is designated, however, to ensure implementation.
SUMMARY ON THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

Certainly, the Irish language is no stranger in cyberspace or in the social media and expertise through Irish exists to ensure this
continues. Use of the resulting services is, however, more difficult to quantify.
A more unwelcome aspect of cyberspace is the intrusion of spam specifically translated (often not very well) and directed
at Irish speakers/users in Ireland.
There is no doubt but that technology and the Irish language are easy companions and that the use of Irish in newer
technologies has greatly increased and become normalised in the five years since 2007. For some in Ireland, this appears
still somewhat of a challenge, attitudinally and linguistically. The North-American comedian, Des Bishop, a learner of Irish,
professed surprise at some complaints about his use of Irish (from Irish users) on his public site. On the other hand, a minority
profess concern that such uses of Irish may lead to deterioration in the standard of Irish in use. Nevertheless, a publication from
UNESCO on linguistic diversity in the shows an increase with regard to pages in languages other than English from 25% in
2008 to 55% in 2007 with a corresponding increase in diversity of language users.
Nevertheless, despite all this undoubted activity, results of a study by the European research network, META-NET, were
viewed as alarming by the researchers. They found that most European languages are unlikely to survive in the digital age on
the four criteria used. Irish was judged weak in three (automatic translation, text analysis, availability of language resources)
and slightly above that in the fourth, speech processing. This rather gloomy analysis of many of our languages not yet futureproof was published on European Languages Day, 26 September.
PUBLISHING
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: PUBLISHING
Rsum
Traditional print media such as newspapers, magazines and books will, in future, be supported in the context of effective
distribution and verifiable sales. It is recognised, however, that marketing and distribution are an essential part of publishing in
Irish as is easy access via a variety of access points, including the , and a reasonable level of public demand.
While more radical approaches may occur in the future as a result of continual review of current methods, a range of
measures are proposed for the short-term to support reading and writing in Irish through print, CDs, DVDs and audio-books.
Supportive measures include practical proposals on an on-line store and an on-line stock and order management system;
development of a physical space in Dublin with bookstore and coffee shop; literary events in public libraries and attractive
displays in bookshops; book clubs as part of community initiatives with on-line support; literary programmes on RT and
TG4; authors and critics in schools and Summer Colleges; initiatives to encourage youth writing across the full range of genres,
including blogging.
Many of these proposals had already been made over the years though perhaps not all in an integrated fashion nor with
such emphasis on exploiting the newer media.
Newspapers and news sources

Several changes occurred between 2007 and 2012 in the field of newsprint in Irish. For various reasons, the grant of the
successful weekly newspaper, Foinse, was discontinued in March 2009. Such was the concern this move generated that BuaicGhradam Cumarside an Oireachtais (Premier Communications Award of the annual festival, Oireachtas na Gaeilge) was jointly
awarded in 2010 to the team of journalists who had worked on Foinse from 1996 to 2009.
In January 2010, Foras na Gaeilge announced that a new consortium (Connacht Tribune and Eo Teilifs in a new company,
Torann na dTonn Teoranta) had been awarded the contract to produce a weekly newspaper (Gaelscal) from March 2010, on a
4-year contract worth 1.6 million. The second edition, 2 April 2010, carried a message of congratulation from the President
of Ireland. Gaelscal began as a 32-page full colour tabloid newspaper, covering the usual range of items, including sport. It
was launched in Dublin and in Belfast on the same day. From September 2010, items of interest from the four provinces and
Nuacht na ng were added, bringing it to 40 pages weekly and with the extra 8-page youth magazine ns* once a month. A
new Foinse then, under a different arrangement between its owner and the daily national Irish Independent newspaper, began
distribution as an insert every Wednesday from November 2009. After some time, Gaelscal, which initially came out on
Fridays, also reverted to Wednesday publication from November 2011.
Publishing of the daily L Nua (Belfast) was eventually discontinued as further funding was not available. After 25 years
coming out in print, the monthly newspaper, SAOL, produced and funded, first, by Bord na Gaeilge, and then by its successor,
Foras na Gaeilge, went on line solely from May 2011, www.gaeilge.ie/saol.
Practically all the established Irish language news media forms are available on the web. Additions from other sources
have joined them. After the demise of L Nua (Belfast), one of its reporters established a weekly Nuacht 24, published in print
(Belfast) for 16 months until May 2010, without grant-aid. The service received the Oireachtas Communications Award in
2009. With the paper came the online news source, www.nuacht24.com (with assistance from the Northern Ireland Broadcast
Fund). The founder is of the view that the offers the advantage not only of communication with a widely scattered public but
of communication and interaction between members of that widely scattered public. In an interview with Gaelscal (14 My
2010), he listed the history of newspaper publishing through Irish in Belfast since the 1970s: Scal r; Gael Feirste; Preas an
Phobail; L (which lasted 24 years); Nuacht 24; www.nuacht24.com. In fact, the travelling exhibition, Sil Charad (Eye of a
Friend), organised by the Belfast-based umbrella group, POBAL, covers 200 years of news in print in Irish, from the efforts of
the United Irishmen to today.
Another online news source, www.nuacht1.com, offers access to news from all Irish media sources: print, radio, television,
; www.InsideIreland.ie also offers news on business and lifestyle in bilingual format. A service of on line compilations of news
for Irish radio broadcasters is www.cogar.ie from Comhdhil Naisinta na Gaeilge.
FUNDING BY FORAS NA GAEILGE
Newspaper funding comes under Scim Nuachtn Seachtainiil (Weekly Newspaper Scheme) of Foras na Gaeilge. The following
annual figures appear in the independent research conducted for Foras na Gaeilge (April 2011) towards a strategy on its funding
for print and online materials.
Newspaper
Year
Funding
Foinse (to March 2009) &
2009
142,849
Gaelscal (from March 2010)
2010
315,385
SAOL (Foras na Gaeilge)
Internal budget
Gaelscal succeeded the previous version of Foinse. Circulation figures for Gaelscal were reported at a meeting of the Scrutiny
Committee of the Department of Culture (NI) of 15 September 2011 at in and around 2,000 and way below what we [Foras
na Gaeilge] expected. In November 2011 more precise figures from Foras na Gaeilge were given to the column Tuarascil (Irish
Times) at 1,300 through shopping outlets and 133 through subscription. The free online version had, nevertheless, attracted
up to 8,000 individual users. However, in early 2013, Foras na Gaeilge announced an end to the contract with the company
Torann na dTonn (Sound/Crash of the Waves) for the production of Gaelscal, citing average weekly shop sales of 1,314 copies;
value for money; and the bodys future plans for a news service through Irish. The company, however, pointed to the copies
sold through schools, readers of the digital version online, and those who access the website on a weekly basis an assessment
which would amount to a weekly circulation of 3,978 readers in addition to followers on Twitter, Facebook and Abairleat.
The initial targets had apparently been higher. The company also commented that it had produced a 40-page weekly paper on
a 32-page paper grant. The last edition appeared on 27 February 2013.
A new independent version of the title Foinse has been distributed free with the Wednesday edition of the national
newspaper, The Irish Independent, since the loss of the Foras na Gaeilge grant. A Joint National Readership Survey (by Millward
Brown Lansdowne) revealed in February 2011 that readership for the paper was at 195,000. This had increased to 204,000 for
the period to end June 2011 according to figures from the same industry source. Educational materials for schools are included
in Foinse. It is available on line at www.foinse.ie.
In November 2010, Gaelscal was awarded the judges special recognition prize at the 2010 European Design Awards in
Dublin. Other innovations included Nuacht na ng (News for Youth) and the inclusion of the magazine ns* each month end.
The newspaper is on line at www.gaelsceal.ie as well as encouraging feedback on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. Educational
materials for the primary curriculum (Irish, Geography, Civic/Social/Health Education) and post-primary examinations (Irish)
are part of the youth section. Assistance is provided by the organisation for teachers of Irish (Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge)
and by COGG (statutory body for Irish-medium education). individual teachers. Material is provided by teachers. The website
provides additional teaching aids: notes, video, podcasts, interactive materials.
For readers of newspapers in Irish, the stop-start situation has proved unsatisfactory. For producers, it has meant no small
problems in nurturing a market and providing a nationwide distribution service. The recurring hiatus between ending one service
and setting up another has contributed to the market difficulties. However, there appears little positive solution to the challenge
of catering for a heterogenous public across a variety of developing media through the medium of a lesser used language.
Following the ending of grant-aid to Gaelscal by Foras na Gaeilge in early 2013, the language agency embarked on a public
consultation process on the type of news publication on which readers would wish to see public funding used. The results were
not in the public domain at end 2013. In November 2013, Foras na Gaeilge requested expressions of interest in the provision of
an online newspaper in Irish on a grant of 1.2m over 4 years. As noted above both RnaG and TG4 were working on the same
concept. An online news publication might, of course, be substantially different in concept, content and presentation.
The weekly page in Irish, Bileog, continues to be published with the Wednesday edition of The Irish Times. In September
2013, the weekly Foinse with The Irish Independent (which was not subvented) went online only and an addition entitled Seachtain
began to appear in that newspaper on Wednesdays.
Regular columns in Irish continue to be a feature of English-language newspapers north and south.
However, the most recent decision of the language agency to discontinue financial support for a range of print magazines and
online websites bodes ill for development. At the end of February 2014, Foras na Gaeilge decided to discontinue funding from
30June 2014 to the following: the print magazines Feasta, An tUltach, NsMag and to the websites Gaelport.com, Saol.ie and Beo.ie.
Since this date coincides with the advent of new arrangements for the voluntary sector, there is some speculation that print and online
matter may also be subsumed in some manner into the range of operation of the six lead organisations selected in January 2014.
An interesting list of use of Irish in the English-language press, compiled by another researcher in 2007, is found in the
independent report on print and on line media through Irish conducted for Foras na Gaeilge (Publications on website, April
2011). The picture has probably not changed very much in column inches since that time as one paper may discontinue for
various reasons and another may begin to offer some items in Irish. Newspapers themselves may also close for financial reasons,
reducing the overall number. Of two Sunday newspapers reported in 2007 as having articles in Irish, the Sunday Business Post
and the Sunday Tribune, the latter is now defunct.
Among the national dailies, the Irish Times continued to carry a column weekly in Irish on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday. A decision was then taken to consolidate material in Irish to a full page one day a week, from Wednesday 7
November 2012, entitled Bileog. (Leaf, Sheet). It was described in English in the paper on that day in the following terms:
Bileog underscores this newspapers commitment to the Irish language and to Irish-language journalism of the
highest quality.
Another interesting development is in the crossword of the Irish Times is the tendency of the new compiler (2011), Mac an
Iarla, to require some knowledge of Irish vocabulary from his users. The Irish Independent now carries the Irish newspaper,
Foinse, as an insert every Wednesday. The Irish Examiner will carry articles in Irish and the Irish News (Belfast), has a regular
column in Irish. In 2012 the Derry Journal began an Irish column on Fridays with English translation (also online). The Irish
Daily Star carries an Irish column at the weekend. The Cork based Evening Echo may have some occasional Irish segments.
Several of these newspapers have issued bilingual posters for schools, some with funding from Foras na Gaeilge.
The weeklies Metro ireann (multicultural), which had received some funding from Foras na Gaeilge) and An Phoblacht
(Sinn Fin Party newspaper), have regular columns in Irish.
Regional newspapers - particularly where there are local institutions through the medium of Irish, in education or in the
community - will carry news of them in Irish generally from a local columnist. Of approximately 80 of these published in
Ireland, North and South, some 65 published articles in Irish, according to the list mentioned above.
The list contained 24 newspapers in Northern Ireland (though not all the newspapers published there). Of these, 19
published Irish articles at that time.
The majority, but not all, of the newspapers listed would carry letters in Irish. Whether all those listed are still functioning
is unknown.
Newspapers published abroad for the Irish Diaspora, whether in the UK, US, Australia or elsewhere often have regular
Irish columns or segments as will student publications in third-level institutions.
MAGAZINES/JOURNALS/REVUES
As in the case of newspapers and most publishing activity, funding of Irish language magazines falls under the State body, Foras
na Gaeilge. It is the policy of the agency to advertise for (generally) three-yearly applications for schemes, open to all comers. In
this case, one such scheme is Scim Iris Ghaeilge Chlite (printed Irish magazine) to distinguish from online, organisational and
other publications. The last advertisement for this scheme appeared in September 2011 for the period 2012-2014. At a board
meeting of the agency the previous June, an overall budget for the three years was agreed at 240,000.
Among the applicants funded under various headings are those of previous years: Feasta (of Conradh na Gaeilge), An
tUltach (of Comhaltas Uladh). While these two magazines were established by organisations, they operate as independent
entities. Funding as follows is reported for all print magazines (all monthly except Gaelport) in the independent research
conducted for Foras na Gaeilge (April 2011).
Magazine / Funding
2009
2010
Feasta (Conradh na Gaeilge, 1948)
45,000
48,500
An tUltach (Comhaltas Uladh, 1924)
25,641
22,472 (20,000 p.a.)
Gaelport (5-day electronic newsletter,
15,000
15,000
87,765
90,389 (3-year scheme)
An Timire (1911)
3,326
3,326
An Sagart (1957)
2,622
2,622
Organisational
Comhdhil Naisinta na Gaeilge)

Print Magazine Scheme
Comhar (1942)
Other (Religious; subscription)
Both Feasta and An tUltach may receive funding towards publication of literature-related materials from the Arts Councils (An
tUltach from the NI Arts Council). Gaelport is a free service. All the others have a cover price. The fall in funding for Foras
na Gaeilge had a knock-on effect on the entities funded by it in the years following 2010, particularly since organisational
funding was on a six-monthly basis. In the February 2012 edition, the editor of Feasta reported as follows. Since 2010, the
grant had reduced by 8,000; half-yearly funding was under 20,000; to offset losses (5,000 in 2011 even with some one-off
organisational support) the magazine was reduced from 32 to 28 pages, yearly printing costs reduced accordingly and less was
paid to writers. It was hoped that the reduction by 4 pages would result in a sparing of 4,500 for the year. The choice was
between remaining viable and going under.
At the end of 2009, from among applications for its Scim Iris Leictreonach (Electronic Magazine Scheme), Foras na Gaeilge
renewed the three-year contract at 210,000 for the on line magazine, Beo! (Live, Alive!), which dates from 2001. The contract
was to run from January 2010 to December 2012. Beo has in the region of 10,000 monthly users and the format is constantly
updated. It hosts Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. Both its reading public and writers of articles often come from among the
Diaspora.
Funding for the magazine Comhar, which celebrated 70 years since its foundation in May 1942, had been terminated
for a period during the years under review in this update. It was relaunched and gradually increased the range and depth
of articles. It had begun as an intellectual and literary review. On line, it is found at www.iriscomhar.com. In addition, the
imprint had separately produced over the years, with Bord/Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge grant-aid, no small number of original light
reading in Irish for an adult learner audience. In 2010, LeabhairCOMHAR was re-established but with a new emphasis. The
adult learners series remains, Foghlaimeoir Fsta, but several new series were added: Doras Feasa (Door of Knowledge), an
information and reference series, as well as, for future development, Guth Nua (New Voice), Saol agus Saothar (Life and Work)
and Tad na Filochta (The Rope of Poetry).
Publication of the monthly magazine ns* (habit, custom) began on line only, www.nosmag.com, on St. Patricks Day,
March 2008. It came out in hard copy also for a time from early in 2009. It is an 8-page full colour tabloid non-glossy
publication which offers information and reviews of interest to a younger audience: music, films, restaurants and, at times,
a topic of political or social significance. It was not subvented initially but carried large-scale advertisements for other Irish
media, particularly from Northern Ireland. From September 2010 it was distributed free within the newspaper Gaelscal. In
2012, it was relaunched under a new format as a monthly magazine, funding having been secured from Foras na Gaeilge.
The Arts Council in the South funds the publication of the annual literary journal, Bliainiris, and a yearly literary edition
of Feasta. The Arts Council of Northern Ireland funds literary sections of An tUltach (NI).
The Diaspora, learners of Irish abroad and Irish organisations outside of Ireland may have magazines and newsletters, some
sporadic, some with a long history, most of which are on line or distributed by newsletter. Some learning/teaching groups may
have separately published journals or materials on aspects of their work, e.g. NAACLT, the North American Association of
Celtic Language Teachers or those associated with the Permanent Gaeltacht Project in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
An Gael is a quarterly in Irish printed in New York since 2009, successor to the bilingual monthly An Gaodhal which
came out between 1881 and 1904 as well as to some more unsuccessful attempts at revival over the years since. It is available
in hard copy and has a website, www.angaelmagazine.com. It is owned by Cumann Carad na Gaeilge (The Philo-Celtic Society;
literally Friends of the Irish Language), founded in 1872. The Diaspora in Australia and nearer home in Brussels and in the
UK also maintain contact through newsletter. Glr na nGael, through its Global Gaeilge competition, keeps in touch also with
information on line.
Many Irish language organisations publish their own newsletters regularly on line and in downloadable format. Academic
and general journals may be published by universities and institutions; two are published by An Sagart publishing house,
Irisleabhar Mh Nuad and Lachta Cholm Cille (proceedings of an annual conference).
www.dil.ie is a new website (early 2012), currently a blog, based on voluntary articles on all aspects of the arts through Irish.
The first Irish language edition of the Dublin Poetry Review (www.dublinpoetryreview.ie) appeared in September 2010.
LOCAL GAELTACHT NEWSLETTERS AND REVIEWS
The local newspaper, Goitse, continues to be published and bought in the Donegal Gaeltacht. It is carried by local shops and
receives no State funding. Ealan na Gaeltachta, a subsidiary company of dars na Gaeltachta (the Gaeltacht Authority) in
collaboration with the Arts Council, issues free on line to subscribers a quarterly information bulletin on arts activity in the
Gaeltacht, contemporary and traditional, and a monthly newsletter on upcoming events.
LITERARY AND PUBLISHING ACTIVITY

POLICY
Discussion and debate

Several conferences/seminars took place in recent years on aspects of the media in Irish. In November 2010 at UCD, a
conference was convened on the issue of print media and the , at the instigation of Foras na Gaeilge who were planning a new
strategy in the area. The proceedings of the conference were intended to feed into research towards the new strategy being
conducted for An Foras by an external consultant.
The conference was attended by the majority of those involved in newspapers and magazines using Irish as well as those
primarily using the . Their problems were listed as follows:
- difficulties in nurturing a reading public in Irish;
- the need for ongoing targeted marketing;
- the advantage of technology and the in reaching a wider range of publics including youth and international;
- the disadvantages of short three-year contracts in reaching visibility in the sector;

- the uncertainty associated with the short term contract; the non-renewal of a successful newspaper, Foinse,
being cited;
- the advantages of a coherent approach by Foras na Gaeilge to the various schemes and initiatives it conducts in
the sector.
For third level representatives speaking from their particular perspective, the future challenge for Irish language media lay in
training in publishing and journalism.
In this regard, following the accreditation system for translators (2006), Foras na Gaeilge had established an accreditation
system for editors in early 2011. Based on examination, assessment is conducted on skills of copy-editing, standardising,
correcting and removing ambiguities in texts in addition to auditing translated texts. Eight candidates were successful in the
first examination held.
At the annual festival, Oireachtas na Gaeilge, in November 2011, Foras na Gaeilge organised a seminar on journalism
through Irish. One of the views expressed was the possible replacement of newspapers by news on line within 20 years. In
the meantime, co-existence is required although it may mean newspapers being in competition with themselves on the and
readers choosing the relatively free version. The Irish language newspaper, Gaelscal, is on line (2012) and is developing its
education section on line. Another speaker addressed the lack of interplay between the various forms of Irish media where
items of interest from one are not discussed in the other, or indeed any useful critique made of one another; such discussion
being central to ideas and opinions and engagement in their media by Irish speakers. A similar perspective came from another
speaker on journalism today; not journalism through any particular language, in his view, but bad and good journalism in a
media world where standards are in decline and the Establishment (and Big Business) rules, quoting the 19th century IrishAmerican of the Chicago Journal, Peter Finley Dunne, on the raison dtre of newspapers:
to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
This commentator found two problems in journalism through Irish: structural relating to the costs of printing and distribution;
educational relating to courses in journalism. From a policy viewpoint, three possibilities were suggested in relation to the
former: the establishment of a central funded print and distribution facility or reduction in the number of subvented print
media or concentration of funding solely on the and on challenging material for readers. For the future, courses in journalism
through Irish to ensure that students are prepared for all media forms: print, radio, television, . In this regard, a good exemplar
was seen in Otv (Oireachtas tv) whereby continuous videotaping of Oireachtas events were being streamed during the festival
on the website of the newspaper Gaelscal.
Irish language events (e.g. Tstal na Gaeilge) are often found online as they occur.
Research
Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge (2007)
During 2007, looking to future strategy, the (then) Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge (BLG) commissioned two reports from the UCD
Marketing Development Programme:
- Report on Attitudes and Opinions of the Non-Educational Irish Language Books Market amongst People with a
Regular and Ongoing Involvement with Irish Language Books (April 2007);
- Investigation into the Attitudes and Perceptions of Irish Speakers towards Irish and English Language Books, with a
View to Expanding the Market for Irish Language Books (December 2007).
The April report was concerned solely with non-educational books (which were not usually among those subvented by BLG)
and with a sympathetic user public. The findings were unsurprising to those involved:
- There are many more people able to read in Irish than actually read books in Irish; a significant potential market
then exists particularly since an increasing demand for books in Irish was noted.
- Childrens books, local stories and biographies were the most popular choices. Whether this was due to supply
was not clear but lack of topicality and leisure reading was noted as was suitable material for teenagers and
books on contemporary themes. Too much dense text and not sufficient conversation was pointed out.
- Although improving, quality was considered lower than in English language books. Nevertheless, retailers,
parents and librarians were satisfied with the childrens books available.
- Distribution (IS) was a major problem: lack of staff; lack of online ordering and re-ordering. Lack of bar codes
and ISBN numbers on some books were criticised by stores in relation to selling and tracking sales.
- Publicising books in Irish was another problem: lack of correlation between publication, media contacts and
launch of new books; lack of in-store or in-library shelf prominence or promotion.
- Another aspect of failure in marketing was lack of information for the buying public as to which books were available
and in which outlets; lack of knowledge among outlet staff on publishing in Irish; lack of awareness in general.
- For the Gaeltacht, local authors were more popular in the local dialect. Reading in Irish was not a usual activity.
This 2007 report summarises the situation as: inadequacy of reading material; lack of information on the Irish reading publics
needs; no effective marketing strategies. The proposed strategies include: an editorial department; promotional campaigns,
competitions, exhibitions; rewards for writers.
The December report looked at ways of expanding the market for books in Irish through an investigation of how Irish
speakers perceived books in English and books in Irish. Again, the results are unsurprising:
- Half of the respondents self-classified as having advanced reading skills in Irish. Readers of both Irish and
English books had higher reading ability in Irish than readers of English books only. Twice as much reading is
conducted in English as is done in Irish.
- People read mainly for entertainment; some to improve their reading skills in Irish. Lack of interest in reading as
a pastime was also cited.
- Books (in both languages) tend to be passed on between family and friends.Hence, sales and readership patterns
do not coincide. [However, purchase is no proof of reading either].
- Supply, variety and advertising of books in Irish were considered poor to fair.
- Advice was rarely available from retailers or librarians.
- Newspapers were the most frequently read publication but lack of availability was cited in relation to newspapers
in Irish.
Recommendations included:
Reading material
- Expansion of themes to encompass sport, war, humour, fiction and love; supply to cater for differentiated
reading abilities; segmentation of the market by dialect.
Marketing
- Use of launches, book reviews, better quality, more stockists.
The content of these two surveys were then available to Foras na Gaeilge when it accepted Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge from the
Department on 1 January 2008 and made of it Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge. Nevertheless, it was almost 2012 before an important
aspect of the distribution of books in Irish was examined in detail, IS (1980) a component of the Foras itself.
Foras na Gaeilge (2011 - 2012)

The next section looks at developments in relation to IS. However, among its many funding schemes, Foras na Gaeilge, also has
several schemes that relate to print media, including on line, as described above. These are separate from the activities of Clr
na Leabhar Gaeilge which comes with a ringfenced budget from the Department. During 2010-2011 independent research
was conducted for An Foras concerning a future strategy for effective expenditure on this sector. The resulting comprehensive
report ran to almost 300 pages. It was presented to the board by the researcher at its meeting of 23 June 2011 and later put
on the agencys website.
The report, in the context of a changing world of print and of language communities, examined in detail eight areas of
expenditure: the magazines An Sagart, An Timire, An tUltach, Feasta, Comhar, the on line magazine Beo.ie, the on line service
Gaelport and the weekly newspaper Gaelscal. The annual combined (then) expenditure was 567,694, ranging from less than
half of 1% of the total (An Sagart: 2,622; 0.46%) to over 55% (Gaelscal: 315,385; 55.55%).
The basic strategic recommendations made relate to developing on line capacity over the next five years parallel with the
print capacity so that gradually one will supersede the other after that, particularly for the newspaper and as back-up for print
magazines. Local Gaeltacht newsletters, the news site on line, and the on line magazine are considered crucial for the future.
Methods of marketing, distribution and awareness-raising (including abroad) are also raised as are training and bilingual
materials/fora as elements in the near term of an evolving strategy.
The eight current projects are analysed for their current and future impact. Overall, they appear to be serving their
particular publics well. The two electronic projects are signalled out for praise. Continued developmental funding is advised
for all. As being in receipt of the highest proportion of funding, the newspaper is advised to have a different version on line;
to send out regular questionnaires to its readers; to expand its political reporting. Monitoring is advised on all projects. Recent
improvements in some receive approbation.
Some interesting data are given in relation to newspaper readership in the past. In the early days of its existence and
despite setbacks such as an office which destroyed all equipment, L reached a daily circulation, North and South, of some
1,000 copies. In 2001, when it reverted to a weekly edition, circulation grew to 2,500. Two years later in 2003, the paper again
became a daily. Independently verified figures showed average daily sales of 4,404 for the second half of 2003 and 30,000
downloads monthly. These figures fell to 1,500 daily sales by 2008 and some 8,000 monthly downloads. In the case of Foinse,
the weekly had a circulation of 6,000 in the beginning, rising to 8,000 around the year 2000, estimated at a reading public
of 25,000. Independently verified figures showed a drop to 3,746 by end 2008, a trend which continued. No clear reasons
are found for this pattern which has been replicated in Wales. It does not appear to be related to content or to journalistic
standards. Novelty wears off, apparently, although many continue, perhaps, ar son na cise (for the cause). However noble, this
may not actually serve the cause.
With regard to maintaining and attracting readers in Irish, a conference was organised by Foras na Gaeilge on 21-22
September 2012 with international speakers. Discussion was centred on finding new ways, electronic and otherwise, of
encouraging reading in Irish. Marketing and distribution also received attention. Implementation of good practice is now an
issue for Foras na Gaeilge, Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge and publishers.
IS
In the view of many Irish publishers, IS (1980), the distribution agency of Foras na Gaeilge appeared, inter alia, not to have
had either sufficient staff or modern electronic means of access to enable it to cover the whole country, North and South. It is,
however, a crucial component of Irish language publishing.
An external review initiated by Foras na Gaeilge was completed during 2011. The North South Ministerial Council
(NSMC), at its October 2011 meeting, requested a detailed implementation plan on the recommendations of the review group
and a progress report at its February 2012 meeting. The implementation plan was agreed and reported in February but no
details were given. The NSMC meeting of 7 July 2012 reported improvements insofar as orders can now be placed by e-mail
and the introduction of an online ordering service is being examined.
BORD NA LEABHAR GAEILGE(BLG) TO CLR NA LEABHAR GAEILGE
Context
Since 2008, following a decision by the North South Ministerial Council in October 2007, Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge (Board
for Books in Irish) was transferred from the Department to Foras na Gaeilge, where it became Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge (clr
may mean programme or agenda) under Scim na Foilsitheoireachta (Publishing Scheme) of the agency. However, funding for
this purpose from the Department was ringfenced (as is the case with funding for the tripartite Governments funded initiative
Colmcille) and is separate from funding for the overall cross-border agency, An Foras Teanga. The previous voluntary board was
replaced by an internal committee set up by Foras na Gaeilge which processes applications and makes recommendations to
the board of An Foras, perhaps through the agencys Coiste na nDeontas (Grants Committee). These may appear as appendices
to the versions of board minutes on the agencys website. This source is being used here as no annual report appears to have
been issued for the new Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge since it became part of Foras na Gaeilge in early 2008. Reports will, in future,
probably form part of the Foras na Gaeilge annual accounts; 2007 accounts were the latest available accounts for An Foras until
end 2012. The last annual report for the former Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge is for the year 2007. The previous staff and office of
BLG were maintained but now under the aegis of the new committee and Foras na Gaeilge. The possibilities for an increase in
administrative contacts are evident, to the detriment of publishers, in their view.
Despite the change, the major activities of the previous Bord na Leabar Gaeilge remain: support for publishers and writers;
research; funding for literary prizes, book awards and festivals; renewed emphasis on marketing. Some changes of emphasis,
however, were criticized (below), particularly the amount of administrative regulations and procedures attaching to the new
dispensation.
The Irish language publishing world saw some events also. The largest independent house (having five full-time staff), Cl
Iar-Chonnacht (CIC), celebrated 25 years in business in 2010. The founder is himself a very well-regarded Gaeltacht writer.
During the period, it had published over 300 titles across a range of genres as well as half that number again of traditional
music items. It publishes in the region of 16 books annually. It has also grown to include two other publishers. At an event
in the National Library in 2009, the well known publisher, Sirsal Marcaigh (1949), became part of CIC. It also received
the imprint of the research publishing house, An Clchomhar, in 2009. It recently took on marketing and distribution for the
publishers Cois Life.
The magazine, Comhar, had produced no small number of original light reading in Irish for an adult learner audience
over the years. In 2010, LeabhairCOMHAR was re-established but with a new emphasis. The adult learners series remains,
Foghlaimeoir Fsta, but several new series were added: Doras Feasa (Door of Knowledge), an information and reference series,
as well as, for future development, Guth Nua (New Voice), Saol agus Saothar (Life and Work) and Tad na Filochta (The Rope
of Poetry).
Funding for publishers

The following information (given here in translation) is from the February 2011 meeting of the internal committee which is
given as appendix 8 to the minutes of the meeting of 4 March 2011 of An Foras. It gives an overview of book publishing in
Irish in recent years: in 2011 almost 120 books for funding in the region of 800,000 or approximately 6,700 per book. This
calculation is not, of course, entirely accurate as, in several cases of small grants, the funding is solely for marketing purposes.
Publisher (Group A)/Year

2010
2011
Books
Funding
Books
Funding
Cl Iar-Chonnachta
12
177,575
9-10
177,575
Cois Life
11
112,975
88,703
Cl Mhaigh Eo
50,500
56,500
Minn
45,500
4-5
45,100
Futa Fata
64,273
59,698
43
450,823
37-39
427,576
Total
Publisher (Group B)/Year

2010
2011
Books
Funding
Books
Funding
An Sagart
41,000
6-7
35,700
An tSnthaid Mhr
38,350
28,000
Arlen House
18,000
21,000
44
148,000
48
135,000
FS
22,900
17,500
Leabhar Breac
62,000
53,000
*Comhar
25,250
25,250
Coiscim

Dill ireann (Irish Pages)
12,000
7,000
abhlid
11,000
Pca Press
6,300
71
374,500
74-75
340,250
Total
*Comhar is primarily a magazine which also receives funding for that purpose.
Publisher (Group C)/Year

2010
Books
2011
Books
Funding
OBrien Press
7,300
Gaelink
7,500
Pist Press
10,600
Total
25,400
116-119
793,226
OVERALL TOTAL 2011
Funding
These recommendations were accompanied by notes and advice in respect of other sources of funding for items refused,
e.g. writing workshops, other publishers of similar educational materials, insufficient research. This could result in not all
proposals from any one publisher being accepted. In some cases, the number of books proposed for publication was, of
necessity, tentative, since the yearly plan had to be submitted at the beginning of the year and delays sometimes occur in aspects
of publishing. Changes in plans must be notified and go for acceptance to the board of Foras na Gaeilge. The scope of the
material is wide; from adults to teenagers to young children; from good readers to learners; from academic to entertainment;
from text to highly illustrated; from original to translation or bilingual. In the case of the latter, other languages but not English
may accompany Irish. The issue of English was further discussed above, Policy. The range includes all genres: short story,
novel, drama, essays, biography, history, religion. Funding may include a sum towards marketing, book launches or website
development; all funding requires a detailed plan as part of the funding application.
Interestingly, more travel books have, apparently, been published in Ireland in Irish than in English from 1975 onwards.
This was one of the topics for discussion during the 2010 Dublin Writers Festival at the Project Arts Centre.
It is of note that 2011 saw the 100th commemoration of the magazine produced by the Jesuit Order, Timire (Messenger),
with messages of congratulation from both the Pope and the President of Ireland. It depends largely on voluntary input, on
reader subscriptions and on the 3,326 annual grant from Foras na Gaeilge.
Scim na gCoimisin (Commissions Scheme)

During 2010-2011, dissatisfaction arose, particularly among writers, with this Commissions scheme which had been a scheme
also of the previous Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge. Writers objected on the grounds that the scheme was one primarily for writers
and not for publishers; that the introduction of a new rule which confined any publisher to submitting no more than four
applications (co-signed by the commissioned authors) was not acceptable; that publishers were being asked to make literary
decisions by having to place the four applications in order of priority; that one publisher had been disqualified for not
submitting to the rule; that a cap was being placed on funding irrespective of literary merit. It was even proposed that
responsibility for literature in Irish should be transferred to another body.
By 2012, disquiet was increasing that the entire scheme would be discontinued, for 2012 at least, given the decrease in
grants in general. In 2011, a fund of 1.35m was granted by the Department to Clr na Leabar Gaeilge. In 2011 also, twenty
writers were in receipt of commissions with total funding of some 123,000. Eight publishers had, in fact, been chosen to put
forward four applications on behalf of writers.

This particular scheme has been running for more than ten years. A review was initiated in early 2012 on the number and
type of books funded under the scheme during the period. A conference on publishing in Irish was held later that year. In early
2013, it was reported that a possible new commissions scheme might be introduced after deliberations by CLG and An Foras.
Publishing for youth

Books in Irish for both children and young people are being published by several houses in significant quantities and are of a
high standard, linguistically and artistically, particularly those for young children. Many are original, some are in translation
from other languages, others are re-tellings of Irish myth and saga. They cover a range of subjects and genres; reading for
pleasure, entertainment and information as well as helping children and young people to understand the world they live in and
to come to terms with their reactions to events, even when those events are not always pleasant.
The Oireachtas literary competitions and awards are an additional impetus to writing for youth. Competitions funded
are: light fiction (4,000 and 1,000); fiction for 10-11-year-olds (2,500 and 750); fiction for 13-15-year-olds (2,500 and
750); new authors (2,000 and 750): total awards 14,250. The Book of the Year Awards run in conjuction with Oireachtas
na Gaeilge includes Gradam Rics Carl for the Book of the Year for Young People.
Scrobh Leabhar (Write a Book) is an initiative seeks to encourage primary school children to write their own book. It is
funded under Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge (Foras na Gaeilge). Thousands of school children have taken part since it began in 20062007, over 9,000 in 2010. Participants receive a certificate at public events (and prizes for the winners).
Cl Beo (Live Print), a project organised by Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge in collaboration with the Second level Support
Service for Irish of the Department and directed at Transition Year students, offered opportunities to develop both creative
writing skills and technological expertise in presenting them. In-service for teachers was provided for both initiatives.
The aim in supporting such competitions is to encourage reading, writing and standards in Irish.
Authors of books in Irish have been short listed many times for the annual Bisto Awards (since 1990) organised by
Childrens Books Ireland and have succeeded in different categories on several occasion.
Childrens literature, including in Irish, has a significant place in publishing in Ireland. The group, Childrens Books
Ireland, has organised an annual Festival all over the country for over twenty years, involving libraries and bookshops and
local communities. The art of story telling is central to the events. The first annual conference on Litrocht Ghaeilge na ng
(Childrens Literature in Irish) was convened in April 2011; the second in March 2012. In May 2010, the first Laureate na
ng was appointed (until 2012). The position was supported by the Arts Council, the (then) Minister for Children, Childrens
Books Ireland, Poetry Ireland, Irish Times and Easons bookshops.
LITERARY TRANSLATION IL/IRELAND LITERATURE EXCHANGE
(IDIRMHALARTN LITROCHT IREANN)
The mission of this agency, established in 1994 and funded by An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council), is the international
promotion of Irish literature, in Irish and in English, mainly through supporting translation by external publishers of Irish
works into other languages (except English). At the end of 2010, the 1,500th such translation was published. By 2012, over
1,500 works had been translated into fifty different languages of the world, some from Irish.
The agencys website is in bilingual format and books and authors in Irish will be given a platform at its promotional
events. At its public exhibition and series of talks by authors at the Dublin Central Library in late 2010, one of the three talks
was from an Irish language author and publisher (mainly of books for children).
Translation from English

Separate from the work of IL, the general issue of translation from English to Irish once more became a matter of debate
in the period under review. The received wisdom has been that if a publication is already available in English, there is little
practical reason to read it in Irish, whether it be a literary or an education text. Added to this is the more ideological position
that translating from the prevailing majority language into the minority language is adding to the already more powerful
position of the latter. On the other hand, there may exist a desire, a curiosity even, to see how popular works in the majority
language translate, in every sense, to the minority language, particularly if they are being made available in other languages
also. Conversely, translation of literary texts from Irish into English may also carry ideological undertones. However, official
funding is not available from Foras na Gaeilge. Poetry may appear in bilingual format but dual text prose works are lacking.
Whatever the viewpoints, some Irish language publishers found the policy of Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge under the aegis of
Foras na Gaeilge more rigid on this point than the previous Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge then under the aegis of the Department,
when individual exceptions might be made, particularly in the case of Irish language or bilingual authors.
Largescale publishing houses, of course, may be able to absorb more easily in their majority successes any potential losses
of translation for a minority market.
During 2011, the Pulitzer Prize winning book, Angelas Ashes by Frank McCourt (set in Limerick City) was translated into
Irish as was The Hobbit (JRR Tolkein) and before that Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer) and Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
(JK Rowling). In Irish these were Luaithreach Angela, An Hobad, Harry Potter agus an rchloch. For translations such as these
which sell well, it is argued that sales may be based on the marketing and subsequent consumer awareness already conducted
for the English language versions.
The well-known work, Cr na Cille, by the famous Irish language writer, Mirtn Cadhain, is to appear in 2014 in two
English language versions: one which remains close to the original and another in looser form. Both will be published by Cl
Iar-Chonnachta (CIC). The original Irish version is already available in electronic format as an e-book.
Another quite different ventures also attempted to entice new readers with easy or popular reading matter in Irish. In
2007, a commercial publisher and COGG, the Council for Irish-medium Education, collaborated in the translation to Irish of
eight commissioned novellas by popular high sales Irish writers in English.
OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR PUBLISHING IN IRISH
On grounds of literary merit and not necessarily language, An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council) subvents writers in Irish and
initiatives to encourage reading and writing in Irish. Similarly, An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta is Gaeltachta (COGG),
the Council for Irish medium education, collaborated in subventing educational materials through Irish. Some examples of
the latter include:
- Junior Scrabble in Irish (with Glr na nGael);
- translations of books for children on themes linked to the primary school curriculum (with the publisher Futa
Fata): Pist na Cruinne (Children of the World); Leabhar Mr na hEalane (on the arts and artists);
- Ficheall (Chess), which went into a second printing (with the author and Womens Candidate Master);
- (with Fios Feasa, producer of some of the first CDs and CD-ROMs in Irish), Amhrn is Fiche don Nollaig (21
songs for Christmas).
All these proved very popular.
SCHOOL OF CELTIC STUDIES AND AN GM
Both of these long-established publishers continue in their quite different traditions: one academic; the other in the dictionary
project of Foras na Gaeilge, resources for schools and in the provision of general reading material, particularly for children, some
in translation from foreign languages. An Gm has eleven staff, editorial (9); administrative (2); technical (1). The dictionary
project has its own staff. For 2011-2012, An Gm offers 12 pages of published materials: some 30 books, jigsaws, posters,
primary school resources, post-primary textbooks, terminology on CD. The reading materials are ranged by age group: young
children; 6-9 years; 8+ years; teenagers. The primary school resources include the reading scheme for Irish, Siden S (in
collaboration with the Department of Education). The books on nature topics are also very attractive.
As both Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge (since 2008; formerly Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge) and An Gm are both funded by Foras na
Gaeilge, publications of An Gm may not be presented for Leabhar na Bliana (Book of the Year) awards subvented by Clr na
Leabhar Gaeilge.
Among the projects of the School of Celtic Studies is Irish Script on Screen (ISOS). Launched in 1999 as a collaborative
venture, it is now (since 2004) operated solely by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, School of Celtic Studies. It provides
digital images of Irish manuscripts on a dedicated site. Another ongoing project is providing 3D images on line of all surviving
400 examples of Ogham writing on stones, whether in the National Museum or still outdoors, in an effort at preservation.
LITERARY AND MEDIA PRIZES/AWARDS
The literary competitions of Oireachtas na Gaeilge are funded by various groups, among them Foras na Gaeilge, through Clr
na Leabhar Gaeilge, which also funds the annual award for Leabhar na Bliana (Book of the Year). For 2011, Coiste Chlr na
Leabhar Gaeilge recommended 24,000 for the Oireachtas literary competitons and 26,000 for Leabhar na Bliana with a
further 10,000 to a company towards publicising the Book of the Year. The latter includes awards in two categories, adults
(Gradam U Shillabhin) and youth (Gradam Rics Carl). Overall 60,000 was recommended from applications for 84,750.
Among the annual Oireachtas competitions funded are: light fiction (4,000 and 1,000); fiction for 10-11-year-olds
(2,500 and 750); fiction for 13-15-year-olds (2,500 and 750); new authors (2,000 and 750): total awards 14,250.
Two other competitions may also be funded: a book review competition organised by Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne
(Heritage Association) and research book of the year competitions by ACIS (American Conference for Irish Studies, founded
in 1960 as the American Committee for Irish Studies).
The aim in supporting such competitions mainly is to encourage reading, writing and standards in Irish.
MARKETING
Targeted marketing and distribution have generally been regarded as the prime weaknesses of Irish language publishing activity.
Advertising and publicity of various kinds form a large part of marketing. Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge, the committee set up by
Foras na Gaeilge to accept applications and make recommendations under the agencys publishing scheme, also deals with
applications on what may be described as marketing activities in addition to those outlined immediately above. As also
indicated, publishers may receive a certain proportion of their grant towards such activities. The catalogues of the various
publishers are extremely attractive, particularly those for children.
For 2011, the committee also made recommendations under the heading Foilsi ireann (Publishing Ireland). Foilsi
ireann is the successor to CL (1970), the umbrella group for Irish publishers North and South, who account for some 20%
of book sales in Ireland. The organisation functions as a supportive network which offers integrated services to its members,
including attendance at international book fairs. Irish language publishers form just under 10% of its current membership which
also includes the Irish Manuscripts Commission and the School of Celtic Studies of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
With this funding, Foilsi ireann organises the marketing project Leabhar Power, which is runall year long but particularly
around Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Week), in order to encourage reading in Irish and to promote Irish language books among
the general public.Leabhar Power is supported by An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council) as well as by IS, the distribution
agency of An Foras. A book fair and other marketing initiatives of Publishing Ireland also received some funding. Overall,
80,000 was recommended in 2011.
Two literary festivals also receive some supportive funding: The Dublin Book Festival and Imram.
The online book club, www.clubleabhar.com, organised by Gaelchultr is also subvented by Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge and
by the Arts Council; reading and discussing Irish books online draw in readers at home and abroad. In 2010 this initiative
received the European Seal for Language 2010, an EU award for innovative methods in improving the learning and teaching
of languages.
Other initiatives include the bilingual newsletter, An Litheoir (The Reader), and encouragement of the production of
attractive catalogues and flyers from publishers together with regular book launches.
Exhibitions take place but usually at Irish language events. The umbrella organisation in Northern Ireland, POBAL, has
in recent years organised a touring exhibition of news publishing in Irish over the last 200 years; it is entitled Sil Charad
(Friendly Eye or eye of a friend).
An aspect of marketing considered quite neglected is that of genuine critique and interviews with writers in all media.
This has improved somewhat recently (2011-2012) in the Irish language media. The journal, Irish Pages (Dill ireann), also
includes literary works in Irish and issues an occasional Eagrn Gaeilge (Irish Issue). www.dil.ie is a new website (early 2012),
currently a blog, based on voluntary articles on all aspects of the arts through Irish; critiques are welcomed.
Another more contentious aspect has also been reported; the unevenness of quality in Irish books published and the
necessity, perhaps, to refuse some proposals. This, however, is not possible in the current arrangements for grant-aid towards
publication as decisions are made on yearly plans submitted in advance from publishers although grants are paid only on
publication and submission of the publications.
Sales and income

The scheme of commissions was popular insofar as it is not possible to make a viable living as a fulltime writer in Irish. Authors
in the Irish language are also eligible for bursaries from the Arts Council and for the Councils travel and training awards. The
Arts Council explains that its criterion is not language but literary merit. All involved in publishing in Irish agree that the
real problem lies with distribution, sale and, to some extent, with reading of books in Irish. The book sales monitor, Nielsen
BookScan, finds difficulty tracking sales for books in Irish as they tend to be sold at book launches or in small independent
outlets, newsagents or gift/tourist shops. Sales are higher to customers abroad, academic and other, than to the relatively small
domestic reading public. Direct sales by IS or online through dedicated sites are more indicative of actual sales. The site
www.litriocht.com reports sales of up to 15,000 books per annum; from July 2009 to July 2010, the site sold 13,615 books.
In the previous five years, books worth over 600,000 had been sold on line. The following reference to income from IS is
found in the September 2011 submission of the D/AHG to the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure requested by the (new)
Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (15% cuts requested):
The allocation for Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge in 2011 was 1.35m, a reduction of 10% on its 2010 budget. Foras na
Gaeilge received income of 1.3m in 2010 from the distribution and sale of books under Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge; an
argument for retention of funding, even if reduced.
In 2009, IS reported income of 2.2 million from book sales. For publishers selling through IS, the percentage of sale price
required for the service is as high as with any of the commercial outlets.
Some individual titles may sell well, particularly childrens books and light fiction. Some have been translated to other
languages, particularly childrens books.

The joint marketing initiative LeabharPower (Foilsi ireann, Irish Publishing) also targets bookshops and libraries with
activities to encourage reading in Irish.
MEDIA COMMENT
In June 2010, the then Minister for the Gaeltacht called on some of the English language media to recognise the national
importance of the language to the vast majority of Irish people. In his view:
our national discourse would be better served if this question was afforded the same level of seriousness and
objectivity as other important issues.
On the other hand, some listeners and viewers of Irish language media continue to have difficulty with what is perceived
as speed of delivery and use of different dialects. This is, of course, a common problem with those whose language skills
are developing. Some rugby watchers had letters in the English language media when TG4 acquired exclusive rights to an
important Leinster-Munster game where the commentary and analysis were solely in Irish. Nevertheless, that TG4 attracts a
wider and more varied audience is to be welcomed.
SUMMARY ON PUBLISHING
There can be no doubt about the volume, range and, in general, attractiveness of publishing in Irish, especially for children.
However the problems of extending the number of readers remains. Related to this are the problems reported with the
distribution agency, IS, and the lack of sustained marketing. Perhaps IS should in future become a joint central distribution
and marketing agency for publishing in Irish, with the additional required staff.
Regular reviewing is still absent but occasional reviewing has increased slightly in print, although television and radio
reviews are scant and decreasing. Nevertheless, new writers continue to emerge, the range of novels for adult readers has
increased, and innovative methods have been found of encouraging writing as a door to reading among the young.
Material in newspapers has become more varied if still over-reliant on the education market. In the English press, Irish
continues to have a place, The Irish Times demonstrating its commitment through a weekly page in Irish. Magazines too are,
in general, stimulating and attractive most of the time.
There has been no lack of research and soul-searching seminars. If the way forward is to be technology-based, it will
probably have to go hand in hand with the traditional, if more expensive, methods to ensure the existing volume of older
readers is maintained.
Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge, now Clr na Gaeilge in its transition from Department to Foras na Gaeilge, appears to have
changing times ahead of it. Publishing in Irish, whether through new or old methods, will continue to require public subvention.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: THEATRE

CONTEXT
Discussion on theatre in general and theatre in Irish was not uncommon in very recent years, particularly during 2011. One
of the themes dealt with the apparent lack of political and social engagement in new plays. The counter-theme pointed to the
innovation and multi-media character of much new writing and staging, itself typical of a changing Ireland, together with the
proliferation of small companies trying new approaches in small venues. It could be said that theatre in Irish fell to some extent
into this latter category.
THE NATIONAL THEATRE
Even in 1944, discussion of the appropriate rle of the State-funded National Theatre, Amharclann na Mainistreach (Abbey
Theatre), then in some decline, included the role of the Irish language. To some extent, it still does.
Perusal of the invaluable database Playography na Gaeilge gives an interesting perspective on Irish language drama at the
National Theatre as shown below.
The Abbey Theatre and Plays in Irish

Period
Number of Plays in Irish staged
1912-1915
1916-1922
1923-1930
66
1990-2010
*5
*Actually 6, as Chun na Farraige Sos, translation of Synges Riders to the Sea, shared a double bill with an English play, Dandy
Dolls, for the 2004 Dublin Theatre Festival. The group, An Comhar Drmaochta, established in 1923, provided the impetus
for the increase in plays in Irish being staged. From 1930, the smaller theatre, An Phacg (Peacock) was increasingly but not
exclusively in use for Irish language productions at the Abbey.
Apart from any policy of commissioning work in either language, the Abbey receives many unsolicited scripts; for some
years those in Irish were not considered of appropriate standard. However, from 2009 the Abbey demonstrated a more proactive approach. In early 2009, three writers were commissioned to write three short plays, one in each of the three main
dialects. After internal development work, these were presented as public readings under the title, Gach it Eile (Every Other
Place), in Dublin (Peacock) and in Belfast (Cultrlann) in October 2009. This venture was encouragingly described in the
Abbey newsletter as follows:
This is the first step in a process of engagement with Irish language audiences which we will continue to work at in
the future.
The process continued through a workshop, B ag Scrobh, with writers in Irish, even if not necessarily dramatists. The intention
was to have nurtured a tradition of at least one play in Irish every two years. Idir an D Shil (Between Both Eyes) was
staged at the Peacock in December 2010. There followed a collaboration between the company Fbn and the Abbey. Fbn
commissioned what became an extremely topical interpretation of the universal truths in one of the better known ancient tales
based on Stanta (C Chulainn, Hound of Culann). The result was a multi-media physically demanding exposition which
proved very popular with its audience, particularly since its style appeared to attract even low ability speakers. It was a totally
new departure for adult Irish theatre using techniques honed with the young in an attempt to surmount any language barriers.
In an interesting turn of events, the international star Michael Fassbender, originally from Kerry, is planning a film on the
saga of The Tin, in which the hero C Chulainn defends Ulster. Fassbender will play the central role himself.
The Axis Theatre in Ballymun, Dublin, continues to include plays in Irish in its repertoire, often hosting touring companies.
AMHARCLANN NISINTA NA GAEILGE AN TAIBHDHEARC

The building housing the historic Taibhdhearc (1928) in the city of Galway was partially destroyed by fire on Halloween
night 2007 leading to temporary closure and the search for funding of close on 1 million (900,000) at that time towards
refurbishment and some necessary improvements. Four years later, costs were at 300,000. The Department and Galway
City Council contributed 100,000 each; the remainder was to be raised by public support. In the intervening years, various
plans and conditions of funding had been proposed by the authorities, one being that the theatre should move to a proposed
new cultural centre which was also intended to house other Irish language groups in the city. This was initially refused by the
board of the theatre. One possible funding proposal would have divided the 900,000 three ways to include public donations:
members of Galway City Council were discussing the possibility of 50,000 over six years to match a possible 300,000 from
the Exchequer. Eventually, a change of Government occurred and all these proposals were shelved. During the closure, the
theatre had used other venues for its productions. It was hoped that the theatre would be operating from its refurbished old
home by mid 2012. The post of Artistic Director was filled in late Spring 2012; fundraising by June 2012 was at the stage
where it was anticipated that the 150-seat theatre would soon be in operation in its refurbished home. In the event, the official
opening by the President took place on 28 September 2012.

The new Artistic Director plans collaboration between An Taibhdhearc and other groups, both theatre and arts groups, operating
through Irish. A full programme is anticipated up to the Christmas 2012 pantomime, including Saturday shows for families.
OTHER COMPANIES
Foras na Gaeilge funding for 2011

The funding list below, approved by the board of Foras na Gaeilge at its meeting of April 2011, for that year, gives a good
indication of theatre activity among independent companies. Date of establishment is given in brackets. Some work only
through Irish, others may host occasional shows through Irish. Many are for children and youth. Two are Northern Ireland
based. If funding is available, touring may take place or, in the case of childrens theatre, visits. The emphasis on young
audiences led to the establishment of the organisation TYA - Ireland, (Theatre for Young Audiences, the Irish national centre
of the international organisation www.assitej-international.org), and later of the umbrella body and discussion forum, Meitheal
na mBeag (Co-operative of the Small) for companies working through Irish in 2009. This body held its first conference in 2010
appropriately entitled Ag Tgil an T (Building the House).
Three annual week long childrens festivals are named through Irish: Babar (repetitive sounds from childrens song), the
international arts festival for children (Galway); Spracha (sparks or sparkling), organised by the Draocht (magic) Centre in
collaboration with Fingal County Council, Dublin; RoolaBoola (from the Irish ruaille buaille, commotion), childrens arts
festival (Castlebar, County Mayo).
Foras na Gaeilge: Theatre Company Funding 2011

Company
Location
Funding
Branar (2001)
Galway Gaeltacht
28,000
Fibn (2003)
Galway Gaeltacht
28,000
Dublin
4,000
Manorhamilton, County Leitrim
23,000
Belfast
14,634
Children & Youth
Pca Puppets (1997)

Spldar (1995; name in Irish 1997; bilingual)
Abab (2001)
Other

Compntas Moonfish (2006; bilingual)
Galway Gaeltacht
4,000
Cork
24,000
Belfast
58,000
Axis
Dublin
18,000
Project Arts Centre
Dublin
14,000
Graffiti (1994; work in Irish from 1999)

Aisling Ghar (1997)
Theatres
Two of these companies have collaborated in mounting shows with well-known theatres: Moonfish in a translation to Irish
of Ibsens An Enemy of the People, using surtitles, with An Taibhdhearc, the national Irish language theatre (1928); Fbn with
the the Abbey National Theatre (1904) for a modernised performance of Stanta (or C Chulainn, Hound of Culann) in the
Peacock Theatre. Branar collaborated with Draocht Arts Centre in Dublin (Fingal County Council), to mark ten years of the
company in 2011 in a new touring show for children. Both Moonfish and Na Fbn presented shows in Irish during the Absolut
Fringe Festival 2012.
Fbn use life-sized puppets and masks in their Irish language creations for children and youth and have toured Britain,
Europe and Africa, the latter with support from Culture Ireland; they have entertained children from the Scottish Hebrides
to Malawi. They cover all 32 counties of Ireland every year touring with their shows; meeting over 100,000 young people
including those with special needs. They have received several awards.
A new company, Mouth on Fire (2010), broke new ground for itself in April 2012 with the world premiere of the Beckett
short play, Come and Go, for which it obtained the translation rights as Teacht is Imeacht. The play was performed in both
languages. Becketts well known play, Waiting for Godot, had been staged by the Taibhdhearc in 1971 and 1972, in Galway and
in the Peacock at the Abbey. It was translated into Irish from the original French, Ag Fanacht le Godot.
Funding for mounting shows is a perennial problem. The company, Fbn, made use of an interesting new initiative, www.
fundit.ie/project, which is described as:
an Ireland-wide initiative that provides a platform for people with great ideas to attract funding from friends, fans and
followers across the world.
Playography na Gaeilge, the venture launched by the Irish Theatre Institute (1994) and Foras na Gaeilge in 2007, as part
of PlayographyIreland, reached completion in 2010 on line and in analyses in print, (Findings Report, Irish and English
language versions, Playography na Gaeilge 1975-2009) and in 2011 (Findings Report, Playography na Gaeilge, bilingual version,
1901-2010). The database contains all new plays written and produced in Irish between 1901 and 2010, including details
of the production. Translations and adaptations are included. Pantomime (1940) is also included as of importance to the
development of theatre in Irish. The database on line is live, accepting material for inclusion as appropriate. It is an invaluable
resource and received high praise in reviews.
A bilingual work, Broken Cro/Heart Briste, won the Stewart Parker Irish Language Award 2009 for its author.
One practitioner has recently written, in Comhar, Samhain (November) 2012, of the problems he perceives in drama in
Irish, Summary below. He provides, inter alia, a rsum of the companies mounting productions through Irish:
Theatre for adults included (8)
An Taibhdhearc, Aisling Ghar, Fbn, Moonfish, Salamandar, Mouth on Fore, Ciotg, Spleodar;
Theatre for youth only (4)
Branar, Pca Puppets, An, Graffiti.
He makes the telling point that, of these, only two are full-time professional companies in the sense that they pay staff.
Siamsa Tre National Folk Theatre of Ireland

Siamsa Tre continues its popular multi-faceted presentations of traditional material.
AMATEUR DRAMA IN IRISH

The two organisations catering for drama: in schools, An Cumann Scoildrmaochta (1934), and in general, An Comhlachas
Nisinta Drmaochta (1976), continue their good work nationally. However, with regard to funding, the former was
transferred to the Department with responsibility for the Language from the Department of Education; since it was partfunded through the National Lottery, the proposed sale of the lottery contract may have effects. The latter is one of the 19
organisations core-funded by Foras na Gaeilge and is also in the schedule of organisations in the 1999 Act establishing An Foras.
It is then affected by the proposals of the New Funding Model of An Foras; it is a member of An Fram which represents the
views of all 19 organisations.
A local Irish language theatre group which was revived in 2011 is Aisteoir an Lchrainn (Actors of the Lantern) in Carlow.
This amateur group had functioned previously between 1993 and 2003. Other amateur Irish language groups also function,
some in Gaeltacht areas and Aisteoir Bulfin in Dublin who staged a type of topical pantomime for adults in December 2011.
The annual drama festivals for drama in Irish are very popular including that for third- level companies.
SUMMARY ON THE THEATRE

In retrospect, provision for drama in Irish could be said to have improved during the period 2007 onward. Several companies
between the Connemara Gaeltacht and Belfast are involved in a vibrant theatre for children based largely on physicality and
little text to ensure understanding across a range of language competencies. There are certainly more theatre groups functioning
through Irish and others open to operating through Irish at least occasionally. More practitioners are interested in working in
a more bilingual space and some are competent to do so. New ways of presenting theatre and language have arisen from the
challenges of working with youth. A whole new creative scene is now current particularly for younger audiences. But much
drama in Irish will still be of uneven standard and be confined to the smaller theatre spaces available.
Television series in Irish, North and South, access to funding through the BAI and NI Screen has helped to professionalise
that particular aspect of drama as did the scheme of production development officers which was funded by TG4 and dars
na Gaeltachta.
The number of professional companies is quite small. Belfast has a dedicated theatre and the structure of a company that
operates on a fairly permanent basis, something lacking in Dublin. Even the national Irish theatre, An Taidbhdhearc, frequently
works through other companies. The Abbey Theatre rarely mounts plays in Irish as the material is not available, in its view.
While funding is always an issue for the Arts, it is doubly so in the case of Irish since audiences will be smaller and budgets for
publicising events fairly minimal. One practitioner has recently written, in Comhar, Samhain (November) 2012, of what he
perceives as the crisis, or Catch 22 situation, in drama in Irish:
- only good scripts with time and freedom to develop them will provide good theatre of a kind which will
encourage increased audiences;
- to this end he proposes co-operation and a co-ordinated commissioning programme on an all-island basis
between the three funded companies: An Taibhdhearc, The Abbey and Aisling Ghar, the resulting productions
to be toured nationally;
- such a project might enable talent and encourage paid employment for practitioners.
Given the level of current activity in drama at the height of national austerity and crises, it is hardly a cause for wonder that
Notre Dame University (Institiid Mhic Eochaidh-U Neachtain um An Lann ireannach) organised a bilingual conference for
end September 2012 on the theme of Aspects of Drama in Ireland. In fact, an academic at Notre Dame recently discovered, in
another American university, the manuscript of a play in Irish written by the bilingual writer, Liam Flaithearta. It is now in
print, Dorchadas (Darkness).
An tOireachtas, the annual festival of traditional arts, was awarded the international award La Traglia in 2011 for its role
in sustaining traditional arts, particularly story telling.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: MUSIC AND DANCE
PRODUCTION: TRADITIONAL MUSIC

In April 2010, Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann launched its digital traditional music archive with up to 15,000 audio items and
4,000 photographs. It links the archive at Headquarters in Dublin and the regional resources centres of the organisation. It is
a live archive under continuous development and material from private collectors is welcomed. The Archive Project formed
part of the State-funded Development Programme of Comhaltas through which 16 centres were established across the island of
Ireland. Through its 400 branches in 15 countries across 4 continents, the organisations services reach over 3 million people
annually. The new website, www.comhaltas.ie, is in bilingual format.
Both the Arts Councils, North and South (since 1987), contributed to the establishment and maintenance of another valuable
resource, Taisce Cheol Dchais ireann (Irish Traditional Music Archive/Collection) now permanently housed at 73 Merrion Square,
Dublin since 2006. It is now a multi-media archive maintained by a staff, all of whom are traditional musicians themselves.

On the traditional music scene, there are several acknowledgements of talent, the annual Fleadh Cheoil being one. The TG4
Gradam Ceoil is an annual awards ceremony and concert, given to both performers and people who have made a contribution
to the field. In 2010, Gradam na gCeoltir (Musicians Award) was given to the late Muiris Rchin, co-founder of the
internationally well-known Willie Clancy Summer School in Clare.
Tunepal is capable of not only identifying any one of 13,000 traditional tunes, whether played or sung, individually or by a
group. It will give not only the title, or titles, but an archive of background information which is helpful for musicians at live
sessions or when preparing sleeves for discs. Although traditional musicians all have a personal approach to their playing, this
does not confuse the app.
While the domestic Feis Ceoil competitions focus generally on classical music, many of the young competitors are also
proficient in Irish traditional music. Corks international Choral Festival (1956) will have some songs in Irish from home choirs
while the festival performances will have many facets including groups with a traditional base, e.g. Anna.
Traditional singing, sean-ns, is always the most popular competition at the Oireachtas annual festival, drawing huge
crowds. Traditional individual dance is fast catching up with regard to audience size. The traditional arts are also celebrated in
local festivals around the country. The annual Comhaltas festival, Fleadh Cheoil na hireann, was held in Cavan (in a border
county) in 2012 with cross-border participation from different traditions. Abroad, Portland, Oregon, US is but one example
where traditional music is part of a local celebration. Another is the relatively new (2011) Oireachtas na Gaeilge being held
annually in Canada.
Comhaltas organises some courses through Irish for young traditional musicians.
A campaign was launched in November 2012 to increase to 15% by 2015 the proportion of Irish language songs on the
main radio stations. The campaign is supported by some major figures in the political, sporting and music fields. Interestingly,
the originator is Tura Arutura from Zimbabwe, a learner of Irish and a musician.
Gael Linn has been active in this area since 1953.
OPERA
A piece in The Irish Times of 28 May 2012 reminded readers of the first and, to date, only opera in Irish. Entitled (in
contemporary orthography) Eithne (girls name) or an an Cheoil Bhinn (Bird of Sweet Music), it was performed in 1909 at
the Oireachtas festival in Dublin and later in 2010 at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. It was well received but never revived.
POPULAR MUSIC
Irish may be used in different ways on the popular music scene. Top 40 Oifigiil na hireann, which is continually updated, is
a programme presented in Irish on the top popular music choices. It is broadcast on over ten popular music radio stations. The
programme is produced by the company Digital Audio Productions and received an industry award. In March 2012, Raidi
R-R (above) launched a new CD of contemporary music which was distributed free with the newspaper insert Foinse in the
Irish Independent. No small number of artists have added songs in Irish, or in translation to Irish, to their albums and concerts.
The annual September Electric Picnic Festival at Stradbally (County Laois) has included An Puball Gaeilge (The Irish Tent)
since 2008. The Picnic itself is an eclectic mix of events and attracts families as well as youth. An Puball may offer a selection
as Gaeilge (in Irish): bands; An Cabaret Craiceilte broadcast live on Raidi na Gaeltachta; a bilingual short play; an exhibition
of sean-ns dancing; agallamh beirte (short traditional two-hander funny to farcical conversation); a show from Fbn (above);
a few visiting stars; and, of course, fun. Rapping in Irish has figured one year.
In 2011, at the ceremony in the Netherlands, the Electric Picnic won the European Festival Award for best medium-sized festival.
Another Irish festival, Oxegen, was voted best European festival line-up (of music events) while Temple House Festival (County Sligo)
was Best New European Festival. Voting was international by 350,000 fans. Other winners were Poland and Germany.
TRADITIONAL DANCE
Traditional dance has not lost any of its popularity worldwide as the international World Championships testify. Over
4,500 dancers, from 10-year-olds upwards, participated in the events at Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (World Irish Dancing
Championships) held in Dublin in 2011 for the first time in more than a decade. BBC Scotland made a documentary
of events, appropriately entitled Jig. The long established Coimisin na Rinc Gaelacha (Commission for Irish Dance) has
registered members in over 30 countries. The 2012 competitions were held in Belfast.
The sean-ns dance competitions at Oireachtas na Gaeilge now require a large venue to accommodate the interested audiences.
The Donlon Dance Company in Saarbrucken, Germany, was established by a champion Irish dancer who became a
ballerina. The style incorporates both traditions. Donlon is herself a graduate of the unusual Shawbrook School of Dance in
Longford which draws many international practitioners.
CULTURAL CENTRES AND EVENTS

EXHIBITIONS/MUSEUMS/HERITAGE CENTRES
The established centre, An Bal Binn in Bray, County Dublin, offers traditional arts and drama to the public. In 2011, the
centre received a grant of 51,153 from Foras na Gaeilge towards operating costs.
The Gyreum Ecolodge in County Sligo offers opportunities to artists operating through Irish to spend some time in the
centre working on their particular projects. This is a new venture.
Most State bodies will have tours, talks or visits through Irish occasionally or on demand. Signage or recordings in place
of tour guides will generally be bilingual.
SUMMER SCHOOLS AND OTHER CULTURAL EVENTS
An addition to existing Summer schools is Imbolc, held in May (more or less the Spring of the year) as the ancient name
signifies, in Ionad Cultrtha Bhaile Bhuirne (Ballyvourney Cultural Centre), in the County Cork Gaeltacht area. This event
dealt with an eclectic range of issues in 2012, from the economy to mountain climbing to Africa to pulsars (all in Irish) and
included a very popular concert.
The annual Winter Oireachtas na Gaeilge festival continues its success story in the traditional art forms, drawing ever
larger and younger crowds, in addition to being a major contributor to the local economy in whichever venue is chosen
annually. The innovation of also mounting a more lecture-oriented May event (Oireachtas na Bealtaine) of recent years
was discontinued in 2008. The first Oireachtas was held on 17 May 1897. Since 2008 TG4 broadcasts some events live
while Raidi na Gaeltachta continues its long involvement also. Almost 400,000 viewers tuned in to the popular events of
traditional music and dance.
THE ARTS
PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030 : THE ARTS
Rsum: Integrated Arts Strategy

The Strategy is committed to integration of all arts initiatives in Irish through a strategy to be planned and developed between
three partners - the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism and
the Arts Council. The new entity, dars na Gaeilge, is not mentioned although dars na Gaeltachta and the Arts Council did
have a Gaeltacht strategy. Neither is Foras na Gaeilge. Delegation of functions from the D/CRGA may, of course, be possible.
Drama and the traditional arts were to form part of the integrated arts strategy proposed.
The annual Irish language festival, Oireachtas na Gaeilge, receives specific mention in the Strategy as a festival whose
growth will be supported, although with the caveat that it remains fully Irish-medium.
CONTEXT

Funding for An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council) and for the arts, including Irish language arts and practitioners, did not
escape the economic crisis. The year 2009 in particular, proved a watershed. The McCarthy report in July 2009 had proposed
not only the possibility of ending the (then) Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism under whose remit the arts came but
also of abolishing both Culture Ireland and the Film Board. During 2009, in the face of proposed severe cutbacks, both the
Arts Council and the National Campaign for the Arts made a strong case for the arts as not only reputation builder for a
battered State but as a source of constancy for the nation in embattled times. In addition, the economic benefits of the arts
were quantified in reports.
A perhaps unusual aspect of the first Global Irish Economic Forum or Think Tank, convened by the Government in
Farmleigh (pronounced Farmlee echoing the original Irish, non-anglicised name, Fearann Liath, literally grey/green land or
townland), Dublin, in September 2009, was the passionate case made for the arts. The two main outcomes of this Forum did
in fact centre on culture and on the Diaspora.
As a result of all these events, one of the more positive outcomes of the recession was then the renewed interest in
culture and matters cultural as national assets. This interest had two pragmatic sources also: the association of creativity and
imagination with the desired smart economy at home; the maintenance abroad of brand Ireland, now through the more
enduring lens of Irelands constant creativity and reputation in the arts sphere. Cultural diplomacy became the way to restore
international standing. The year 2010 saw that belief put into action. In January 2010, a new type of trade mission began with
the aid of Culture Ireland. Four showcases of Irish talent (contemporary music and dance; theatre; traditional music, including
singing in Irish) were presented across New York simultaneously with the annual conference of the Association of Performing
Arts Presenters. In March 2010, the actor Gabriel Byrne was appointed cultural ambassador for Ireland and an ambitious
programme of arts events announced for the US during 2011 under the aegis of Culture Ireland. At home, the recession led to
an increase in visitors to most museums, galleries, libraries, archives and concerts during 2009 and into 2010. Issues of identity
began to be explored at public conferences and seminars, both through Irish and through English.
The Autumn 2010 Farmleigh gathering later highlighted the arts in recovery policies from the recession, although in
phraseology foreign to many practitioners, monetising the arts. However, the (then) newly appointed Minister of the newly
named Department of Tourism, Culture, Sport, speaking at an event after her appointment (March 2010) had emphasised
valuing the arts for their own sake and considering any tourism and economic spin-off as an added bonus. This view was
also put forward during an academic conference, Arts and Culture the Future for Ireland?, held in Trinity College Dublin on
15 April 2010 on the contribution made by the arts and cultural spheres to economic and social health and in an editorial
in the Irish Times (19 April, 2010), Valuing our heritage, commenting on the list of sites submitted by the Minister for the
Environment to UNESCO for possible recognition on that bodys World Heritage List. It was further echoed in June 2010
in the reply of the new Ireland Professor of Poetry, Harry Clifton, to the assertion of the Taoiseach that the arts could give
brand Ireland a competitive edge in a globalised world. The Professor decried the notion of the arts or the human mind as
mere market commodities. Another commentator considered cultural vigour and the arts as part of the cultural intelligence
of a people. In general, it would appear that the juxtaposition of culture and creativity with industry is unsettling for some
although others call for artists to openly play their part in the life of the nation.
On the other hand nevertheless, a coalition of groups representing Irelands creative and cultural industries made a joint
submission in August 2010 to the European Commissions green paper on Unlocking the Potential of the Cultural and Creative
Industries. The possible uses of the outcomes of the creative process in keeping Ireland in the global consciousness, with possible
market fallouts for all sectors of society and the economy, is not a process which is anathema to all. Arguments are also made on
the role of the arts in what is described as the creative economy and how the arts are missing from the innovation fund and the
impact of the digital agenda and encouragement of the smart economy. Reports have been produced to show the economic
return from investment in the various art forms. A report for Business to Arts published in June 2010 on bank sponsorship for
two festivals in Dublin and Belfast revealed the spin-off: without sponsorship the festivals could not function at the same level;
with the sponsorship almost 70 jobs (or equivalents) were supported and 8.4 million added to economy activity north and
south. In July 2010, the Minister for Tourism launched a new grant scheme in the area of cultural technology. It is intended
to further the departments aim of recognising the social and economic role of the arts, culture and film sectors. The scheme
consists of aid towards any form of communications technology which promotes Irish arts and culture with a tourism angle.
Comments on Irish participation at the three Edinburgh festivals (Fringe, International, and International Book Fair) in
August 2010 reveal some of the tensions in the thinking and in the use of market terminology in discussion of the arts and the
economy. The State body, Culture Ireland, has at the core of its mission the task of growing the reputation and market-share
for Irish artists. The Irish Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport considered the Edinburgh Festivals significant platforms
where Irish artists can showcase their creative work to a massive audience and make important economic connections to
develop valuable new touring opportunities.
An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council) values the cultural tourism industry at 2.4 billion directly a year and their annual
funding for 2010 (down to 69.15m) at less than 1 a week for every household. Funding between 2008 and 2011 (65m)
has decreased by almost a third. The Council argues that the arts are the most productive and innovative sector of the domestic
economy, providing 30,000 jobs and giving back 350m per annum to the exchequer in taxes. The Council also emphasises
the prizes and nominations for all major awards enjoyed by the various art forms: writing, theatre, music, film, animation. The
arts practitioners are themselves very politically pro-active, pointing to all that is accomplished on extremely low salaries and
overheads.
In November 2012, a review by international experts of creative arts and media studies in 10 higher education institutions
was instigated by the HEA at the request of the Minister for Education. While, on the one hand, the contribution of these
arts to the reputation of Ireland was recognised as well as the need to strengthen this aspect of third level education, there also
existed a concern that mergers or abolition might occur as a result of the review which is not yet available in the public domain
(December 2012).
Nevertheless, whatever the emphasis on the Diaspora and on tourism, the interest at home on self-definition through
culture led to new interest on perceptions of identity. One commentator sees a new need to reconnect with the past, with new
forms of tradition, now that the type of identity engendered by the economic Tiger era has lost its meaning; this identity being
never more at any rate than a replacement for the waning belief in church and country. The fiscal and political crisis of the
moment he sees as becoming in the future both social and cultural. The possible loss of sovereignty to Europe and to foreign
bond holders, as well as dismay and disappointment in respect of institutional Ireland, led to new interest in the concept of
citizenship. Instead of protests, meetings were organised of civil society, organisations and individuals, seeking to articulate a
set of values and ways of realising them. A movement also began for reform of the whole political system, particularly among
the younger generation of politicians across all parties.
For the benefit of all those of Irish descent worldwide, estimated at more than 70 million people, a certificate of Irish heritage
was planned by the Department of Foreign Affairs to be produced under licence by a third party company and made available at
a reasonable fee. A much larger initiative, from the tourist industry, entitled The Gathering, or Irish Homecoming, was announced
at the Global Irish Economic Forum of 2011 as was an awards scheme for outstanding figures among the Irish Diaspora.
The incoming Coalition Government of March 2011 combined existing functions into a new Department of Arts,
Heritage and the Gaeltacht. However, the future of Culture Ireland, announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure and
Reform in the quango cull of November 2011, was absorption into the Department. Strong lobbying for retention of the arms
length body was made before final decision (which was to be taken by June 2012 with implementation by end 2012).
The period 2007 onward, while a period of reducing Government funding for the arts, was also a period in which the rle
of the arts, including Irish arts, in society was debated and clarified in ways not heretofore experienced.
Funding of An Chomhairle Ealaon (Arts Council)

The table shows the year-on-year decrease in Exchequer funding for the agency as the economic crisis deepened.
An Chomhairle Ealaon: Funding 2007 onward

Year
Funding
2007
80,000,000
2008
81,620,000
2009
73,350,000
2010
68,650,000
2011
65,190,000
2012
63,100,000
Given the annual commitments of the agency (its own operation including Aos Dna, the Abbey Theatre, and its policy on
access through touring), the remaining funding has to be spread fairly thinly if strategically.
FUNDING OF ARTS IN IRISH BY AN CHOMHAIRLE EALAON
The Arts Council puts forward its policy of funding all genres on the basis of artistic merit and not on language as a criterion.
On this criterion, if judged by the percentage of the Councils funding which is expended on arts in Irish, it might seem that
either the artistic quality of genres in Irish is not sufficiently high, or that those in English are consistently higher. Alternatively,
the volume of applications from practitioners in Irish may be relatively low but this cannot be verified.
On the available evidence, one separate heading in the annual report and also a separate funding form exist under Litrocht
sa Ghaeilge (Literature in Irish). Irish writers may receive bursaries or participate in visits to schools or act as writer-in-residence
in third level institutions or bring literature into prisons. They figure among those in Aos Dna. Literary festivals may be
supported including Oireachtas na Gaeilge. The agency is active in youth literature through LeabharPower. Publishers may
receive assistance. The 2009 annual report refers to the Aon Chathair, Aon Leabhar (One City, One Book) initiative with
Galway City Council as part of its strategy for Irish-language literature. In April 2010, the traditional oral arts, in Irish and in
English, were discussed at a seminar in Galway.
However, Irish language drama groups feel that the Council leaves funding of drama to others, including Foras na Gaeilge.
The policy paper of March 2010, Supporting the production
and presentation of theatre: a new approach, is a generic document.
All art forms, irrespective of language, may upload their upcoming events to the online guide developed by the Arts
Council (on the agencys website), Culturefox, which gives information on all Irish cultural events anywhere in Ireland or
abroad. It is available on any mobile phone network and as an app for iPhone, Android or Blackberry.
Some forms of collaboration may take place with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland in relation to arts in Irish. The
longstanding collaboration with local authorities may also benefit the arts in Irish through local Arts Officers and Arts Plans.
It was reported in February 2012, for example, that Cork County Council was disbursing 150,000 on a range of arts events
across the county, including in the Gaeltacht. Collaboration with dars na Gaeltachta through Ealan na Gaeltachta appears
to be the most successful and well-funded of the agencys support of arts in Irish. Partnership with TG4 in the Splanc (Spark)
series of documentaries on the arts, in Irish or in bilingual format, now (2012) in its seventh broadcast season, has also proved
a successful venture on a jointly funded budget of 120,000.
EALAN NA GAELTACHTA
Collaboration between the Arts Council and the Gaeltacht agency began in 1997 and is administered through a subsidiary
company of dars na Gaeltachta and three Arts Officers working in Ulster, Munster and Connacht plus Meath. Emphasis on
the arts is both traditional and contemporary and covers all genres. Operations are equally co-funded by both partners.
Ealan na Gaeltachta: Funding

Year
An Chomhairle Ealaon
dars na Gaeltachta
Total
2010
433,000
433,000
866,000
2011
410,000
410,000
820,000
The Ministers permission on expenditure of this sum had to be sought by An tdars in 2010. However, an INDECON
survey revealed that year that there was a significant economic impact from arts activities in the Gaeltacht: total worth to the
economy at 20 million; 247 jobs directly involved. Individual artists and groups are aided across a range of artistic activities:
drama; arts for older people; literature in Irish; events for arts practitioners; indigenous oral arts. Bursaries are also available
to practitioners living in the Gaeltacht (although ability in Irish may not be a required condition, depending on the art form).
The future of this project is probably dependent on the future role of dars na Gaeltachta and the Gaeltacht Bill (June
2012) arising from the 20-Year Strategy for Irish.
LEGISLATION
The policy role of the Minister has been strengthened in the most recent legislation, Arts Act 2003. This may have important
implications in times of much reduced funding.
In addition, as a public body, the Arts Council is subject to the provisions of the Official Languages Act and duly
produced a Scheme. However, this Scheme, for the three years 2005 to 2008, appears to be still current several years later.
It is, at any rate, the only Scheme on the Arts Councils website in 2012. Updating may have fallen foul of the situation
described by An Coimisinir (above) where the Department for the Language is not apparently processing Schemes
promptly.
This 2005-2008 Scheme describes as follows the role of the Council, in general and in relation to Irish and to the traditional
arts. The relevant references are given in bold (not in the original).
The Arts Council supports all aspects of the arts, in Irish and in English - architecture, dance, drama, film, literature,
music, opera, traditional arts (which includes libn,agallaimh beirte and sean-ns singing as part of the brief) and
visual arts. We will also be appointing a specialist in the area of circus, street art and spectacle in the near future. We support
individual professional artists through direct awards and bursaries and through Aosdna, the affiliation of creative artists.
We also support multi-disciplinary arts through activities and facilities such as arts centres, festivals and community arts.
We provide annual and project funding to hundreds of organisations involved in the arts throughout Ireland.
PLANNING FOR THE ARTS: ARTS COUNCIL STRATEGIC OVERVIEW 2011-2013
This is a general document setting out the continuing approach of the Council in developing the arts and access to the arts within
reduced funding. No specific art form is mentioned nor is language. There are, however, references to social and cultural diversity
which may be directed at the pluralism of the population nowadays. The mission statement has three elements to develop the arts:
- by supporting artists of all disciplines to make work of excellence;
- by promoting public access, participation, and engagement in the arts
- by demonstrating and facilitating the important contribution the arts make to the social and economic wellbeing of Ireland.
In the new climate of scarce resources, there are also some ominous references to future funding patterns and partnerships
towards local/regional arts programming:
- We will have regard for the different environments of the various artforms and for the extent to which the Arts
Council is the key provider of support. In considering balance within or between different areas of arts practice,
we may have to change existing patterns of funding. We may also have to alter or conclude some current
funding relationships.
- In making funding decisions the Arts Council will have particular regard for value for money and sustainability,
whether applied to a particular organisation, to a strand of work within an area of practice, or to a whole arts area.
Interestingly, the Arts Council goes on to make a distinction rarely seen in documents from funders of Irish language matters:
- Value for money is determined according to a range of indicators.
- Some of these, such as audience numbers or the financial health of an organisation, lend themselves to relatively
easy measurement.
- Others, such as quality of artistic direction or the significance of an organisation for provision in a particular art
form, are no less important for being less amenable to measurement.
In its advocacy role, the Arts Council has been instrumental in the production of a series of evidence reports on the situation
of practitioners and their multi-faceted contribution to the State and to the community. These include:
- Assessment of the economic impact of the arts in Ireland (2011): showed that the arts are a source of significant
employment, direct and indirect.
- The living and working conditions of artists in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (2010): showed
the average income of a professional artist from their particular art at 14,500 despite having a higher level of
formal education than the wider labour force.
- Cultural Diversity and the Arts (2010).
- Assessment of the economic impact of the arts in Ireland (INDECON 2009): a wide ranging report.
During 2007-2008 a series of intriguing pamphlets were also produced, by different authors, on the importance of the arts in
peoples lives.
Nevertheless, the role of the Arts Council in being almost the sole arbiter of what constitutes art or arts events worthy
of being funded, particularly in these stringent times, is sometimes called into question as is the new vocabulary and new
expectations and almost apologia for the arts and artists now apparently required in attempts to satisfy or mollify political
masters. Interestingly, the same issues are raised in relation to Foras na Gaeilge and schemes and organisations.
ARTS OFFICERS
County Clare was the first local authority to appoint an Arts Officer in 1985 in partnership with the Arts Council. There are
now (early 2012) 33 Arts Officers in this scheme, one in each city and county local authority (Roscommon was recently vacant)
and 3 in Gaeltacht areas in collaboration with dars na Gaeltachta. The representative Association of Local Authority Arts
Officers provides a forum for discussion, support and policy for its members. As in the case of Oifigigh Ghaeilge (Irish Language
Officers), current concerns involve lack of funding, embargo on staffing with increase in responsibilities for those remaining,
an uncertain future in light of the impending re-organisation and rationalisation of the local authority structure, new use of
language by authorities more suited to the market place than to the arts.
Three local Area Partnerships/EU LEADER Scheme initiatives also employed Arts Officers: Sligo, Dublin Inner city and
South Kerry.
Cork Institute of Technology and National University of Ireland Galway similarly employed Arts Officers.
In Northern Ireland, it is reported that there is an Arts Officer at the University of Ulster and one in each of 25 local
authorities.
THE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

A great deal of public discussion was devoted to the role and future of the cultural institutions in the period 2008 to 2012. In
many respects this has at its core the issue of whether these institutions are State institutions, or belong primarily to the nation,
to the people. The related issue then concerns who is primarily responsible for making what may be grave long-term decisions
on their future. Attempts to centralise culture was viewed as anti-democratic.
The September 2011 CRE (Comprehensive Review of Expenditure) submission from the Department of Arts, Heritage
and the Gaeltacht (D/AHG) explained that there are nine National Cultural Institutions under the aegis of the Department
as currently constituted. Under legislation there are the National Gallery, National Museum, National Library, National
Archives. Four others are limited companies (without share capital): Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), National Concert
Hall, Abbey Theatre, Crawford Art Gallery Cork. The Chester Beatty Library is a charitable trust. The document considers the
unusual option of a single board for all these various bodies but opts instead for other possibilities towards rationalisation. For
discussion and possible legislative change, the following are raised (page 25) the methodology and terminology is common
to matters discussed in Chapter 3: Funding:
appeared in the final budgetary allocation at the end of 2011 for 2012, they nevertheless still remained for possible future
consideration, a process actively continued by the Department to the dismay of many.
Responses to this process reported in the media generally centred on the following points:
- despite pre-election declarations, a move by the Government away from respect of the arms length principle,
from any statements of vision, from any informed discussion on the cultural infrastructure of the nation;
- the comparison of cultural institutions with quangos;
- the dichotomy between, on the one hand, official emphases on culture towards regaining reputation and in
encouraging tourism and, on the other, the deliberate undermining of those institutions which can and do
ensure success for those official aims;
- the complete lack of reasoned rationale or realistic cost-benefit analysis for the proposed mergers, abolitions or
absorption into the Department of the different institutions;
- since some of the institutions proposed for merger had quite different functions, no duplication was evident, so
no savings could accrue within any reasonable overall cultural policy.
The overall position appeared to be a desire for no change and retention of the status quo, even if in a context of reduced
funding, since the current situation appeared to be working well.
The head of the National Museum took early retirement; a member of the board of the National Library resigned. Neither
felt they had any other choice in the situation pertaining. In addition, institutions lost vital specialist staff and institutional
knowledge due to the general application of staffing cuts and early retirements resulting from the official policy to reduce
public sector numbers. In fact, the bailout troika suggested in 2012 that reduction of salaries rather than reduction of numbers
might, as one factor, be a more positive solution to the fiscal situation.
On the other hand, the Departmental position centred on:
- lack of funding;
- solutions towards this lack in both sharing of services and new methods of governance.
The Minister also called for a calm and cool-headed debate but did not specify the forum in which such could take place or who
precisely it might include, apart from the ongoing engagement between the Department and the institutions. He clarified that the
core remit of institutions would not change under these proposals, a position which seemed to obviate the need for the proposed
debate since official decisions appeared to have been taken. He also reminded the public that the National Archives is currently
a full part of his Department, while the National Museum and the National Library did not have corporate boards until 2005
(when the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997 came into effect), an option now being reconsidered in the light of possible
savings and efficiencies. In fact, the Archives and Records Association Ireland supported the retention of the National Archives
within the Department and not a move into the National Library, on the grounds that the statutory function of preserving
national records for the public should not be removed from the Civil Service. An academic, while accepting a strategic review of
structures, wrote on the rle of the National Archives in protecting democratic processes and the protection and integrity of the
records of our State as guaranteed in the welcomed National Archives Act 1986 (letter, The Irish Times, 18 June 2012).
Sharing of certain back room services to save costs would appear a viable option in some cases. The three art galleries
submitted proposals in this regard. However, governance issues are more complex, whether in reference to boards or to advisory
groups. These, ideally, should have the dual roles of providing expert policy advice and of being the independent representative
of the citizen tax payers, or necessary buffers between policy and politics in a democracy.
The situation reached a conclusion in a press release from the D/AHG of 31 October 2012, titled reform actions for Arts,
Heritage and Gaeltacht organisations. The rationale for the fate of the cultural institutions is given in the following terms:
streamlining; shared services; support services (through the Department); recovery agenda (aligning with Government agenda
of driving investment in Ireland and rebuilding reputation abroad); philanthropy; independence (of Directors of institutions
with regard to programming, curatorial and operational functions). In practical terms:
National Gallery of Ireland, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Crawford Gallery (Cork)
- reduction of all three boards to 9 persons each including Chair operating on pro bono basis;
- formal service level agreement on agreed range of shared services, both support and operational;
- update of legislation for National Gallery.
Chester Beatty Library
- continuation of outsourcing of administrative and other services;
- continuation of collaboration and shared services with other National Cultural Institutions.
National Archives of Ireland, National Library of Ireland, National Museum of Ireland, Irish Manuscripts Commission
- support services provided by the Department (legal, finance, HR, IT and procurement);
- National Archives to continue to operate as currently within Department having statutorily independent
Director, but now with reduced Advisory Council on pro bono basis;
- existing boards of the National Library and Museum to be replaced by new single body, National Museum and
Library Advisory Council (on governance model of National Archives) serving pro bono to focus on fundraising
and philanthropic opportunities.
- Irish Manuscripts Commission not specifically mentioned.
In addition, An Coimisin Logainmneacha (Placenames Commission) would also be replaced by a small expert committee on
a pro bono basis, working online and meeting quarterly on complex issues.
Savings of 1 million per annum were indicated as was increased efficiency through new governance and management
models. Amending legislation will be required to put the proposals into full effect and more work for officials of the Department
with regard to absorbed entities and provision of certain services.
Questions were immediately raised with regard to what was described by one commentator (The Irish Times, 28 November
2012) as not reform but reversion:
- future lack of autonomy, identity and independent advice together with increased departmental control over
aspects of culture and heritage;
- the imposition of one structure (Advisory Council) for two disparate institutions (National Library and
National Museum);
- a complete misapprehension of what governance and fundraising entail.
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES: HERITAGE AND CULTURE IRELAND

On 18 November 2011, the media were carrying news of what was described as the quango cull or critical review intended by
the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform by end June 2012. With regard to changes for the D/AHG, both the Heritage
Council and Culture Ireland, together with the Placenames Commission (An Coimisin Logainmneacha) were marked for
absorption of their functions into the Department, a position that led to no small degree of public argument.
A report from the Heritage Council (May, 2012) pointed out that the nations heritage is worth 1.5 billion to the national
economy as well as keeping 35,000 people in employment. This is another example, as in the case of the report commissioned
by the Arts Council on the arts, of attempts to prove to the State the economic benefits of culture and heritage. That such was
required may be said to speak for itself. The rle of the Heritage Council (whose budget had been cut drastically) in ensuring a
country-wide involvement in heritage through National Heritage Week and in aspects of bio-diversity (through joint funding
with local authorities on appointing local officers) was widely praised. Similarly, the notion that an independent projection of
what constitutes contemporary expressions of Irish culture should be the function of a Government Department, rather than
of the proven Culture Ireland (2005), became quite contentious.
A year later, on 31 October 2012, as Budget 2013 beckoned, an announcement from the Department of Arts, Heritage
and the Gaeltacht provided information on the following ministerial decisions.
Culture Ireland
- functions merged fully into Department;
- retention of brand and Cultural Ambassador role;
- work aligned with inward investment and tourist bodies.
Heritage Council
- reduction of size of board and members on pro bono basis;
- elimination of statutory standing committees;
- updating of Heritage Act 1995.
Since the Heritage Council had been mooted for abolition, the new arrangements may be considered an improvement of sorts.

On the other hand, protests are constantly being made at the destruction of many sites of cultural and heritage significance,
current legislation being either weak or lacking or ignored or not being actively applied. In the same vein, archaeologists
expressed concern at the proposals of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to initiate a review on the delisting of
all archaeological and historical sites and structures after 1700 from the National Record of Monuments and Places with the
intention of having a standard approach nationally. Apparently, the official Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) is having
difficulty in maintaining records due to lack of resources. Such a policy, if implemented, would detract from the entire social
and historical context and be at variance with the method in use in Northern Ireland.
Funding of the Cultural Institutions receives mention above under Funding.
SUMMARY ON CULTURAL LIFE

While funding cutbacks have affected many aspects of the contribution of the cultural institutions to the cultural life of the
nation, and while the impact of recent government decisions on governance may become apparent only in the future, the
turmoil and recent public discussion around cultural issues have served to re-awaken a sense of the importance of what is often
taken for granted, even if some see this only in the more utilitarian sense of making use of culture for other ends.
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE THE FAMILY AND TRANSMISSION OF IRISH

Context
services for families were quoted. The Strategy spells these out in more detail.
Aims
Proposals
- the existing scheme of cntir teanga (language assistants) in Gaeltacht schools will now be available to all Irishmedium schools
- differentiated forms of support will be available for local family networks, for the extended family
(grandparents), for families where only one parent is an Irish speaker
- language awareness programmes will be initiated for care professionals
- the Irish Summer Colleges programmes will be more oriented towards family use.
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: RELIGION

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (RC)
Services and pilgrimages

In general, despite the growing scarcity of priests, and of those with competence in Irish, the existing provision of some parish
services through Irish has not yet decreased very significantly. Christmas, Lent and Holy Week services in Irish are offered in
Dublin, for example, in specific locations. However, maintaining the same schedule of Sunday Masses, including in Irish, is
no longer possible in many areas; in others congregations are being counted to ascertain where reductions may be made. Since
the Irish Mass is generally the earliest on Sunday, it is more likely to have fewer attending and so may be the Mass most likely
to be affected. In the Kerry Gaeltacht, since mid-2012 just one priest was available for the three churches of An Daingean
(Dingle), Fionn Tr (Ventry) and Lios Pil (Lispole) in addition to the local hospital and boarding school. Gaelscoileanna in
some areas may also encounter problems in ensuring that pupils may avail of the sacraments, especially Confirmation, through
their preferred language.
On the other hand, the traditional method of leaving the preparation of children for the Sacraments of Holy Communion
and Confirmation to the teachers and to the schools is also under threat. More acknowledgement is now being given to such
preparation being the responsibility of parents and parish also. The Archbishop of Dublin recently announced such a change.
Irish-medium schools fear that preparation through Irish may be more difficult in the new circumstances where Irish speakers
may not be available in parishes. Solutions will have to be found through the organisations Gaelscoileanna and the patron
body, An Foras Ptrnachta, particularly through their membership of the pastoral body, An Coiste Tradach, established in the
Archdiocese in 2000 to look after such matters.

In fact, An Coiste Tradach of the Dublin archdiocese, has recently prepared a booklet and CD on the Mass through Irish in
an effort to assist all priests, not just Irish speakers, and people to participate in the Mass through Irish. There are two versions,
one for adults and one for children, in bilingual format. It was launched by the Archbishop.
Traditional pilgrimages, such as climbing Cruach Phdraig (Croagh Patrick) or undertaking the 3-day penitential services
of Lough Derg, have not declined in popularity. Indeed, they have attracted pilgrims like Giovanni Trappatoni, Italian coach of
the Irish soccer team (Cruach Phdraig), and the papal legate or envoy to the 2012 Dublin Eucharistic Congress (Lough Derg).
There was some use of Irish at the 2012 Eucharistic Congress, especially in parts of the liturgy.
While Cruach Phdraig is extremely popular on the last Sunday of July, St Patricks Purgatory was attracting pilgrims from
abroad already in the middle ages. Both pilgrimages are physically challenging. A recent publication traces the many pilgrim
paths all round Ireland, Pilgrim Paths in Ireland, including newly re-established ones, while some holy wells are chronicled in
Ancient and Holy Wells of Dublin. Nassau St. in Dublin was previously known as Tobar Phdraig (Patricks Well), due to an
underground well now protected as a recorded monument to the extent that the Railway Procurement Agency had recently to
ensure that any work by the agency would not damage it. The Heritage Council also ensured the re-opening and upgrading of
several medieval routes in recent times.

Disquiet was expressed at the 2010 AGM that a number of schools (with Roman Catholic children) were unable to ensure
celebration of the sacraments through Irish in their nearest parish. Lack of coherent centralised diocesan policy appeared to
be the problem. Both Gaelscoileanna and An Foras Ptrnachta continue to lobby the Episcopacy at national and local level.
On the other hand, both and Raidi na Gaeltachta were subjected to criticism in early 2010 when the Irish medium radio
reduced its weekly Sunday Mass in Irish to one a month. In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, Mass cannot be pre-recorded;
it must constitute a simultaneous event for participants. Pre-recording would solve the problem for the cash-strapped radio.

As discussed in Chapter 4 above, the Report of this Forum in April 2012 had received many submissions, both written and
oral, particularly from the Roman Catholic Church which is responsible for over 90% of primary schools, including some
Irish-medium schools, whether Gaeltacht schools or gaelscoileanna. The latter sector received special mention in the report.
Both organisations representing Irish-medium education, Gaelscoileanna, and the patron body, An Foras Ptrnachta, had
made submissions. A slow and gradual handover from Church control to other patrons of some 250 schools in 47 areas, as
outlined in plans from the Department of Education, is envisaged, dependent on parental choice. This constitutes a historic
moment for the R.C. Church in the Republic. Other recommendations include moving preparation for the sacraments outside
school as a parish/home matter; school policy on the display of religious and other artefacts; policy on inclusivity for a more
diverse school population.
Since changes of patronage will depend on parental survey, it is of note that, in Census 2011, 3.86 million people recorded
themselves as Catholic (whether in cultural or actively practising terms is not recorded). This represented over 84% of the
population, even if a reduction from 2006 of just under 5%.
Religious publishing
It is of note that 2011 saw the 100th commemoration of the magazine produced by the Jesuit Order, Timire (Messenger), with
messages of congratulation from both the Pope and the President of Ireland. It depends on subscriptions and a subvention
from Foras na Gaeilge. The Irish language publishing wing of the same order produced, among its list of publications, a new
edition of the New Testament and the Psalms in 2012. This would be of interest to other Christian Churches also.
THE PROTESTANT CHURCHES
Services
An article in The Irish Times (20 October 2009) points out that the 2004 Irish language edition of the Book of Common Prayer
of the Church of Ireland contains a prayer for the Royal Family which is used in Northern Ireland. In the Republic, the prayer
is for the President. The article also mentions that a delegation from the Church of Ireland met with NI Unionist politicians in
early 2009 to discuss another approach to the Irish language, given the negative messages on the language from some Unionist
party members. The submission from the delegation argued that having an interest in the Irish language need not be at variance
with either Protestantism or Unionism, but rather that links could be made through with other Celtic language communities
in the United Kingdom, such as Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, and Manx Irish.

This Guild is preparing to celebrate its centenary in 2014 through helping to provide more opportunities for use by those
Church of Ireland members with an interest in the language through a 3-year plan begun in 2011. The plan focuses on use
of Irish in church services, through initiatives in schools and across dioceses. Implementation of this plan is assisted by the
appointment of a full-time Irish language development officer supported by a voluntary committee.
For the first time, An Cumann had a stand at the Church Synod in Armagh in May 2011. The outcomes were very positive.
The Archive of the Month for March 2012 of the Representative Church Body (RCB) Library in Dublin was devoted to the
interesting background of the rendering into modern Irish of Lireach Phdraig in 1915. This version of the ancient prayer,
the Breastplate of Patrick, was provided at the request of the Cumann by the later first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde.
Around the saints feast day in 2012, services in Irish were held in the cathedrals in Dublin, Cashel, Limerick, Waterford; in
Killorglin (bilingual service) and in Belfast (St. Georges).
Publications
The Jesuit publication, Timire an Chro -Naofa (Sacred Heart Messenger), is open to authentic material on religious matters
from whichever source. The Presbyterian minister, Ruth Patterson, contributed a stimulating article to the Winter 2007
edition on the ecumenical foundation, Restoration Ministries.
OTHER FAITHS
The first definitive results of Census 2011 (This is Ireland Highlights from Census 2011 Part 1) were published on 29 March
2011. They provide the following information on religion in Ireland.

Up to 3.86 million people recorded themselves as Catholic (whether in cultural or actively practising terms is not recorded).
This represented over 84% of the population; an increase in actual numbers arising out of an increase in total population
although a reduction percentage-wise from 2006 of just under 5%.
Religion and Census 2011

Religion
Numbers
% Change since 2006
3,861,335 (84% of population)
+ 4.9%
129,039
+ 6.4%
Muslim
49,204
+ 51.2%
Orthodox
(Coptic, Greek, Russian)
45,223
+ 117.4%
Presbyterian
24,600
+ 4.5%
*Methodist
6,842
- 43.7%
Jewish
1,984
+ 2.8%
Buddhist
8,703
+ 33.6%
10,688
+ 75.7%
269,811
+ 44.8%
**Atheist
3,905
+ 320.3%
**Agnostic
3,521
+ 132.4%
Roman Catholic
Church of Ireland/England
(Anglican, Episcopalian)
Hindu
**No religion
Some of these respondents on religion were immigrants. Over three quarters of a million immigrants (766,770), persons born
outside Ireland but living in Ireland, were recorded in Census 2011, a 25% increase during the intercensal period 2006- 2011 and
constituting 17% of the current population. Clearly, such numbers would have effects on the religion profile of the population.
However, cross-referencing for immigrants and religion or for religion and Irish language will not be available until late 2012.
*In addition, a change occurred on the Census form itself due to the increase in the number of different faiths. This led to
some religions previously labelled being omitted in 2011; the respondent now had a box to tick labelled Others and a space
to write which other. Not all Methodists may have written in this space. However, the Methodist Church takes a census of its
own members at the end of every year. The published results were reported (Methodist Notes, The Irish Times 14 April 2012)
to indicate a drop over the last five years of approximately 5% on the island of Ireland but an increase of 6% in the Republic.
**Other results of note are marked with double asterisks above.

While these results are indicative of a changing and more pluralist population, the actual effects on social institutions,
e.g. education, or on language (e.g. attitudes to and ability in the Irish language in particular, or changes in the Gaeltacht
community) are as yet unspecified. However, in answer to the new question on ability in foreign languages, some 11% of the
population, just over half a million, speak a foreign language at home (Polish heading the list). Up to 50% of these were born
in Ireland.
Some 72,914 respondents did not state religion or otherwise, an increase of 3.7% on 2006.
FAITH SCHOOLS

As discussed in Chapter 4 above, the Report of this Forum in April 2012 had received many submissions, both written and
oral, particularly from the Roman Catholic Church which is responsible for over 90% of primary schools, including some
Irish-medium schools, whether Gaeltacht schools or gaelscoileanna. The latter sector received special mention in the report.
Both organisations representing Irish-medium education, Gaelscoileanna, and the patron body, An Foras Ptrnachta, which is
patron to Catholic, inter-denominational and multi-denominational schools operating through Irish, had made submissions.
A slow and gradual handover from Church control to other patrons of some 250 schools in 47 areas, as outlined in plans from
the Department of Education, is envisaged, dependent on parental choice. This constitutes a historic moment for the R.C.
Church in the Republic. Other recommendations include moving preparation for the sacraments in Catholic establishments
outside school as a parish/home matter; school policy on the display of religious and other artefacts; policy on inclusivity for
a more diverse school population.
These policies carry implications for all schools designated faith schools as well as for all schools in receipt of State funding
in matters concerning multiculturalism, pluralism and inclusivity.
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: SPORT

PROPOSALS IN THE 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: NATIONAL SPORT
AND CULTURAL ORGANISATIONS
The Strategy makes particular mention of national voluntary community-based organisations of two kinds:
- the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) and Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann, both of which have a strong language
ethos; the Government will intensify its support for these in the language promotion efforts
- the Government will proactively engage with other sporting and cultural organisations which could have a role
in extending the use of the language beyond the school context.
CUMANN LTHCHLEAS GAEL (GAELIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION GAA)
In 2009, the GAA celebrated its 125th anniversary. Only four years after its establishment, in 1888, the new organisation was
already organising and fund raising in the United States. In the 1930s both Warner Brothers and Metro Goldwyn Mayer made
short documentaries, with differing slants, on hurling. In 1896, the GAA awarded medals engraved Virtual Championship
of Ireland 1895 to the Meath team who had played in the 1895 All-Ireland (held in March 1896). The referee had apparently
given the win to the opposing team, Tipperary, due to an error in totting up the score, when the outcome had actually been
a draw. There was no replay but every player received his medal. Nowadays, the GAA reports over 600 clubs across all five
continents, helped by Irish abroad, one of the latest in Warsaw. The Asian GAA Games Board caters for hurling and football,
the latter for men and women. There is also a useful element of mutual business contacts attached apparently.
Nevertheless, the GAA found it necessary to launch a National Hurling Development Plan in early 2012, so weak has the
game become in some counties. This may be a result of recent emigration. So many players from the village and surrounds of
Kilmihil in County Clare had gone to Australia by 2012 that the emigrants were planning a subcommittee and club out there
to support the club at home to remain viable financially.
Overall, the report of the Director-General to the GAA Congress in April 2012 was not encouraging: changes in rural
communities in the recession as local institutions are closed or amalgamated (schools, post offices, Garda stations, shops, pubs)
and young people emigrate; the legacy of development debts incurred by clubs in better times; the increasing strains faced by
the decreasing number of volunteers on which the GAA, as a vital voluntary community-based organisation, is built.
However, it is of note that a visit to Croke Park in Dublin was included in the itinerary of Queen Elizabeths visit to
Ireland. In historic terms, this was of no small significance given the events of Bloody Sunday 1920.
Language, culture and the GAA

The promotion of the founding aims of the GAA, including the Irish language, while generally upheld by the organisation,
came in for some criticism from Irish speakers in very recent times. This included lack of Irish in publications from the
reasonably new group, Gaelic Players Association; lack of sanctions for clubs which may ignore the cultural aims of their
organisation; and a possible end to the tradition of broadcasting the All-Ireland Minor Finals in Irish when TV3 acquired
broadcast rights to both hurling and football from 2011. During an event in late 2010 at the Dergvale Hotel, Gardiner Street
(Dublin), formerly the home of Michael Cusack, a man who was central to the founding of the GAA, the Director General
was queried on what the founding fathers would think of the organisation today. His reply was as follows:
They wanted to establish a national identity through the games and a sense of community. I think they would be very
pleased that in a world of globalised interests we have maintained that. They might feel that more might have been
done in relation to culture and language but overall theyd have to say given the challenges of the modern world that
weve done a decent job.
The Irish Times, 1 December, 2010
Some evidence of that may be found in the following examples. In the Gaeltacht, the local organisation embarked on a
5-year plan in 2012, with the intention of encouraging more community participation and individual engagement. The matter
of players not brought up through Irish was among the topics.
A goalkeeping coaching DVD in Irish was produced in 2010 with assistance from Foras na Gaeilge. It may be downloaded
from the GAA website.
Up to some 20 years ago, Dublin had what was probably the sole Irish-medium GAA club outside the Gaeltacht, in
the second-level school Coliste Mhuire. In late 2010, plans began to establish Na Gaeil ga (Young Gaels) in the capital.
Eventually, about 60 members signed up and up to 20 come to training sessions. The management include some former
members of the Coliste Mhuire team. In 2011, the club was the first Dublin-based club to take part in Comrtas Peile na
Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Football Competition). As well as Dubliners, members now comprise Irish speakers from various parts of
the country who are resident in Dublin. There are two mens teams and a womens team was established which was successful
in their first series match of 2012. Current plans are for establishing hurling teams.
The Belfast Gaeltacht Quarter has been fielding a team for some years while Gael-Taca (Support for Business) has its own
football team of Irish speakers in Cork.
As a national sporting institution, the GAA holds almost a visceral attachment for people at local, community, national
and even international level. In June 2013, through its current strong Coiste Gaeilge (Irish Committee), it launched a new
campaign to create a favourable image for Irish both within the organization and nationally. The campaign featured well
known players encouraging people to use their Irish on the large screens in use at matches, through social media and in packs
for schools. There was also evidence of increased use of Irish in GAA publications and videos (on gaa.ie).
THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND (FAI)
Given the World Cup events of 2012, an interesting artefact came up for auction in mid-2010: a programme for an international
soccer match between Ireland and Germany in Dublin (17 October, 1936). While the Irish flag and the German swastika
flag are on the programme, it is clearly headed in Irish, in print and in the logo: Cumann Peile Saorstit ireann (Football
Association of the Irish Free State).
Nowadays, Cumann Peile na hireann (FAI, 1921) may be sometimes seen but not on the Associations website, where
both the English language version and FAI are written in the letters of the former script.
Some training (Summer camps) is available through Irish for school children.
OTHER FORMS OF SPORT
The tradition to use Irish in horse racing continues. The horse trainer, Jim Bolger, has been naming his racehorses in Irish for
more than 20 years, noting interesting expressions he hears on RnaG or TG4. Some examples include the successful Finnscal
Beo (Living Legend), Cis Ghire (Source of Mirth), Saoirse Ab (Freedom For Ever).
The Irish speaker, musician and chess teacher in Irish-medium schools, na OBoyle, produced the first primer to teach
children chess through Irish in late 2010, Ficheall (Chess). She is World Chess Olympiad representative for Ireland and earned
the title Womens Candidate Master in 2008.
In 2011, TG4 outbid in acquiring broadcasting rights for 2011-2013 to show extended highlights of the Heineken and
Amlin Challenge Cup European Rugby Competitions. In conjunction with other stations, including RT, the Irish-language
station also broadcast live coverage of the Rabodirect Pro 12 League (formerly Magners Rugby League, Celtic League Rugby)
2011-2012 at weekends on Rugba Beo (Live Rugby). Commentary is in Irish, a fact which disturbed some commentators.
Nevertheless, the stations live coverage of the Munster/Leinster encounter in November 2011 was watched by 635,000 people,
183,000 of whom followed the broadcast from beginning to end.
TG4 also broadcasts other sports, not necessarily exclusively. These include coverage of Wimbledon Championship tennis
and Tour de France cycling and International Rules football. Snooker also featured on the schedule for a period.
In sports programmes, some interviews may be conducted in English.
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: POLITICAL PARTIES

Mention has been made in the Introduction of political parties and use of Irish. Irish was used officially and in canvassing by
parties, particularly on posters and brochures, during the 2012 referendum on the fiscal treaty. It was less noticeable during
the referendum on childrens rights.
IRISH IN AREAS OF COMMUNITY LIFE: SOCIAL LIFE

Local groups and language plans

Outside the Gaeltacht, regions where community plans will be essential in future with regard to achieving and maintaining Gaeltacht
status, local language plans and initiatives from the bottom up are also considered a significant component of the Strategy.
The process envisages the involvement of all local interests in the active process of mapping and auditing language vitality
in their own area towards the aim, not only of community engagement with Irish, but of the possibility of creating over time
a Category D network Gaeltacht. The term network Gaeltacht as used in the Strategy has two references: Gaeltacht areas with
few speakers; new Category D urban areas. The proposed legislation to delineate the linguistic criteria through which Gaeltacht
status will in future be given to communities will include not only the A, B, C categories recognised in the Report on the
Linguistic Study of Language Use in the Gaeltacht but an additional category D that will give recognition to communities and
networks outside the Gaeltacht that reach the required linguistic criteria.
The establishment of local language resource centres and one-stop community shops to advise on all local initiatives is
part of the local planning exercise. Support will be available to communities embarking on this exercise from the Department
of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the new dars na Gaeilge and any Oifigigh Ghaeilge (Language Officers) or
experts employed by local authorities or other bodies. Integration of learning and use contexts is emphasised, leading to
positive attitudes and normalisation. It is intended that these local plans will be integrated with County Language Plans.
A strong role is envisaged for a restructured voluntary Irish language sector in local planning, on a cradle to grave
basis for services. In fact, the process mirrors to some extent the modus operandi already in use by local inclusive voluntary
committees of the Glr na nGael competition and of other language organisations.
Resource Centres
The necessity for physical focal points which may include all manner of recreational, cultural and linguistic resources for the
public at large and the local community is recognised in the Strategy. Such dedicated centres will be developed in Dublin and
other urban centres. With the agreement of the organisations involved, existing centres run by other bodies, some of which
have been established with public money, may serve also as such language-centred local centres.
ACHT NA GAELTACHTA (GAELTACHT ACT) 2012

As reported above, Chapter 2, these concepts of local planning groups and resource centres found their way into the Priseas
Pleanla Teanga (Language Planning Process) and the Gaeltacht Act 2012

The concept of dedicated cultural and resource centres for Irish had always been espoused by the Irish language sector. Several
organisations already operated such centres in different areas of the State. Proposals in the 20-Year Strategy reinforced this tradition.
On Easter Monday 2010, a joint press statement was issued by Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League) and the recently
formed Fondireacht na Gaeilge (Foundation for Irish) seeking voluntary contributions towards the establishment of what was
termed Lrionad Nisinta na Gaeilge (National Centre for the Irish Language) in Dublin by 2016, commemoration of The
Rising. Given the recession, plans were shelved.
An active Irish group in Wexford, Na Macalla (The Echoes), opened a new Irish facility, Tobar (Well), in the Heritage
Centre in Wexford town in September 2011. It was opened by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister). The group hope to have a
permanent centre on the main street within two years.
LOCAL GROUPS
As envisaged in the 20-Year Strategy, the Gaeltacht Act (June 2012) eventually published dealt with the proposed new definition
of what constitutes a Gaeltacht community, including planning groups within and outside the traditional regions, Chapter 2.
Areas as Galway City, Ennis and Clondalkin in Dublin had been preparing towards becoming Category D or network
Gaeltachta.
Comhluadar, the organisation to support families bringing up children through Irish, had been advocating for some
time the benefits of housing schemes for such families (as in Belfast) to reinforce natural acquisition and development of the
language. In February 2012, it was reported (Foinse, 22 February 2012) that building work on a scheme of 24 houses would
begin in Ballymun in Dublin towards such a community housing estate.
SUMMARY ON COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL LIFE

Irish in community and social life appear to have been put on a more systematically planned basis through the 20-Year Strategy
and the Gaeltacht Act 2012. It remains to be seen whether the future results of such locally planned interventions in certain
areas will lead to a more widespread national effort from the bottom up, whether within or outwith the Gaeltacht, on the model
already in use by Glr na nGael. Meanwhile Irish continues to have a place, however tenuous, in most community and social
endeavours.
ECONOMIC
LIFE
This short chapter looks at writings on some possible new philosophic bases and approaches to a renewed coherence
between cultural identity and community development. It goes on to note some recent new additions to the use of the
Irish language in elements of the economic context.
ECONOMY AND LANGUAGE

In the period under review, 2007-2012, and given the economic context prevailing, some interesting philosophic ideas on
language, culture and economy were put forward and discussed, even if not acted upon, as yet at any rate.
As mentioned in the Introduction, given the national economic and fiscal context, bookshops had a plentiful crop of
books on the Irish economy for sale at Christmas 2009. Among them was Capitalising on Culture, Competing on Difference
Innovation, Learning & a Sense of Place in a Globalising Ireland by Finbarr Bradley agus James Kennelly (2008), where the
authors contrast two views in economic thinking.
(i) Confidence and independence arise out of an erosion of a sense of place; rootedness is antithetical to
competitiveness, and its polar opposite:
This view was further explored by Finbarr Bradley in articles and addresses in Irish and in English. Speaking at the Official
Opening of Ard-Fheis Chonradh na Gaeilge in 2009, he explored the following ideas.
- Use of tangible resources to extract worth from intangible resources as a feature of the current Age of Knowledge
or Innovation the opposite of the Industrial Age;
- Characteristics of this approach include foregrounding of emotions, feelings, linkages, identity and humanity
and therefore, in the case of organisations, of emphasis on future rather than on short term gains like growth
and income, control and costs; hence on more abstract traits such as relationships and confidence.
- In a globalising world economy, emphases on the local as source of difference, of identity, of self-reliance are,
paradoxically, increasingly a feature of discourse.
- The nurture of innovation and creativity, so prized in todays world, is dependent more on social factors, on
cultural identity as source of difference, on the confidence this engenders, than on finance and technology.
- It is the imagination, inspiration, intuition, and ingenuity which individuals and communities who are wellgrounded in their own sense of self and sense of place bring to technology which leads to the best uses of both
tangible and intangible assets.
- This is what creates the competitive edge required for nations to prosper, not its opposite, that is being divorced
and free from a sense of rootedness in a particular place and culture.
- The traits of self-reliance and distinctiveness were hallmarks of the economic and cultural philosophy of the
language revival movement. A similar message, in modern parlance, is still required.
- A nation aware of its cultural distinctiveness does not contradict the idea of a cosmopolitan State.
The same concepts, particularly those relating to cultural identity, continue to be explored by commentators and at
conferences, as a consequence of a changing relationship to, and in, a changing Europe. Culture as a national asset within the
economy, or as a prerequisite for economic growth, are notions being currently more discussed even if not totally understood,
at both societal and political level.
LEGISLATION AND POLICY
For ease of retrieval and comparison, the following proposals from the 20-Strategy document are grouped under some of the
existing headings in the original More Facts about Irish 2008.
Economy, employment and language

The Strategy designated the proposed new structure to be established, dars na Gaeilge, to support a range of initiatives
to encourage economic activity among the Irish language speaking community. These comprised the development of
entrepreneurship; support for language-based services; making Ireland a leader in providing technological solutions for
multilingual services. The new entity would also set up a Cumann Trchtla (Business Network) for Irish-language businesses
in general, providing services and raising awareness of the link between language and economy, particularly in the Gaeltacht
in relation to the status of the language.
Given that changes were made by the incoming Coalition in mid-2011 which removed the new structure and re-instated
dars na Gaeltachta (albeit in a different form), it is possible that the same objectives may be set in future for the two
implementation structures, An tdars and Foras na Gaeilge, although now in their respective areas of operation.
Branding and packaging

The government may introduce a voluntary code for bilingual labelling and packaging of all goods sold in Ireland. Clearly, this
has wider application than goods solely produced in Ireland. It is hoped that this may lead to the choice of Irish as a language
of exchange. This has not yet occurred (end 2012).
Schemes and awards in the private business sector

The Strategy proposes the introduction of a voluntary Irish Language Scheme in the private sector for businesses wishing to
engage with the language project. The schemes of the Official Languages Act would act as possible models in this example
of bilingual customer services. Exemplary initiatives would be publicly celebrated. Some schemes and awards are currently
offered by Foras na Gaeilge.
In relation to legislation and packaging in the case of medicinal drugs, an Irish speaker took a case to the High Court on
the basis that there was an onus on drug companies to provide bilingual packaging on their products sold in Ireland since an
existing EU directive provided for packaging in the official language or languages of member states. However, the wording
of the directive was changed to include unless the member state decrees otherwise. The change was accepted by the EU
institutions. The Irish state argued in the High Court that bilingual packaging would add to the cost of drugs. The cost of drugs
does not appear to be uniform across the EU. No regulation in domestic legislation has yet been made by the Irish government.
PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (STATE-SPONSORED BODIES)
While most of the discussion in recent years has been on reducing the number of public enterprises and on the sale of public
assets, two new enterprises were established. NAMA, the National Asset Management Agency was established by the previous
Coalition in 2009 as a Government response to the crisis then developing. The Irish version of its title is Gnomhaireacht
Nisinta um Bhainistocht Scmhainn. The Minister for the Environment, having introduced unpopular household water
charges, spoke in April 2012 of establishing a new entity to take over the regulation of water supplies, metering and related
issues in the future. This he intended to be a subsidiary of Bord Gis (Gas Board). References were to Irish Water although
the Minister was not averse to a name in Irish. The Irish language umbrella organisation (Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge) had
suggested Uisce ireann. This was supported in a report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Transport,
Culture and the Gaeltacht. Interestingly, the newly (mid 2012) appointed head of public relations at Bord Gis with specific
responsibility for the new entity is a native Irish speaker.
There was a degree of disappointment that a Government Department had begun with the English language version of
the title of a new official agency. Unfortunately, this use appears to have superseded the Irish language version in the media in
general.
The Irish language title of the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence is Cosc
(Prevention).
An tdars um Bhithre Nisinta (The National Roads Authority) confirmed in August 2012 that, while the waiting
period for those requesting driving tests through Irish was generally longer [by up to four months] than for tests through
English, no immediate change was envisaged nor any increase in the number of testers available from the current five persons
(in Dublin).
On a more positive note, in November 2013, the Department of Transport asked the same Roads Authority to test newly
designed road signs which would give parity to Irish with English. This new design was based on a study commissioned by the
organisation, Conradh na Gaeilge.
PROFESSIONAL BODIES
In celebration of 300 years of the School of Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, Acadamh Liachta (1968), the association of
Irish speaking doctors, held their Autumn 2011 meeting in the College with input from students also.
TITLING OF COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES (Some current examples)
- Dchas (Hope) Umbrella organisation of Irish NGOs involved in relief overseas and/or development education
- Tairseach (Threshold) Movement for sustainable living through respect for the earth and home production of
organic foods
COMMERCIAL USES OF IRISH: NAMING COMPANIES, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
Examples tend to be more prevalent nowadays of the use of Irish in titling, branding and packaging. Normalisation of the
practice is strengthening to the extent that it is no longer unusual or surprising. Neither is there any indication that it is offputting to customers or clients. Some further examples are given below, some bilingual.
Packaging
- Bbg Baby or BB (toy) 12-inch Teddy Bear which speaks 33 Irish words when buttons are pressed; colours,
shapes and numbers are said in a childs voice. Concept and voice from Galway; manufactured in China on cost
grounds. The website www.babogbaby.com lists Irish language interactive toys. The Teddy Bear received a gold
standard in the British Pre-school Awards, from judges who had no Irish. It was seen by 4.5 million viewers on
a UK chat show in March 2012.
- Cro na Tine (Heart of the Fire) Firelighters.
- Domaine Aonghusa Wine
- Finne ir Fine Foods (Gold Ring; also perhaps a reference to finne (ring) worn as brooch by speakers of Irish,
generally outside the Gaeltacht, or by learners who have reached the level of proficiency required since silver is
also available)
- For-Mil (Real Honey) written in the older orthography with punctum or dot over the M to signify lenition
where nowadays h is inserted,Mh.
- Mil Bharra (Honey from the Beara Peninsula)
- Wet Paint Pint r (Bilingual notice available from the Dulux company)
Many artisan producers, especially in the food sector, may use Irish in packaging. Efforts were made by a master carpenter
from Gweedore in early 2011 to establish a network of craftspeople who could provide training through Irish for young people
wishing to become apprentices.
Companies & Services

- Aras Slinte (health) Healthcare group
- Cuinneog (butter churn) Irish country butter made using the traditional method of churning
- Cram (care) Irish-based company whose software is in use internationally by official bodies; bought by IBM in
late 2011; no decision at that time whether brand name would be retained
- Doras (door) Distributors of timber doors and mouldings
- Faoi Thalamh (underground) Exclusive monthly pop-up restaurant, Dublin
- Follin (healthy, wholesome) Award winning Cork Gaeltacht-based producers of preserves, relishes, pickles;
packaging uses brand name also
- Le coiscim amhin a thosaonn turas cad mile (With one step begins a hundred-mile journey) Bilingual
Chinese/Irish notice of legal/financial services trade mission to China, 2012
- Madramagic (dog) Grooming service
- Mentor Gaeilge (Irish) Consultancy
- radharcmedia.com (view) Outdoor advertising

- Siopa.com (shop) Export-led business selling Irish crafts and goods, directed principally at the 40 million
members of the Diaspora in the US
- TrNua (New Country) Computer games company named in Irish
In November 2012, taxi services were offered the choice of door signs in either English or Irish (Taxi or Tacsa). Conradh na
Gaeilge, however, petitioned the National Transport Authority to allow Tacsa only as the meaning was abundantly clear, as in
the case of the tram service, Luas.
THE BUSINESS SECTOR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

PUBLIC SECTOR
Some recent examples of official policy in interaction with citizens include the following:
- An tdars Nisinta Iompair (The National Transport Authority) came under criticism for more than two years
until the Irish language version was added in 2012 to new electronic signs at local city bus stops indicating
arrival times together with placenames of stops and destination. The same is now planned for Cork, Galway,
Limerick and Waterford.
- Since 2011, CervicalCheck, a service of the National Cancer Screening Service, has been providing their
information sheet in Irish and ten other languages, as well as in English.
- On foot of a complaint from a Deputy on the lack of Irish in the announcements in the lifts in the Parliament,
the oversight was rectified within a week and announcements are now bilingual.
In the area of supply from elements in the public sector, the Irish language public broadcaster, TG4, has produced apps
for vocabulary for preschoolers (Cla 4). An iTunes channel of language resources for primary and post-primary students (and
others) was launched in early 2012, iTunes U COGG. COGG is An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaochta
(Council for Irish-medium Education). Archived materials from Raidi na Gaeltachta in Acadamh na hOllscolaochta Gaeilge
(NUIG) were used for this resource. The agency COGG itself received the official eGovernment Award in 2012 for its website.
A synthesiser which will render text to speech has been developed in Trinity College Dublin. It is available on the website of
Foras na Gaeilge, which part-funded the project, www.Abair.ie (Say it!).
Collections of folklore digitised for online perusal are valuable resources (e.g. www.dho.ie/doegen) as are digitised
publications and manuscripts. A recent addition (November 2011) to the databases already maintained by Fiontar (Dublin
City University) is www.ainm.ie, (ainm name) an online version of the nine volumes of biographies of 1,693 Irish notables
from 1560 by Diarmuid Breathnach and Mire N Mhurch. New additions are made as provided. The first phase of this
venture was funded by the Department with responsibility for the language. Digitisation has provided further refinements
of the material; theme search, timeline, cross-referencing. The other databases developed by Fiontar are on placenames and
terminology: www.logainm.ie and www.focal.ie (focal word).
PRIVATE AND COMMUNITY SECTOR
In the case of the private sector, several of the products or services through Irish are subvented by Foras na Gaeilge, the State
body and are, in consequence, often, but not always, available free.
In mid-2009, the first bilingual Irish/English news service on all aspects of business was launched, www.insideireland.ie.
The website also includes subsections on sport & entertainment and community & language.
Several private companies are in the business of language learning and development. Among them are: Get the Focal,
Word; Clisaocht as Gaeilge, Flirting in Irish; for learners Enjoy Irish; Abairleat, Say It. The latter hopes to reach 15,000 users
by 2015; 70% of any post must be in Irish but help is provided through both an inbuilt spellchecker and an integrated version
of Google translator. This social network is primarily directed at youth and students of Irish. Up to 5,000 had registered in
the first three weeks but mostly people outside the education system. The Irish language learning site, www.talkIrish.com,
offers interaction and learning resources to its thousands of learner members. It won several awards for its creator: Barr 50 Gn
le Gaeilge (Top 50 Irish Businesses) nomination; Irish Web Awards (Best Education/Third Level Website award) and Social
Entrepreneurs Ireland (in Dublin, 2009) award; Talk Talk Digital Heroes award (2010, Belfast).
To ensure accuracy in Irish, the company, Cruinneog, has developed Gaelspell, Ceart (for grammar) and, more recently,
Anois. The bilingual website funded by Foras na Gaeilge, www.scriobh.ie, from the company Drud Teoranta, offers information
on all forms of online assistance for Irish, including dictionaries.
For mobile phones, Samsung promised Gael Fn on all its phones from 2009 including predictive text. Predictive text for
Irish was also provided free in a joint venture between Foras na Gaeilge and Vodafone Ireland in early 2009, http://wap.teacs.ie/.
Nokia and the group Gaelchultr (which provides specialist courses in Irish) supplied a free karaoke download (2010) which
included the Irish national anthem, Amhrn na bhFiann; this became very popular abroad, especially in Turkey and Vietnam.
An Irish interface is available for Skype (Windows only) at www.nascanna.com.
A free translator application of 13,000 words is available for iPhone and Android, Get the Focal, produced by the IT firm,
Maith (Good for You!), and with content approved by Foras na Gaeilge.
Tunepal is capable of identifying any one of 13,000 traditional tunes, whether played or sung, individually or by a group. It will
give not only the title, or titles, but an archive of background information which is very helpful for musicians at live sessions
or when preparing sleeves for discs. Although traditional musicians all have a personal approach to their playing, this does not
confuse the app.
For visitors (or locals) a site was developed with information on events through Irish in Dublin, www.baclegaeilge.com.
Practically all the Irish media forms are available on the Internet. The founder of the online news source, www.nuacht24.
com, (funded by the NI Broadcasting Fund), is of the view that the Internet offers the advantage not only of communication
with a widely scattered public but of communication and interaction between members of that widely scattered public. Another
online news source, www.nuacht1.com, offers access to news from all Irish media sources: print, radio, television, Internet.
With regard to Internet access, most web browsers have capability in Irish. On programming, the website of Foras na
Gaeilge, for example, carries an update for Windows 7 Irish Language Interface. OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) is free
(for Windows and Apple) and available in 30 languages, including Irish. A choice of 50 languages (and Irish) comes with the
browser Firefox (www.getfirefox.org). Some books in Irish, including the classis, Cr na Cille by Mirtn Cadhain, are now
available for e-book readers (Amazon Kindle; Sony Reader).
Shopping for Irish goods (books in particular) is possible on www.udar.ie and www.siopagaeilge.ie, among other sites; Irish
language publishers and bookshops tend to have their own websites. The site, www.litriocht.com, which has been operating
since 1999, is reported to sell up to 25,000 books in Irish annually. It has over 5,000 titles on offer. Initially, online customers
were from the US and Finland. Nowadays, the number has grown to 66 different countries, including China. In 2008, Bard
na nGleann (the company which owns the site) received a Golden Spider award for the best Irish online company. By 2011,
electronic versions of Irish books to download began. A sister company (2011) is www.localbooks.com; this deals with books
in Irish or English with a very local bias, likely to appeal to the Diaspora.
The online reading club, www.clubleabhar,com, established in 2009, received a European Language Seal Award in 2010.
Multimedia entertainment and learning products are easily available in Irish for both children and adults. The company
Fios Feasa (1997) is one example of a provider of a varied selection of games and interactive stories on CD-ROM.
The information site hosted by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge, www.gaelport.com, was awarded an Irish Web Award for
Best Irish Language Website at the 2010 and 2011 Irish Web Awards and a Golden Award at the 2012 Digital Media Awards.
From January to December 2010, the website was reported to have had two million visits, the number of hits being higher still.
It has over 600 followers on the social network siteTwitter.
In 2010, the photography company Fujifilm added the Irish language to the choice of languages on its kiosks around the
world. Irish is the first Celtic language to figure on the list of 18 languages across the continents. In 2010 also, the German
supermarket company, Lidl, issued Irish-only information sheets on their special offers to Gaeltacht households through the
Summer Colleges. Three launches were held in the three large Gaeltachta where presentations were made in Irish to invited
Mn T.
Irish stud farm owners often give names in Irish to their race horses, hardly surprising since Ireland is reported to produce
some 10,000 thorough-bred foals annually, ensuring that the country is the worlds third largest producer of such foals. The 1
billion industry is very important to the economy.
For Heritage Week 2012, all businesses in the seaside town of Carlingford, County Louth, erected shop signs in Irish only.
Thanks to an initiative of the voluntary organisation, Gael-Taca, which promotes the use of Irish in the business sector, an
Irish-medium caf and centre was opened in Cork city, Caf Cois Laoi (Leeside Caf).
Towards the end of 2010, Forbairt Feirste (a language and economic development organisation) in Belfast launched the
network Gaeltique with the aim of increasing both the profile and the economic potential of lesser used language groups in
Europe, a potential community of 800 million citizens of the 47 states in the Council of Europe. Gaeltique had three aims: to
identify the specific economic possibilities inherent in this vast community; then to inform decision makers in order to ensure
social and economic investment in these lesser language communities; to provide a common marketing platform.
FUNDING SCHEMES AND AWARDS
In addition to existing schemes and awards already operated by the State bodies, Foras na Gaeilge and dars na Gaeilge; the
organisations Glr na nGael, Gael-Taca, Gaillimh le Gaeilge; and bodies such as the Belfast Media Group (Barr 50) or the
Marketing Institute of Ireland, two other possibilities were announced in recent years.
Gradaim Startup (Awards) from Foras na Gaeilge are open to:
all sole traders, partnerships or bodies corporate, trading in the Republic of Ireland that have been in business three
years or lessand employ 30 staff or less.
The Irish language section of the Business School in Dublin City University (DCU), Fiontar, offered scholarships worth
2,000 in 2011 to the five best students in the first year of the MSc programme in Gn agus Teicneolaocht an Eolais (Business
and IT).
Individuals and companies engaged in business-associated ventures through Irish continue to be successful in general
awards systems which may be organised solely on business criteria and are not specifically language based.
INTEGRATED SCHEMES
In late 2009, a report (www.gleg.ie) was commissioned on the economic benefits of the Irish language both to Galway city
- where an integrated support scheme for the language, Gaillimh le Gaeilge, has been operating for some years - and to the
Gaeltacht. Among the findings were:
- 136 million annually is the material benefit of the language to Galway city and county;
- 5,000 jobs are supported in consequence;
- over 90% of city businesses believe that the Irish language is a unique selling point for Galways image and
cultural identity;
- at that period, Gaeltacht-based families and companies were spending up to 700 million on buying goods and
services in Galway city.
SUMMARY ON LANGUAGE AND ECONOMIC LIFE

Irish continues to strengthen its still weak position in the business and marketing world. Use of Irish is no longer unusual but
tending to be a deliberate choice often made on marketing criteria in a crowded market. Irish tends to be associated with the
current movements towards artisan home-produced products on the one hand and with the buy local or buy Irish (goods)
on the other. This could be both a strength and a weakness into the future. For the moment at least, however, there is no
doubt but that a certain, if minor, degree of normalisation is taking place in this domain of economic life. It could possibly be
characterised as emphases on the local as source of difference and of identity, even of a sense of some control at micro-level
over events in a domain where Ireland is currently endeavouring to regain some control at macro-level.
THE
VOLUNTARY
LANGUAGE
MOVEMENT
This chapter gives some examples of new initiatives among the organisations and many volunteers that constitute the
voluntary language movement. The significance to the field of voluntary endeavour of what have been described as New
Funding Model(s) as proposed by Foras na Gaeilge since 2008 onward have been discussed at length in Chapter 3 above
under Funding.
VOLUNTARISM AND THE IRISH LANGUAGE

CONTEXT
The long history of organisational and voluntary endeavour on behalf of the Irish language continues across the spectrum of
social activity. New cohesive groups continue to emerge locally, e.g. Na Macalla in Wexford; or to serve a particular public or
function, e.g. Spleodar (developing leadership among youth), Raidi R-R (popular music for youth). Perhaps the organisation
that demonstrates most clearly the constant battle of the Gaeltacht population to maintain their language is the fairly recently
established Tuismitheoir na Gaeltachta (Parents of the Gaeltacht).
Interestingly, the Irish Sector probably suffered less than the voluntary sector in general at the height of the Celtic Tiger
when volunteers were not easy to find, given the (then) hectic pace of life, basically because volunteers in the Irish Sector tend
to be ideologically highly committed. For the same reason, any benefits to the Irish Sector are not distinguished in the general
figures when volunteering rose in the recession as voluntary experience or work became an inevitable choice for some. This
latter phenomenon was borne out in figures issued in an official press release for the 22 Volunteer Centres around the country
in 2011, designated the European Year of Volunteering. The numbers registering as volunteers for 2009 and 2010 were over
75% higher than for 2008. During 2010, volunteers recruited provided up to 400,000 hours of service to their communities.
The hours of volunteer service provided by the Irish Sector, whether in the Gaeltacht or outside it, if counted, would also
be considerable. Given the social capital and community investment built up over the years in every part of the country by
the Irish Sector in pursuit of what is, in the end, the professed official policy of the State, would appear to have earned for it
something more than casual reference to the third sector lately in use by Foras na Gaeilge for the first time in the history of
State/Irish Sector relations. Collective responsibility for a core linguistic value and recognition of the historic role of the Irish
Sector in maintaining that core value may be being forgotten, even airbrushed entirely from the picture, in pursuit of less
worthy and more short term objectives.
The Irish Sector has often been criticised for projecting an image of older people. Nowadays, more and more young
people appear to be involved, from the evidence of public events at least, and a whole new generation of articulate young Chief
Officers now serve the Sector.
ASPECTS OF THE SECTOR 2006-2012

BACKGROUND
While remaining as diverse and as necessary as ever, the rle of the Sector has, nevertheless, come under increasing scrutiny in
recent years. Its general effectiveness as a lobby on policy matters affecting the Irish community was the first item in a section in
The Irish Times (20 December 2011) headed Winners in Education which commented on the Sector as follows:
Fought a brilliant rearguard action when FG [political party Fine Gael] hinted at the abolition of compulsory Irish
during the election campaign.
Again on 12 February 2012, in comment in the Education section of the newspaper on the concerns of a Labour Party member
in relation to the proposed change upwards from grade C to grade B for primary teacher entrants, the following appeared:
His comments merit discussion.
But who is brave enough to run with them and risk the wrath of the immensely powerful Irish-language lobby?
However that may be, the kind of changes being now sought by officialdom with regard to the Sector is clearly illustrated
below in the move from the unequivocal Government Statement of 2006 through various other statements down to the final
iteration of the 20-Year Strategy in 2011 where the wording of the 2010 version remained unchanged. In addition, public
forms of subvention on which the Sector largely depends were used as a tool towards change through the New Funding Model
proposed by Foras na Gaeilge for the 19 organisations which that body core funds. To the relief of many, at its meeting of 29
June 2012, the board of Foras na Gaeilge decided not to proceed with that particular model. This came in the wake of rejection
of the Model through the consultation process, persuasive lobbying by the Sector, and perhaps some reluctance at political level
in the face of the overall wide negative response to the Model. However, as chronicled in Chapter 3, under Funding, what could
be described as the second iteration of the initial Model is now still under discussion (December 2012).
Context
Objective or principle 13 of the Government Statement of December 2006 is quoted in the section of the Strategy dealing with
proposed actions in the areas of administration, services and community:
The Government recognises the vital role of the Irish language voluntary sector and will continue to support it.
While a heading on the important role of the voluntary sector appears in the Strategy, the approach has now a different
perspective from that which could be understood from the 2006 Statement and is closer to the thinking which underpins
the proposals in respect of the Gaeltacht. These indicate a focus on future support being contingent on strict adherence to
Government policy on the one hand but, on the other hand, on a more coordinated bottom-up involvement that is, unusually,
largely dictated in top-down fashion. The Draft document states that support will be provided to groups that want to engage
with the language at national and local levels in line with the aims and content of this Strategy.
Proposed rle of the voluntary sector in the context of the Strategy

It is envisaged that the sector will play a strong rle in the local context, in the development of plans and initiatives. Nevertheless,
a caveat is also entered:
- At present the State provides funding for many diverse Irish language organisations. A more integrated cradle
to old age approach will be taken with a radical re-organisation of State-funded language organisations being
undertaken to provide comprehensive language support services on an area basis.
Both the voluntary sector qua sector and Foras na Gaeilge with the groups it core-funds had, in fact, been engaged in discussion
towards the changing environment as detailed above (Chapter 3, Funding).
Other voluntary and community organisations with a language ethos

The Strategy makes particular mention of national voluntary community-based organisations of two kinds:
- the Gaelic Athletics Association (GAA) and Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann, both of which have a strong language
ethos; the Government will intensify its support for these in the language promotion efforts;
- the Government will proactively engage with other sporting and cultural organisations which could have a rle
in extending the use of the language beyond the school context.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE FIONTAR REPORT
Where the Strategy refers to the strong role of the voluntary sector and issues a caveat on future restructuring, the Fiontar
report uses the term critical role and recommends that the sector be empowered to continue to play its important and
unique role in the areas of language protection and promotion. Three further recommendations are considered important:
a representative national forum comprising the entire language community, organisations and domains; the voice and
contribution of the community to be included in policy; support for those wishing to engage with the Strategy. This last is the
only recommendation to be included in the Strategy.

Particularly for the public service and specifically in the area of organisational language plans, the Fiontar report had
recommended a system of language advocates (tathantir teanga) or mentors, trained professionals working as capacity and
confidence builders within organisations, whether at local, county or specific sector level. It would appear that the personnel of
language organisations could, on the one hand, have much to contribute to such a scheme from their experience at the coalface.
On the other hand, they would deserve a focussed training and qualification for their specific area of operation, community
work in the field of language promotion.
RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE REPORT OF THE JOINT OIREACHTAS COMMITTEE ON THE 20-YEAR
STRATEGY (JULY 2010)
This Joint Oireachtas Committee both heard and received written submissions from a variety of sources. Some of their
recommendations were reflected in the final December 2010 version of the Strategy, particularly in relation to the Gaeltacht.
Recommendation 6 of the Committee on voluntary organisations states as follows.
Voluntary Organisations
The Voluntary Irish language organisations have a central rle to play in the protection and nurturing of the language.
They are an essential element in its future and their special status as such should be recognised and acknowledged in
the Strategy. The success of the Strategy will depend on harnessing and co-ordinating their support and therefore it is
essential that effective support structures are in place for this sector that will allow the government to assist them and
monitor their achievements during the lifetime of the Strategy.
Recommendation 6: Recognise and acknowledge the specific rle of the voluntary organisations in the Strategy.
RESULTS OF REPORTS
Unfortunately for the Irish Voluntary Sector, this recommendation of the Joint Oireachtas Committee did not appear in the
final 20-Year Strategy publication. Instead, as outlined above (Chapter 3, Funding), a prolonged debate took place between
2008 and 2012 on certain views on the future of the Sector.
THE SECTOR IN ACTION
Without going into too much detail on every organisation and group working for the well-being of the language, some actions
by a random selection of organisations and groups during 2007-2012 are mentioned here as a microcosm of the diversity of
the Sectors operations.
Organisations
Comhluadar (for families rearing their children through Irish)
In addition to their usual supportive activities for families North and South, Comhluadar carried out two other projects in
2010. The organisation prepared a 4-part series on families who are members. It was shown on Dublin Community Television
and distributed as a DVD to schools and libraries around the country. It was described as showing a community operating
without geographical boundaries.
Nevertheless, the organisation also began a move towards establishing a settlement in the Dublin area where Irish families
could live and enhance further the opportunities to live ordinary life through Irish as much as possible. This is not easy when
families are isolated in their own areas; creating a geographical (or physical) boundary is one possible answer to that problem.
Coliste na bhFiann (variety of services for young people)

In order to ensure better and more varied facilities for young people to interact through Irish, and so fulfil one of the basic
objectives of the 20-Year Strategy, Cumann na bhFiann, in 2010, re-located its headquarters from Dublin to new buildings
on a 20-acre site in County Meath. The organisation also operates a network of Summer Colleges and some 60 youth clubs
throughout the country. The new venture is the first all-purpose Centre for Young People through Irish. The range of facilities is
wide, catering for all interests and age groups, offered during long or short periods throughout the year. These facilities include
sports, adventure, recording, dance, drama, photography, IT, arts, and more. Currently, the Centre can accommodate some
130 students. It is intended to reach 200 places within a few years.
Glr na nGael (community competition)

This group also changed accommodation during the period under review. It moved its Dublin office to rented accommodation
in the Conradh na Gaeilge building (to which the organisation Comhluadar had also relocated its Dublin office) and opened an
additional office in the Meath Gaeltacht.
Glr also began a new competition for second-level schools in 2010 (on an all-Ireland basis as all its competitions) through
which students were encouraged to set up a Cumann Gaelach na Mac Linn (Irish Student Society) to organise activities
through Irish. A further method of encouraging the use of Irish is through the new 2012 scheme Gaeilge anseo labhair
(Irish here speak it) which gives public recognition to those towns gaining 75% in the comprehensive marking scheme used
by the Glr judging panels in assessing progress. Another venture saw the establishment of an online shop, www.udar.ie and
the production of materials through Irish including the popular game, Scrabble, of which two versions are available, adult and
junior. The competition Global Gaeilge went from strength to strength. A conference was organised in New York in May 2008
which brought together all local Irish language groups from North America. Not surprisingly, it generated no small publicity.
Among the annual awards presented in 2013, both New York (Dalta na Gaeilge) and Pittsburgh (Forbairt na Gaeilge) were
successful in the Global Gaeilge competition. The other prizewinner in this category was Glascow (Conradh na Gaeilge). In
2014, no less than three groups from Canada took prizes as did Dalta na Gaeilge and Glascow once more. Another venture saw
the Ceannasa (CEO) of Glr na nGael judging on the TG4 series G-Team which visited various communities around Ireland
on G-Day to assess the local use of Irish (G = Gaeilge). This approach gave added impetus to community groups such as Glr
Uachtar Tre in County Down in Northern Ireland (functioning since 1993).
Oireachtas na Gaeilge (the annual festival of traditional song, music, dance and literature awards) also has two offices now, one
in Dublin and one in the Galway Gaeltacht. Even further afield, Gaeltacht. Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada was celebrated in 2011
and 2012 with attendance from all over Canada and the US. An independent panel of judges (some from Ireland) supervised
the range of competitions across traditional music, song and dance with poetry recitation also.
Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge (central steering council for the Irish language community)
An Chomhdhil represents 24 organisations. In implementation of its service and advocacy role, An Chomhdhil was active in
many areas: maintaining existing services and initiating or supporting new ones in an all-Ireland context. The number of visits
to the information website maintained by An Chomhdhil, www.gaelport.com, increased year-on-year: 1.5 million (2009); 2.0
million (2010); 2.1 million (2011). The website received several industry awards. The biennial policy gathering, An Tstal, was
held in 2010 on implementation of the 20-Year Strategy and in 2012 on the review of the Official Languages Act then ongoing
together with the announced threat of merger for the Office of An Coimisinir. International experts are usually invited to
An Tstal (Gathering) to give their views. In the 2012 instance, the responsible department agreed to include the expert from
Wales in its deliberations on the Act. Given the growing concerns of the Irish language community and the 70th anniversary
of An Chomhdhil in 2013, Tstal na Gaeilge was held in February of 2013 on the theme Beart de rir Briathair (Word into
Action). A raft of recommendations were made by the participating language community to be put on their behalf by An
Chomhdhil before two government ministers in particular, Education and Gaeltacht. They are given below as indicative of
current concerns within the Irish language community. These recommendations included:
- education in the Gaeltacht;
- COGG not to be absorbed into the NCCA but to become an independent satellite operating through Irish and
with ringfenced funding;
- support for parents raising children through Irish;
- review of the current support programme and clarity on its intended outcomes;
- more information on the implementation process of the 20-Year Strategy, in particular the decisions of the high
level groups which form part of the implementation structure, and a strengthened role for the voluntary sector;
- more support for the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga and clarity on the rights of Irish speakers;
- support for the infrastructure of the language and open discussion between all relevant stakeholders towards
strengthening, rather than destroying, the Irish language sector.
In addition to An Tstal, a series of regional meetings were organised on the 20-Year Strategy and many bodies were assisted
in drawing up their language plan under the Official Languages Act. An Chomhdhil also played an active part on the North/
South Committee for Irish Medium Education, in the campaign for an Act for Irish in Northern Ireland, in the Forum of the
19 Core-Funded Organisations and in oversight of legislation having implications for Irish. It also collaborated with a member
organisation in the production of multi-media materials for second-level schools on the island and initiated a series of seminars
for schools on the topic of The Added Advantage of Irish in the work sphere.
Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League)

An imaginative initiative encouraged by Conradh na Gaeilge, in collaboration with other organisations, is the biennial festival
run, RITH, around Ireland, begun in 2010, during Seachtain na Gaeilge in March. The aims are not only to provide funding for
community initiatives but to involve local communities on the route (1,600 kilometres in 2012) in celebrating Irish through
festive activities. The number of participants grew from 20,000 in 2010 to 25,000 in 2012.
Is leor beirt (Twos Enough) is a venture which encourages the use of Irish through coffee/lunch get-togethers in particular
venues on designated dates. Two Irish speakers are always available to greet and meet participants. One of the venues is the Dil
for members of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The organisation has also designated 2013 as Bliain na Gaeilge (Year of Irish) with support from major public figures. A
year of events and celebration around the country is planned.
Forbairt Feirste (language and economic development)

Towards the end of 2010, Forbairt Feirste in Belfast launched the network Gaeltique with the aim of increasing both the profile
and the economic potential of lesser used language groups in Europe, a potential community of 800 million citizens of the
47 states in the Council of Europe. Gaeltique had three aims: to identify the specific economic possibilities inherent in this
vast community; then to inform decision makers in order to ensure social and economic investment in these lesser language
communities; to provide a common marketing platform.
Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta (ESG, support organisation for Gaeltacht schools)

With regard to the Gaeltacht, unfortunately, funding for this support organisation was withdrawn in recent years by the
Department with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, probably in light of the general re-organisation of Gaeltacht schemes and
funding by that department.
Tuismitheoir na Gaeltachta (support organisation for Gaeltacht parents)

This organisation is found in both the Munster and Connacht Gaeltacht. In Connacht, it currently comprises some 80 families
endeavouring to bring up their children through Irish. Its work is conducted solely through Irish. It provides out-of-school
activities to enable children socialise and play through Irish as much as possible and liaises with local schools. Ironically, its
endeavours in the Gaeltacht setting mirror those of parents in the Galltacht (or English-speaking areas) over many years, where
services had to be fought for from officialdom.
Groups
Pobal Chluain Tarbh
This community group in the Clontarf suburb of Dublin City celebrated 40 years of totally voluntary activity in progressing
the use of Irish in their area in 2012. The most well known events are probably the annual week long October igse (Festival)
and the pre-Christmas Aonach na gCrta (Card Fair). But the group also organise local events throughout the year: three
conversation circles, bus trips, lectures, chat evenings, religious services. The local GAA club also assist.
Cairde Teoranta
In contrast with Pobal Chluain Tarbh, this Armagh (NI) group have the services of a Development Officer. They work in
cooperation with local institutions, Irish-medium education, the Culture Committee of the GAA, and hope to set up a
Cultrlann (Cultural Centre) with official funding. Classes, activities and emphasis on community social life and challenges
form the core of activities.
Fram Phobal na Gaeilge (forum for Irish language community groups)

This planning and language development representative forum serves individuals, groups and organisations in the Derry
City Council area. It is serviced by the City Councils Irish Officer and comprises a range of local interests. It also provides
information for a calendar of Irish language events and services maintained on the City Councils website. Membership
includes Pobal, the umbrella group based in Belfast. The invaluable work of Pobal on linguistic legislation is found below in
Chapter 8.
An Ghaeltacht
Local development groups are found across the Gaeltacht, many engaged in language planning for their community. The
organisation, ige na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Youth), subvented by dars na Gaeltachta, is a central plank of planning for the
linguistic future of the Gaeltacht. Further development of the reach and areas of operation of the organisation took place during
2007-2012, including the continuing appointment of regional development officers.
FUNDING FOR THE IRISH VOLUNTARY SECTOR

The issue of funding and future for the Sector were closely linked in State/Sector relations during the period under review.
Given the vital significance of the topic, it has been closely examined above, Chapter 3, Funding.
SUMMARY ON THE STATE AND THE IRISH VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Despite four years of uncertainty with regard to funding, and of a changing relationship between the Irish language voluntary
sector and the State, there can be no doubt with regard to the vital rle being played by the voluntary sector in maintaining
the language at the core of all aspects of social and community life, as evidenced in the various fields of endeavour: education,
youth, media, publishing, social media, family transmission, the various arts, sport, advocacy, business.
THE IRISH
LANGUAGE
IN NORTHERN
IRELAND (NI)
This section gives an overview of context and developments in Northern Ireland with respect to the Irish language during
the period 2007 onward.
THE PRESENT LANGUAGE COMMUNITY

DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS
An obituary in The Irish Times in late 2013 recorded the death of Paddy Flanagan, the man considered to be the last known
link with the traditional Gaeltacht area of County Fermanagh. He was also a traditional musician. While his parents were
Irish speakers, the home was bilingual, but Irish was not absent from the surrounding area and in adjoining Leitrim. He
remembered the community gradually reverting to English after partition in the 1920s, as was the case in other Irish-speaking
areas of Northern Ireland the Sperrins, the Glens of Antrim, Rathlin Island, parts of Armagh and Tyrone.
The decennial census in Northern Ireland is the usual source for the number and location of current Irish speakers, as
well as for information on their specific language skills. The latest information publicly available on the whole population is
from the 2011 Census. Results from the 2011 Census were released in phases by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research
Agency (NISRA): phase one (population and household estimates) July-September 2012; phase two (more precise information
on population statistics which include census specific classification listings, language among them) November 2012-February
2013; third phase (detailed characteristics) March-June 2013. Current information on the present language community in
Northern Ireland became available on11 December 2012 and is given below. However, in the interim, the following figures
were available from NI Omnibus Survey 2007, reported also in the public consultation document on a Strategy for the Irish
Language (POLICIES FOR IRISH below) issued by the NI Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in July 2012. They
provide an interesting comparison for both Irish and Ulster-Scots with the Census figures reported.
Knowledge of Irish and Ulster-Scots 2007

Results from a question in the NI Omnibus Survey 2007, given in percentages, come from a base of 1,211 respondents.
Knowledge of Irish includes any of the skills: understanding, speaking, reading or writing Irish.
NI Omnibus Survey 2007: Ability in Irish

Some knowledge of Irish
No knowledge of Irish
All
18%
82%
Male
14%
86%
Female
21%
79%
Catholic
39%
61%
Protestant
2%
98%
Age 16-24
29%
71%
Age 25-34
22%
78%
24%
76%
Has disability
12%
88%
Has no disability
20%
80%
With dependents
22%
78%
No dependents
16%
84%
[Lesser percentages having ability in the age cohorts 35 to 65 +]

Single
[Lesser percentages having ability in categories Married/
Cohabiting and Divorced/Separated/Widowed]
These results appear to show the following trends:

- Roughly speaking, it would appear that just under a fifth of the NI sample population profess to some
knowledge of Irish while just over four-fifths do not.
- More Catholics (39%) have Irish than Protestants (2%).
- Irish then appears not to be shared across the community.
- These statistics are higher than those recorded in Census 2001 at 10.4% (92.3% of these were Catholic and
6.6% Protestant/Other Christian).
- A third more females than males have some competence in Irish (the general population contains more females).
- The fact that the younger age group 16-24 exhibits higher levels than succeeding age groups is a hopeful
indication as is that for the category of persons with dependents, particularly if those dependents are children of
school-going age.
The single outstanding factor requiring policy input appears to be the necessity for the whole community of NI to have opportunities
for equal access to Irish, whether that access is accepted or rejected. That the absence of such cross-community acceptance may
be replicated in political circles can hardly lead to wholesome policy. Comparison with knowledge of Ulster-Scots is interesting.
Knowledge (defined as any of the skills: understanding, speaking, reading or writing) of Ulster-Scots reveals the following.
NI Omnibus Survey 2007: Ability in Ulster-Scots

Some knowledge of Ulster-Scots
No knowledge of Ulster-Scots
All
4%
96%
Male
4%
96%
Female
4%
96%
Catholic
3%
97%
Protestant
5%
95%
Age 16-24
1%
99%
Age 25-34
4%
96%
Age 65 +
6%
94%
Single
2%
98%
Married/Cohabiting
5%
95%
Widowed
3%
97%
Has disability
5%
95%
Has no disability
4%
96%
With dependents
4%
96%
No dependents
4%
96%
[Similar percentages having ability in the age

cohorts 35 to 64]
Divorced/Separated/
Knowledge of Ulster-Scots appears relatively uniform, if quite low with regard to percentages, across the various categories. It
appears to be then, to some extent, a language of the NI community, which indeed could be described as a cross-community
language. However, knowledge across the age groups should give cause for concern to those interested in a future for UlsterScots. Salient points are:
- These statistics are higher than those recorded in Census 2001 at 2%.
- The percentage difference between Catholics and Protestants is in no way as high as in the case of Irish.
- The very low level of knowledge in the age cohort 16-24 allied with a higher level of knowledge in the age
group 25 to 64, followed by a higher level still in the 65 + group appears to be a factor for policy intervention,
perhaps through the education system.
Comparison with a 1999 survey (NI Irish Life and Times) is useful. At that time, the percentage of all respondents (from a
sample 2,195) professing knowledge of Ulster-Scots was 2%. Within the Religion category, 2% were Protestant, 1% Catholic
and 2% were in the No Religion category. In 1999, those who had never heard of Ulster-Scots comprised 12% (although, as
in the query on What is prose?, they may well have been speaking Ulster-Scots all their life). The later 2007 Omnibus Survey
showed increases - after eight years - in the overall percentage to 4% and in the Religion category increases for both Catholic
(to 3%) and Protestant (to 5%) speakers. Familiarisation can have useful outcomes. Familiarisation with Irish in the Unionist
community could well have similar results.
Census 2011 NI
Census 2011 in Northern Ireland was held on Sunday 27 March at the same date as in the rest of the UK. It had some
novel aspects:
- within the UK, it was conducted through separate legislation in NI;
- for the first time, the census questionnaire could be completed online;
- some new questions were included which covered topics such as citizenship, national identity, migration and
main language.
Looking in more detail at some of these questions:
- Citizenship (Question 14) was based on passport(s) held): UK, Ireland, Other (to be written in), None.
- National identity (Question 15) was self-described from a list (more than one choice could apply): British, Irish,
Northern Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, Other (to be written in). Question 16 on Ethnic Group, which was not a
new question, in the form of a multiple choice list, followed.
- Main language (Question 19) offered two choices: English, Other which included British/Irish Sign Language. If
Other was chosen, ability to speak English (Question 20) was then assessed from four choices: Very well, Well,
Not well, Not at all.
Ability in Ulster-Scots (Question 21) was also included as a new element in the 2011 Census, added to the question on
ability in Irish that had appeared in previous censuses. Comparison shows some differences of emphasis:
- In the 2001 Census, Question 7 had given 5 boxes which could be ticked for ability in Irish: Understand spoken
Irish, Speak Irish, Read Irish, Write Irish, followed by None of the above.
- In the 2011 Census, Question 21 offers the same 4 choices on linguistic ability for Irish and Ulster-Scots. In this
Census, however, the more negative fifth choice is given in the first box, not the last as in 2001, and states No
ability.
Some commentators considered some of these questions as having a political bias, insofar as the results could be used
by differing political parties or groups/individuals to hinder or to advance linguistic legislation or funding. The questions
on religion (Questions 17 and 18; not new questions) were similarly viewed for two reasons. Firstly, for giving too limited
a range of choices in comparison with other parts of the UK. Options offered were Roman Catholic, Presbyterian Church in
Ireland, Church of Ireland, Methodist Church in Ireland, Other (to be written in), None. Secondly, that respondents were asked
to indicate what religion they were brought up in (from the same list of options) appeared to some to be capable of serving a
particular agenda in the situation of Northern Ireland.
Census 2011 NI: Results Phase One

Phase One of the Census 2011 population statistics were released by NISRA on Monday 16 July 2012. These figures deal with
the total population in terms of age and sex as well as household size. They revealed the following facts:
- Total population: 1,810,900. This was the highest figure ever recorded in NI and an increase of 7% on
Census 2001.
- More females (923,500) than males (887,300) overall.
- More males than females in the following age cohorts:
Males
Females
Age 0-4
63,500
60,900
Age 5-9
57,100
54,200
Age 10-14
61,000
58,000
Age 15-19
64,600
61,600
Age 20-24
63,900
62,100
Age 55-59
49,800
49,500
Under 16
194,400
184,900
Under 18
220,700
210,100
- Women predominated in the much older age groups.

Females
Males
Age 70-74
34,000
29,500
Age 75-79
28,400
21,900
Age 80-84
22,300
14,000
Age 85-89
14,200
7,000
Age 90 +
2,600
7,600
- Women predominated also in the age cohorts 25-29; 30-34; 35-39; 40-44; 45-49; 50-54; 60-64; 65-69.
These figures have policy consequences for education, employment and welfare benefits. Other facts of note in comparison
with Census 2001 were:
- An increase in those in the older age groups.
- A trend towards smaller household size: 58% contained up to 2 people; 28% were single person households.
- A fall of 9% in the number of children aged 4-15 but a rise of 10% in the age cohort 0-3.
The latter would indicate that no precipitate policy moves should be taken to reduce the physical capacity of school places.
(Source: www.nisra.gov.uk/Census/2011results population.html)
The combined population North and South is now almost 6.4 million, an increase of over 1.25 million in the last 20 years.
The table below, extracted from Northern Ireland Census 2011 (NI Statistics and Research Agency, NISRA) shows population
patterns over the centuries in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland (keeping in mind that the political entity of NI
came about in 1921 as six counties of the nine counties of the historic province of Ulster).
Population of Ireland North (NI) and South (ROI)

Census
Population of Ireland
ROI as %
NI as %
1841 (Pre-Famine)
8,175,124
79.8%
20.2%
1861
5,798,967
75.9%
24.1%
1881
5,174,836
74.8%
25.2%
1926
4,228,553
70.3%
29.7%
1971
4,514,313
66%
34%
2011
6,399,115
71.7%
28.3%
Census 2011 NI and the Irish language

In 2001, the Census form for Households had been available in Scottish Gaelic and in Welsh as it was again in 2011. However,
despite complaints, it was not available in Irish in Northern Ireland in 2011. An unofficial version in Irish was reported to have
been circulated for information purposes but not for completion and return. The explanation later given for lack of an Irish
version was apparently that only English is valid according to current legislation. The response of some Irish speakers was to
complete the English version through Irish. How this may have affected the final results is not clear.
On the personal level, two Irish speakers who completed their names and their addresses in Irish (as was their right) on
voting registration forms received their identification cards back in changed format. The length mark over vowels in their
names had been removed and their addresses rendered in English. Enquiries received the response that the system of the
Electoral Commissions office could not cope with the length mark and that, in any case, English would have to be used by
the applicants. This approach is non-compliant with the Charter of the Council of Europe. Interestingly, this situation is dealt
with in the recent consultation document on a Strategy for Irish (July 2012).
STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IRISH LANGUAGE
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012)
Part 4: Measures for Irish in the Public Service
4.6.3 Irish speakers should be facilitated in dealing with the public sector including local authorities both orally and
in writing, including Census returns and other legal /quasi-legal intervention by citizens.
4.6.9 Local authorities should provide an Irish or bilingual version of all publications, official documents and forms
in line with the approach of this Strategy and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Given the recent history of Northern Ireland, some interesting facts from the 1911 Census were discussed in April 2012
on the Irish-medium Belfast radio station, Raidi Filte. Apparently, in 1911, just 100 years ago, the number of Irish speakers
was not confined to the Catholic Falls Road area of Belfast; there were almost as many in the largely Protestant Shankill Road
area where families self-reported as having Irish and English.
Census 2011 NI: Results Phase Two

Phase Two results of Census 2011 became available on 11 December 2012. They included census specific classification listings,
some of which are given below, language among them.
SPEAKERS OF IRISH: CENSUS 2011 IN NORTHERN IRELAND
The results on language are for all usual residents aged 3+ years. The detailed tables cover differing ranges of ability, from the
skill of understanding only up to ability in the four skills of speaking, reading, writing and understanding. For some reason
a caveat is included (for both Irish and Ulster-Scots) as a note accompanying the tables on language in the report issued by
NISRA, Census 2011: Key Statistics for Northern Ireland, December 2012, to the effect that:
An ability to speak, read or write Irish (or Ulster-Scots) does not imply an ability to understand Irish unless stated.
Persons in these categories may or may not have the ability to understand Irish.
Applied linguists might have issue with this statement if the abilities to speak, read or write are intended to have a meaning
other than imitation without understanding.
The figures below have been extrapolated from NISRA tables.
NI Census 2011: Knowledge of Irish by % of population aged 3+

Year
Four skills
Persons
2011
64,847
2001
75,125
Some ability
Persons
3.74
184,898
*10.65
4.6
167,490
10.4%
*In fact the official press briefing document in hard copy gave 11% while the general press release stated:
Among usual residents aged 3 years and over, 11 per cent had some ability in Irish in 2011 (compared with 10 per
cent in 2001), while 8.1 per cent of people had some ability in Ulster-Scots.
The actual increase in the number of persons having some knowledge of Irish is 17,408. Nevertheless, there is a decrease of
10,278 persons professing ability in all four skills. This may arise from the decrease in schools offering Irish among Modern
Languages and subsequent decrease in those sitting Irish for public examinations. Further comment on Irish in examinations
is found below in the section on Education. No information was given with regard to the number (if any) of the census forms
filled out in Irish only or whether they were accepted for computation. The tables of returns for the 2001 Census are titled Irish
Language (Gaeilge) 2001. Those for 2011 are headed Knowledge of Irish followed by Knowledge of Ulster-Scots as Ulster-Scots
was included for the first time as noted above.
NI Census 2011: Knowledge of Ulster-Scots by % of population aged 3+

Year
Four skills
2011
Persons
Some ability
16,373
0.94
Persons
140,204
*8.08
* This was rounded up to 8.1% in the press statement.

The information on by Local Government Districts (LGD) shows some knowledge of both Irish and Ulster-Scots in every
LGD across NI. Some knowledge of Irish varies from 19.84% in Newry and Mourne LGD down to 2.23% in Carrickfergus
LGD. Some knowledge of Ulster-Scots varies from 29.43% in Ballymoney LGD to 3.7% in Newry and Mourne. Ballymoney
returned 7.7% with some knowledge of Irish.
Knowledge of Irish in those LGDs having support for Irish is given below under Local Authorities and Public Services.
Comparison of results with regard to some knowledge of Irish or Ulster-Scots between the NI Omnibus Survey 2007 and
the Census of April 2011 are interesting. The survey was based on some 1,200 respondents selected by established criteria; the
census on all usual residents aged 3 +.
Knowledge of Irish or Ulster-Scots: Survey 2007 and Census 2011

Some knowledge of
NI Omnibus Survey 2007
NI Census 2011
Irish
18%
11%
Ulster-Scots
4%
8.1%
Since cross-tabulations of variables are not available until the issue of Phase Three results in March 2013, cross-referencing
between knowledge of Irish and religion is not currently possible. Results on religion affiliation are found below under Irish in
other domains of community and social life: RELIGION.
DRAFT STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE IRISH
LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): FAMILY TRANSMISSION
The importance of intergenerational transmission of language is well documented. It is also recognised in the Draft Strategy
for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language issued for public consultation by the NI Department of
Culture, Arts and Leisure in July 2012 (and in the Draft Strategy for Ulster-Scots). The relevant extract from the Draft Strategy
for Irish is given below.
4.5 AREAS FOR ACTION: FAMILY TRANSMISSION OF THE LANGUAGE EARLY INTERVENTION
4.5.1 International linguistic research suggests that the transmission of language in the family home is a crucial
element if a language is to be enhanced and developed. Early intervention is a vital factor to increase the number of
speakers and to ensure that the richness of the language will be passed to the next generation.
4.5.2 Families where parents speak Irish need advice and guidance on how to raise their children as balanced bilinguals,
especially if only one parent speaks the language.
4.5.3 Parents should be made aware of the economic, employment and educational advantages of speaking Irish to
their children.
4.5.4 Measures should be taken to encourage parents to speak Irish to their children.
Such measures might include:
Raising awareness amongst parents, prospective parents and the public at large of the advantages of bilingualism;
Supporting the changing of language patterns of families where one parent speaks Irish, in order to increase the
number of children who speak both Irish and English in the home; and
Bringing the message of the advantages of bilingualism into the mainstream work all public services for example
the health and social services that provide advice to new parents.
Clearly, providing a context in which these actions may be carried out is part of the challenge. Part 5 of the Strategy on
implementation in general refers to the public, private and community sectors. It envisions structures within the Department of
Culture, Arts and Leisure (D/CAL), the role of all Government Departments and Arms-Length Bodies as well as action within
the wider community. The media could be considered to have a role in awareness raising and in the provision of appropriate
age-focussed material. With regard to broadcasting, it is clarified in Part 3 of the Strategy that:
Part 3
3.8 Responsibility for some public services, such as broadcasting, remains with the Government in Westminster.
Engagement with the responsible Ministers in Westminster to seek cooperation from their Departments on the aims
and objectives of this Strategy is critical.
In the case of Ulster-Scots, one of the proposals is:
Part 4
Media 11d Develop cooperation with the recently established Ulster Scots Language Broadcast Fund.
CENSUS 2011 NI: ETHNIC GROUP, CITIZENSHIP, NATIONAL IDENTITY, MAIN LANGUAGE
Ethnic group
Some of the main ethnic groups of interest, given in response to a multiple choice question, were characterised as follows:
White
Chinese
Indian
Irish Traveller
98.21%
0.35%
0.34%
0.07%
Citizenship
The concept of citizenship was based on passport(s) held: UK, Ireland, Other (as written in on census form, None. On these
classifications, the percentage results were as follows:
UK
UK only
Ireland
Ireland only
UK & Ireland
only
EU
59.11%
57.18%
20.75%
18.94%
1.67%
2.18%
18.85% of respondents reported as not having any passport. Of the population, 88.84% were born in NI, 3.57% in England
and 2.09% in the Republic of Ireland.
National identity
Identity is more personal and more emotive a concept than citizenship. In NI Census 2011, the possible choices were British,
Irish, Northern Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, Other (to be written in). More than one could be chosen. On these classifications,
the results were as follows:
British
only
Irish only
NI Irish
only
British &
Irish only
British &
NI Irish
only
Irish &
NI Irish
only
British,
Irish, NI
Irish only
Other
39.89%
25.26%
20.94%
0.66%
6.17%
1.06%
1.02%
5%
Arising out of the combined results, the following picture emerges:

British
Irish
NI Irish
English
Scottish
Welsh
Other
48.41%
28.35%
29.44%
1.00%
0.52%
0.10%
3.42%
Overall, these results were taken to indicate that the concept of a united Ireland is not immediately urgent for the population
of NI as a whole.
Main Language
The main language of usual residents was as follows:
English
Irish
Polish
Lithuanian
Chinese
96.86%
0.24%
1.02%
0.36%
0.13%
Tagalog/Filipino was close to Chinese as main language of 0.11% of the total NI population of 1,810,863. In 2.13% of all
households, no persons had English as main language.
ULSTER-SCOTS
Context
Ulster-Scots received official/legislative mention for the first time in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 1998 and later in
the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe. It is defined as the variety of the Scots
language traditionally found in parts of Northern Ireland and Donegal (SI 859, 1999, UK legislation). As part of the crossborder body, An Foras Teanga, the Ulster-Scots Agency/Tha Boord o Ulstr-Scotch receives funding from both North and
South, and co-operation in cultural ventures from the other part of the cross-border body, Foras na Gaeilge.

During 2010, the NI Department for Culture (Research and Statistics Branch) undertook analyses on public
views of all aspects of Ulster-Scots and subsequently published findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus
Survey of April 2010. Some of this research is reported below under Attitudes. Ulster-Scots has then a degree
of political, legislative and financial support thanks to which cultural awareness has increased in both religious
communities of NI as illustrated in the 2007 NI Omnibus Survey reported above. The cultural ventures which
have assisted this include:
- On Eagles Wing: a musical on the Scots Irish who emigrated to America;

- The Hamely Tongue Cultr Ceilte (Hidden Culture): a documentary broadcast on TG4 in January 2010;
- The Broadisland Gathering: an annual September festival of Ulster-Scots culture, established in 1993 in the small
village of Ballycarry in County Antrim which has in recent years established links with communities across the
water on the west coast of Scotland.
- The production of publications including a newspaper and historical leaflets.

On the political front, Ulster-Scots would appear to benefit from Unionist parties while Irish generally does not, particularly
as reported at local government level, outlined below. The reverse does not apparently occur to the same extent in the case of
Nationalist parties and Ulster-Scots.
In October 2010, the (then) DUP Minister for Culture spoke at the launch of a lecture series on Exploring Culture, saying:
Wider understanding of the impact and origins of culture and identity is an important element in developing an
informed and vibrant communitya society confident and open in exploring and debating such issues is a society
that can build a shared Future.

In November 2010, the same Minister is reported to have praised (on his blog) schools such as Glengormley for introducing
aspects of cultural heritage from the cultural community to which the children belong. Unfortunately, the 40-pupil rural
primary school of Ballykeigle, which was intended to be the first Ulster-Scots school, had to close in June 2012 as it no longer
fulfilled official enrolment criteria of 105 pupils to be a sustainable rural school. It was 174 years in existence and had universal
community support.
This educationally praiseworthy approach on cultural heritage did not, however, always extend to the perception of Irishmedium schools in the reported view of some NI politicians. It appears that much remains yet to be done on the issue of
integration and inclusion of Irish into official community-wide policy. Political resistance to policy for Ulster-Scots is not
apparently similar, on the evidence from political pronouncements at different levels. The results from the consultation on
draft strategies for Irish on the one hand and for Ulster-Scots on the other may provide bases for Assembly language policies
and their implementation.
DRAFT STRATEGY FOR ULSTER-SCOTS LANGUAGE, HERITAGE AND CULTURE
In early July 2012, in tandem with a similar consultation on a Strategy for Irish, the NI Department for Culture issued a public
consultation document (until November) on a Strategy for Ulster-Scots language, heritage and culture. This action had been
signalled already in Budget 2011-2015. With regard to the long-awaited Ulster-Scots Academy the Strategy points to the
Ministerial Advisory Committee set up to report on the issue.
The key aims of the draft Strategy are listed:
- creation of a framework where all aspects of Ulster-Scots can flourish and be shared and enjoyed;
- protection and support of the development of Ulster-Scots;
- promotion of wider understanding and recognition of Ulster-Scots and its related heritage.
The areas for action to accomplish these aims mirror the domains set out in the European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages:
- Education at all levels, including the creation of a professorial chair and provision of materials, diplomas/
degrees and teacher training, the role of school governors and that of the CCEA (Council for Curriculum,
Examinations and Assessment);
- Media, including all forms and online;
- Use of Language, including intergenerational use and public awareness-raising;
- Public Services;
- Culture;
- Promotion of the economic benefits of Ulster-Scots is among the objectives of the draft Strategy;
- Elements of corpus planning include progress on standardisation and the production of a dictionary or glossary;
- On the status of Ulster-Scots, attainment of Part 3 status under the European charter is an objective.
With regard to broadcasting, it is clarified in Part 3 that:

Engagement with the responsible Ministers in Westminster to seek cooperation from their Departments on the aims
and objectives of this Strategy is critical.
Part 4 makes the following point on action under Media:
Media
11d Develop cooperation with the recently established Ulster Scots Language Broadcast Fund.
The linguistic objectives of this 2012 Draft Strategy are particularly ambitious, more so than the objectives on culture,
heritage and awareness raising. The latter might, over time, provide the incentive or the basis for the former. It is not always
easy to distinguish the differing aims in the actions currently ongoing. The D/CAL research findings and secondary analysis of
the 2010 NI Omnibus survey on Ulster-Scots show the following results, inter alia:
- 88% of respondents had not participated in any Ulster-Scots cultural activities in the previous 12 months;
- 20% felt that such cultural activities were not sufficiently publicised;
- 41% were not interested;
- 18% would like to more about the Ulster-Scots language and 56% of this interested group chose local courses as
the their preferred option to do so;
- 77% were of the view that children in NI should study the history of the Plantation of Ulster; however, 20%
was the total of respondents aware that 2010 was the 400th anniversary of that event;
- 57% said they were aware of the Ulster-Scots language.
This figure of 57% awareness is probably an improvement on the NI Life and Times study of 1999 when 86% reported they
did not speak Ulster-Scots and 12% had never heard of it. This 12% included 10% of the Catholic and 12% of the Protestant
respondents (as well as 18% of those professing no religion). Nevertheless, in the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) section
of the 2012 Strategy for Ulster-Scots, the following appears:
Political Opinion
Knowledge of the language: In the 1999 NI Life and Times Survey, respondents were asked if they spoke Ulster Scots
similar proportions of nationalist and unionist respondents spoke Ulster Scots (NI Life and Times Survey, 1999).
Notwithstanding this reference to speakers, on an assessment of all criteria, the 2012 EQIA concludes as follows:
Conclusions
The data indicate that those speaking and possessing some knowledge of Ulster Scots are more likely to be Protestant,
married-cohabiting-divorced-separated-widowed and older. There were no significant differentials in relation to
disability, dependants, political opinion and gender. No data is available in relation to sexual orientation and racial
group.
It is D/CALs view that bringing forward an Ulster Scots language, heritage and culture Strategy will have a positive
impact on Ulster-Scots users and therefore indirectly on Protestants, married/divorced/widowed/separated people and
older people which are the groups most likely to speak Ulster-Scots. In D/CALs view, there are no adverse impacts.
Assessment of impact on good relations
D/CAL considers that the introduction of an Ulster Scots language, heritage and culture Strategy has the potential
to improve good relations, as it will potentially give Ulster Scots a more accessible platform for all sections of the
community
This Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) will be completed, taking into account the outcome of the public
consultation. Any resulting amendments to the Strategy will then be made.
Taking these points into account, views expressed in the 2010 NI Omnibus Survey on Ulster-Scots by the religion category
are then of interest also:
Ulster-Scots: D/CAL research on NI Omnibus Survey April 2010

Survey item
Catholic
Protestant
Attended an Ulster-Scots cultural event in the previous year
5%
22%
Ulster-Scots is valuable part of NI culture agree
31%
55%
Ulster-Scots important part history & heritage of NI agree
34%
62%
Consider themselves an Ulster-Scot
3%
31%
Aware of Ulster-Scots language yes
47%
66%
Learn more about Ulster-Scots language yes
12%
24%
Option to study Ulster-Scots history at school agree
52%
65%
Study the history of the Plantation of Ulster at school
69%
84%
Knowledge of the Ulster-Scot newspaper yes
19%
37%
Overall, taking the average of the 9 survey items above, Catholics appear to display no insignificant degree of respect for UlsterScots, an average of 30.2% overall in comparison with 49.5% for Protestants.
While in no way exactly comparable, a similar type exercise in relation to Irish and NI Omnibus Survey 2012 would yield
the following results.
Irish Language: D/CAL research on NI Omnibus Survey January 2012

Survey item
Catholic
Protestant
Attitudes towards Irish language usage in NI in favour
66%
13%
Support/encourage Irish throughout NI agree
74%
18%
More opportunities to learn Irish across NI agree
78%
36%
See/hear more Irish in use in NI - agree
76%
21%
Irish on public documents where other languages also offered- agree
75%
41%
Irish not relevant for NI today disagree
66%
31%
Irish only relevant in certain parts of NI agree
51%
62%
Irish as subject at school for pupils who so wish - agree
92%
73%
Importance of Irish to Northern Irish culture agree
76%
29%
Importance that Northern Ireland does not lose its Irish language traditions agree
82%
29%
Irish important to personal identity agree
52%
5%
Irish makes valuable contribution to promoting identity of NI abroad agree
68%
22%
Looking at the average across these 12 survey items, there is 71.3% agreement among Catholics and 31.7% among Protestants
in relation to the Irish language.
On this rather unscientific basis, it might be possible to conclude tentatively that cross community support for both
Ulster-Scots and Irish is at more or less the same level: Catholic support for Ulster-Scots at 30.2% and Protestant support for
Irish at 31.7%. However, support within each religion community for the language associated with that community is quite
different: just under 50% by Protestants for Ulster-Scots but just over 70% for Irish by Catholics.
Support
Catholic
Protestant
Ulster-Scots
30.2%
49.5%
Irish
71.3%
31.7%
However, the following views would also need to be kept in mind. Firstly, views with regard to an Irish Language Act:
Irish Language: D/CAL research on NI Omnibus Survey January 2012

Survey item
Respondents not in support of an Irish Language Act (spontaneous response)
Catholic
Protestant
16%
63%
Overall survey result
43%
Comments on a list of possible factors that would encourage more use of Irish:
None of the above items (on list)
I already use Irish as much as I want
5%
1%
Nothing would encourage me
28%
81%

On the issue of standardisation of Ulster-Scots, another body, the Ullans Academy, published Ulster-Scots: A Short Reference
Grammar in June 2012. The author of this work has professed reservations on the educational objectives of the Draft Strategy
for Ulster-Scots on the basis that the development of the language is not yet at a sufficient stage of development.
The term Ullans derives from Ulster and Lallans, the description of the Scots language spoken in the Lowlands of
Scotland and brought to Ulster. Lallans is the local Scots variant of Lowlands. The Ullans Academy (established in the early
1990s) is a voluntary non-sectarian organisation which includes celebration of common themes across both Ulster-Scots and
Ulster Irish in its brief.
Some debate among Unionists followed the publication of the Draft Strategy for Ulster-Scots. A senior member of the
UUP was reported in the Irish language media as having two reservations. He found the definition of an Ulster-Scot by a DUP
Minister in the Executive to be too constraining. It related apparently only to those who could trace their ancestry to the first
comers to the North from Scotland. Secondly, he sought equal status for Irish and Ulster-Scots.
Both the Ullans Academy publication and the view of the UUP politician relate, in different senses, to the crucial issue
of status for Ulster-Scots, both within and outwith its recognised community. Comparison with the Irish language is not
necessarily the most profitable exercise. A possible initial step towards academic and community status might be the creation of
an academic chair for the variants spoken in Ulster (nine counties), or a Department of Ulster Speech Studies, which could be
funded by the Ulster-Scots agency, since it is funded in any case by Government Departments North and South. Beginning in
the first instance with scholarships for post-graduate students might assist in moving matters forward quickly. Applied studies
arising out of research by students might then provide the basis for extending Ulster-Scots downwards in the education system,
as well as outwards into other domains, through the required tools being provided. Undergraduate students could be expected
to emerge from the system reasonably quickly if Ulster-Scots Studies was offered first at second level and then gradually later
to teachers at primary level, whether as inservice or pre-service.
SPEAKERS OF ULSTER-SCOTS: CENSUS 2011 IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Year
Four skills
Persons
Some ability
Persons

2011
16,373
0.94
140,204
*8.08
* This was rounded up to 8.1% in the press statement.

The information on by Local Government Districts (LGD) shows some knowledge of both Irish and Ulster-Scots in every
LGD across NI. Some knowledge of Irish varies from 19.84% in Newry and Mourne LGD down to 2.23% in Carrickfergus
LGD. Some knowledge of Ulster-Scots varies from 29.43% in Ballymoney LGD to 3.7% in Newry and Mourne. Ballymoney
returned 7.7% with some knowledge of Irish. A table with this information appears below under Local Authorities and
Public Services.
POLITICS IN NI 2007-2012
Party politics and language matters are closely bound in Northern Ireland. Parties and elections are then very pertinent to
linguistic policy, both at central and at local levels especially, particularly in relation to majority parties, alliances between
parties of similar persuasion and the political affiliation of chairpersons.
THE NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY
Political Parties 2007-2012

In the period from 1998 to 2012, a series of changes occurred within and between the political parties in NI. As in the case
of Fianna Fil (Introduction) in the Republic, the once dominant Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) lost its position to the extent
that it forged an alliance with the British Conservatives; this did not last long. In NI, the two sides which had initially benefited
from the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the UUP were
superseded by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fin with the Alliance Party making steady progress. By election
2011, after the 2007 Assembly, which was the first to run its full term despite stormy times, accommodation had reached the
stage where the DUP and Sinn Fin had fairly positive experience of sharing power.
During the period 2007-2012, some well-known political personalities moved off the stage. As noted below, Dr Ian Paisley,
leader of the DUP and First Minister resigned in 2008 and was replaced by Peter Robinson. Mr Robinson unexpectedly lost his seat
at Westminster (to the Alliance Party candidate) in 2010. Mark Durkan, who had succeeded John Hume as leader of the SDLP in
2001, stepped down after his re-election to Westminster in May 2010. This resulted in two elections within the SDLP, following
closely on one another, to the position of party leader. In addition, Mark Durkan resigned his seat on the Assembly in November
2010, as he did not believe in the dual mandate, being both MLA (Member of the Assembly) and MP (Member of the Westminster
Parliament), and intended to concentrate on the Foyle constituency in the light of the impending financial cutbacks. The two other
SDLP representatives with the same dual mandate did not resign from the Assembly. In fact, in February 2012, the sole SDLP
minister in the Assembly Executive, who holds the Environment brief, signalled plans to end the dual mandate within two years.
The Sinn Fin party also engaged in internal changing of political seat holders. The Sinn Fin Deputy First Minister was
to resign his Westminster seat during 2012 to concentrate on Assembly matters. His four party colleagues holding the same
dual mandate were to resign from the Assembly. While a by-election would be required in the Mid-Ulster constituency for the
Westminster seat, the Assembly seats could be filled by the co-option mechanism. The Sinn Fin representative in the European
Parliament resigned her seat leaving that too to be filled by the party. Since the choice for that seat was, in fact, the Sinn Fin
Junior Minister in the Office of the First and deputy First Minister, another internal move was required. It might be argued that
the Sinn Fin party were ensuring political experience for as many as possible while simultaneously ensuring that no individual
became entrenched in seats of power.
Sinn Fin is the only party on the island of Ireland that has the most comprehensive political representation: in Northern
Ireland (Assembly 29 MLAs, 138 local councillors); in the Republic (14 Deputies including party leader Gerry Adams, 3
Senators and local councillors); at Westminster (5 MPs) and in the European Parliament (1 MEP). It was hardly surprising
then that the deputy First Minister of the NI Assembly was put forward as candidate in the presidential election in the
Republic in October 2011 where he gained over 243,000 votes, coming third in a field of seven. In August 2011, Sinn Fin
proposed that voting rights in such an election should be extended to citizens in Northern Ireland.
Added to the fact that Sinn Fin is the second party in NI on votes, it also became for a period the second party in the
Republic according to an Ipsos poll of popular sentiment conducted for The Irish Times during the EU referendum debate.
On the other hand, although Fianna Fil (ROI) had a strong cumann (branch) in Queens University in 2009, and there
was some speculation that it might run candidates in the May 2011 Assembly Elections, that did not occur. The speculation
initially arose from the fact that an Independent Assembly member (formerly Sinn Fin) had joined the Fianna Fil party in
NI. The subsequent history of the party in the General Election of February 2011 in the South probably left it too weakened to
attempt such a move even if speculation turned into action. However, at the March 2014 Ard-Fheis in Killarney, the intention
of the party to field candidates in NI in 2019 was confirmed.
2007-2008
However, the period under review had also included a series of ups and downs. The election pledges of the St Andrews
Agreement of October 2006 and the acceptance of the Police Service of NI (PSNI) by Sinn Fin (at a special Ardfheis in
January 2007), accompanied by the date of 26 March 2007 as deadline set by London for devolution or dissolution produced
the desired result: an 11th hour agreement between the DUP and Sinn Fin to set up the Executive on 8 May 2007. With the
devolution of power on that day and the meeting of the Assembly, the Reverend Ian Paisley (DUP) was elected as First Minister
(aged 81) and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Fin) as deputy First Minister. Both addressed an invited audience in a manner that
presaged the good relations between them that followed. The Reverend Paisley remained in post until May 2008; he was
succeeded as leader of the DUP party in April and as First Minister in June by Peter Robinson.
In the sphere of education, however, two issues revealed continuing political problems. The Education and Skills Authority
(ESA) was scheduled to be in place by April 2008, then by April 2009, then by early 2010. The Minister was of the Sinn
Fin party. The DUP party had continuing concerns with the future of the state-controlled sector under the new composite
structure as well as queries on costs. The Bill to establish the ESA went through the initial legislative stages but no further
probably due to the lack of political agreement and possible withdrawal of the Bill. The educational sector sought more clarity
and less bureaucratic layers. In the interim, the boards of the five Educational and Library Boards (ELBs), which the Authority
would replace, were reduced in numbers and later had their tenure extended for a transitional period. The ELBs are statutorily
responsible for the funding and delivery of services in their local areas in education and youth sectors. The delay may have
come as somewhat of a reprieve to Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta, whose position would probably have been less free as part of
the new structure rather than as a free-standing body.
The second issue concerned the transfer examination to second level for NI primary pupils, the 11-plus. There had been
argument in some quarters over the years about the fairness of this examination, taken at age 10/11 by pupils in their own
primary school where their teacher verified their identity. The basis of the argument lay in the fact that on the results of the
examination, children were streamed at such a young age into either academic grammar schools or more vocationally oriented
secondary schools. In addition, there was no pass mark for the examination. Neither were resits possible. Within her remit,
the (then) Sinn Fin Minister abolished the 11-plus as being socially unjust and unfit for purpose. The last examinations were
held in November 2008. In addition, she wished to discontinue entirely the concept of academic selection at age 10/11 and
to replace it with a system where pupils could decide at age 14 (end of Key Stage 3) which educational path they wished to
follow. The entire scheme proved unacceptable to the Unionists who succeeded in preventing the issue of legislation governing
statutory alternative transfer arrangements in place of the 11-plus. The Minister was obliged to remain with guidelines as
regulations for school authorities on the allocation of second level places, a situation which apparently resulted in all-round
confusion, for teachers, students, parents, school governors. It was also an example of non-functioning political processes.
These regulations or guidelines were brought in during January 2008, in accordance with the Education Order (NI) 1997.
Change is always problematic and the rigidity of an examination system, however faulty, may often provide false certainty.
Several of the stakeholders preferred some test system to guidelines, even as an interim measure. In 2009, the Commission for
Catholic Education (550 schools) argued for the use of an entrance examination until 2012 particularly for some over-subscribed
grammar schools. Other schools had experts design tests for them. Differing standards may have prevailed. For pupils, it could
have meant undergoing entrance tests for a number of schools, in those schools, rather than in their familiar primary school
surroundings. The Commission for Catholic Education conducted a consultation and issued a review in early 2010 which, while
accepting the unsuitability of academic selection, also offered a range of options to deal with the issue of transfer.
To deal with the situation, two groups of schools emerged which used their own devised tests: schools in the largely
Catholic Post Primary Transfer Consortium used their common test and the other group used a test devised by the Association
for Quality Education. The two tests are not the same but each tests the same general areas of English and mathematics as
contained in the NI Revised Curriculum Key Stage 2.
2009-2010 Devolution of powers in justice and policing

The year 2009 saw growing unrest on the ground as well as much dispute between the DUP and Sinn Fin over the issue
of the delayed transfer to the Assembly of justice and policing powers due to Unionist refusal on the grounds that sufficient
community support did not exist for the transfer. There were continuing fears during the early months of 2010 for the
stability of the political institutions so hard won as continuing talks, particularly between the two main parties, came to
little. Unionist denial was general and unabating. Political parties suffered mutual and internal disagreement on the way
forward. The community, meanwhile, were more focused on economic and social problems than on the ongoing politicking.
For unrelated personal reasons, Peter Robinson stood down briefly from the post of First Minister. There were real fears that
without some progress on this crucial issue of justice and policing, Sinn Fin would leave the Assembly which, in fact, did not
meet for 150 days in total before a solution was hammered out. Finally, in the face of the imminent collapse of the political
institutions, the Taoiseach of the ROI and the British Prime Minister came to Belfast after their joint meeting in London and
joined the talks (which continued longer than expected) in Hillsborough Castle that led to the third Agreement in NI matters
(the Good Friday and St. Andrews Agreements being the other two). A Joint Statement from them published on 28 January
2010 was of the stick and carrot variety. The Statement ended thus:
If it proves impossible for the parties to resolve the outstanding issues, we are prepared to bring forward our specific
proposals at that point for wider debate and discussion.
We have listened to their [the parties] views and we are now right to ask them to do what they have to do, which
is to reach agreement on these outstanding issues and move quickly to the cross-community vote in the Assembly
necessary to achieve the completion of devolution.
Among other points made in the Statement was the possibility to:
Benefit from the offer from the British Government of 800 million of resources for a new Department of Justice
money which is only available if agreement is reached by the parties at this time.
The actual Hillsborough Castle Agreement of 2010, after a long period of fruitless talks between the parties, was eventually
hammered out between 25 January 2010 (when Dublin and London came to Belfast) and 5 February 2010 when the short
text was published. As part of the negotiations, the Alliance Party had pushed for a new approach to a Shared Future for NI.
Some of the absence of agreement had concerned parades and the role of the Parades Commission.
The Agreement of some 3,000 words addressed 5 issues:
- Devolution of powers in justice and policing - dependent on cross-community vote to request such devolution
in the Assembly on 9 March with actual transfer of powers on 12 April. However, the judiciary and the Chief
Constable of the PSNI retain independence.
- A better framework to regulate parades.
- Improvement of how the Executive itself functioned, including delivery.
- Completion within a fixed period of all outstanding Executive business.
- Addressing outstanding issues from the St Andrews Agreement (of late 2006, more than 3 years previously).
These included matters relating to the Irish language, particularly legislation.
The outcome was communicated to the press at a very inclusive photo opportunity. Nevertheless, given the significance of
handshakes in NI politics, it was noted that the DUP First Minister apparently did not shake the hand of the Sinn Fin deputy
First Minister, in public at any rate.
The implementation of the Agreement was left largely to inclusive committees of the Assembly except in the matter of
devolution of powers. In the context of NI, matters of policing and justice had remained reserved to Westminster until they
were eventually devolved following this Hillsborough Castle Agreement and the cross community Assembly vote requesting
such devolution. A new Department of Justice became part of the Assembly Executive to which a member of the Alliance
Party was appointed. Nevertheless, the judiciary and the Chief Constable of the PSNI retain independence, while Westminster
retained matters pertaining to the UK Serious Organised Crime Agency and to the operations of MI5.
Bringing the NI parties to agreement required the involvement of London and Dublin, the promise of an eventual special
1 billion fund from the British government and a US investment conference chaired by Hillary Clinton who retained strong
attachment to the NI process from her visits when the Presidents wife. The entire episode is indicative of the context in which
issues relating to the development of the Irish language are required to operate.
It did not go unnoticed that Hillsborough Castle had also been the venue for the historic Anglo-Irish Agreement
of 15 November 1985, following the New Ireland Forum Report 1984.
2010-2012
Matters of the economy dominated the next years 2010-2012, Economy below. Relations improved, on the surface at least.
But pockets of deep resistance still remained.
Assembly Election 2011 and Irish

In March 2011, just a fortnight before dissolution on 25 March in advance of elections in May, the NI Assembly
finally passed a budget that tried to accommodate the cuts over following years imposed by the Treasury in London in
October 2010. A spending review had already been initiated in November 2010. Those opposed to the March 2011
budget were the (nationalist) Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).
Sinn Fin and the Alliance Party supported the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Minister for Finance. In ways, this
foreshadowed the election results that followed from the point of view of power continually shifting from the position
of that in 1998.
On Thursday 5 May 2011, the fourth election to the Assembly since its establishment in 1998 took place. The election
manifestos issued by the parties indicated their position on Irish (and Ulster-Scots). There were few surprises.
- Sinn Fin issued its manifesto in both Irish and English. The manifesto includes a reminder on the 20million
provided to the Ciste Craoltireachta Gaeilge (Broadcasting Fund for Irish) at its behest [during the side
deals conducted as part of the negotiations towards the Hillsborough Castle Agreement of February 2010.
Apparently 5 million were pledged by Westminster to Ulster-Scots at the same time]. Sinn Fin pledges
to support an Act for Irish, Irish-medium education, public awareness of the link between culture and the
economy and an all-Ireland strategy to create urban Irish-speaking areas.
- The other nationalist party, the SDLP, while not specifically including Irish, pointed to its campaign for services
in Irish from local authorities and its draft bill for use of Irish in the public sector; the party supports Irishmedium education and the development of the study of Irish throughout the education system to ensure Irish
as a choice for every child; it also supports the arts through Irish.
- The Alliance Party were in favour of language legislation, not for Irish alone but for both traditional languages
together with other languages spoken in NI. The partys approach would be needs-based rather than rightsbased.
- The Green Party, as might be expected, consider both Irish and Ulster-Scots as important cultural resources.
The unionist parties either avoided Irish to concentrate on Ulster-Scots or were openly opposed to Irish.
- Interestingly, the DUP does not specifically refer to Irish but offers clear support to the development of the
Ulster-Scots heritage. In a reference to the entity NI Screen, the party puts forward the proposal that this entity
be divided between the body Invest NI and the Ministry for Culture. Since NI Screen includes the Broadcasting
Fund for Irish, possible detrimental implications could arise for the language. [This 2011 manifesto is to some
extent an advance on that issued for the 2007 Assembly elections which opposed an Act for Irish].
- The UUP, while clearly supporting Ulster-Scots and cultural rights for all, also contend that an Act for Irish
would be costly and divisive.
- The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) does not mention Ulster-Scots but states clearly its negative policy
towards State expenditure on Irish.
Some facts relating to the election are given below.
- The results, (in comparison with the previous election in 2007) were: DUP: 38 seats (+2); Sinn Fin: 29 seats
(+1); UUP:16 seats (-2); SDLP: 14 seats (-2); Alliance Party: 8 seats (+1); Green Party, Traditional Unionist
Voice and an Independent (who had been de-selected by his party, UUP): 1 seat each.
- The number of voters fell continuously over the 4 elections - 1998, 2003, 2007, 2011 from around 70% in
1998 to under 55% in 2011. While some attributed this to a level of satisfaction with the Assembly, others
viewed it as a weakness of democracy.
- The relative position of parties changed entirely over the period. In 1998, the SDLP received most votes with
the UUP second. By 2011, the DUP had moved from third place to first and Sinn Fin from fourth to second;
the votes of SDLP and UUP had almost halved.
Assembly Executive post-Election 2011

In the immediate post-election stage, the number of departments remained as in early 2010, in the wake of the addition of Justice:
that is 10 departments plus Justice plus the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, too many in the view of the DUP.
Ministries to the power-sharing Executive of the NI Assembly are allocated in accordance with the dHondt proportional
principles. On 12 May 2011, the Assembly members met to make these allocations knowing that the same First Minister
(DUP) and Deputy First Minister (Sinn Fin) would undoubtedly be re-appointed. According to dHondt, the allocation
would then be: DUP: 4 ministries plus a junior ministry; Sinn Fin: 3 ministries plus a junior ministry; Alliance: 2 ministries;
UUP and SDLP: 1 ministry each. In the event, the departmental allocations were as follows:
- DUP (4; one woman): Finance & Personnel; Enterprise, Trade & Investment; Social Development; Health,
Social Security & Public Safety
- Sinn Fin (3; 2 women): Education; Agriculture & Rural Development; Culture, Arts & Leisure
- Alliance Party: Employment & Learning; Justice (elected for at least a year outside dHondt principles by
parallel consent)
- SDLP (1): Environment
- UUP (1): Regional Development
The previous DUP Speaker was re-elected and a new position, Principal Deputy Speaker, went to Sinn Fin. The Speaker
is expected to act impartially.
In line with the DUP manifesto, in January 2012 the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister announced plans to reduce
the number of departments by abolishing the Department of Employment and Learning, held by a member of the Alliance Party.
Legislation was expected by July 2012. This decision would leave the Alliance Party with just one ministerial post, that of Justice,
which had been mooted to be a relatively short term when the re-appointment of the previous Alliance incumbent had been made
in May 2011. A year later, in May 2012, the Minister for Justice was publicly in disagreement with the Office of the First and
Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) on the vital issue of a new Shared Future Strategy for the whole community of NI, in particular
on the OFMDFM Strategy for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) document (promised since 2007). The Justice Minister
made his initial remarks at a conference of the Community Relations Council on 14 May 2012.
Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI)

As far back as 2005, a policy document on A Shared Future had come from the (then) direct-rule arrangements but it had not
been acceptable to the two main parties. The first iteration of the later CSI document had received criticism to the extent that
a 5-party working group was set up to work on it, a group in which the Alliance Party had participated. By 24 May 2012,
Alliance had withdrawn its participation, pointing to the partys motion in 2007 after the restoration of the Assembly seeking
implementation of the existing Shared Future Strategy, and to the constant problems since then. The UUP withdrew in July
2012. In an address given in Dublin on 19 July 2012 the NI Secretary of State said that it was profoundly disappointing that
we are still awaiting publication of the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration strategy from the Executive. At the DUP conference
in November 2012, the party leader (and First Minister) pointed out that the document, when released, might not contain all
that was wished for, presumably by members of his own party.
From the community viewpoint, the issue of language is, inter alia, an integral strand of such a CSI strategy.
From the point of view of language promotion, both the Education and Culture briefs are now held by Sinn Fin, the party
whose manifesto gave greatest support to Irish. The Alliance Party had at least a neutral policy on Irish while the SDLP had a
supportive attitude (as had the Green Party). This could possibly mean 52 Assembly members positive towards language policy
while 56 might be negative (on the evidence of past Assembly debates, e.g. that of 12 November 2010). Attitudes among
parties at local government level also have significance.
Reference to the Assembly is, however, here made in the context of the power sharing body that it actually is, an unusual
parliament that is intended to be inclusive in the terms of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement 1998. The DUP pre2011 election manifesto contained reference to possible reduction in the number of departments; points 3, 4, and 5 of the
Hillsborough Castle Agreement 2010 contained reference to improvement in the functioning of the Assemblys Executive and
completion of unfinished parliamentary business, including outstanding issues from the St Andrews Agreement of 2006, and
legislation for the Irish language.
However, late 2013 and early 2014 saw little agreement on the three still remaining areas of major contention: flags,
parades, legacy issues. Among the structures recommended by the American Envoy, Richard Hass, who was brought in to
help resolve matters (without success), was the creation of a Commission on Identity, Culture and Tradition. In February 2014,
the Tnaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) in the Republic asked for respect for the flag of the Union and for the Irish language in
NI. It was becoming increasingly evident that the governments in Dublin and London might eventually have to help the NI
parties to reach agreement.
Government and Opposition?

In an address given in Dublin on 19 July 2012 the NI Secretary of State went further. He revealed that a consultation
paper was in preparation by the NI Office on remoulding the Assembly and the Executive and perhaps assisting the
political system in NI to move to the normal mode of government and opposition. Other changes addressed in the paper
mentioned by the Secretary of State included the number of members in the Assembly, the length of Assembly terms, and
an end to the dual mandate of holding office in the Assembly and in Westminster. By late 2012, however, no proposals or
recommendations had emerged although as indicated above, some of the points, e.g. dual mandate, were being addressed
by some political parties. In early September 2012, the NI Secretary of State was replaced in a cabinet reshuffle by the UK
Prime Minister.
The annual conferences of the parties during November 2012 also heard about the possibilities of government plus
opposition instead of the current consensual arrangements. The smaller parties, the (unionist) UUP and the (nationalist)
SDLP first mooted discussion on the issue of possible withdrawal from the Assembly in some fashion in order to provide a
form of opposition. Then the First Minister at the DUP conference offered to facilitate any such moves by the smaller parties
as if this would provide a viable opposition instead of a DUP/Sinn Fin bloc versus the rest, if the Alliance party decided to
withdraw also. Any such changes would, naturally, require clear community backing.
The consequences for legislating for Irish in a normal parliament in NI might be more problematic than is currently the
case, despite current Unionist opposition. In any event, such changes are dependent on wider agreement within the current
Coalition Government in London and, in fact, recent indications (mid-2012) are that differences of opinion between the
Coalition partners at Westminster have stalled the intention to reduce the number of constituencies in NI from 18 to 16.
However, politics is not a simple black/white matter. Internal nationalist and unionist party politics play a rle as does the
composition of the Executive where powerful Finance is not currently under nationalist control. So also does the relative
ranking of various policy initiatives in the consideration of individual parties or members and the alliances that may emerge.
More importantly, the fact that Irish has to contend with policies for other languages and cultures is a factor which may be used
either as a political weapon or as a hindrance mechanism against Irish rather than genuine concern for those other language
communities. Recent (July 2012) actions are described below, Policies for Irish.
LOCAL AUTHORITIES
Language policy at local level can have far-reaching effects on the local community. Such policy is intricately implicated in the
party stance of local councillors and therefore in the number of different party representatives, as some facts given below will
indicate. This, in turn, reflects the community make-up.
Local Elections 2011

Local elections were held for the 26 local councils of NI on the same date as Assembly elections, 5 May 2011 (in the UK,
elections also took place on that date for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly). In fact, these local elections were
scheduled to take place in 2009 but, following a request for delay from the then Environment Minister in 2008 arising out
of the proposed new Local Government structure then in progress under the Review of Public Administration, Westminster
agreed to a postponement through an Order of February 2009. In the event, the proposed new local government structure
reducing the number of councils from 26 to 11 did not then take place but is currently underway (as in the South also).
In advance of the May elections, Unionists dominated 13 councils and Nationalists 11 councils. Neither party dominated
in the remaining two councils that included Belfast City Council.
After the 2011 local elections, the party results across the 582 seats were as follows (previous position of larger parties in
2005 in brackets):
- DUP: 175 (182)
- Sinn Fin: 138 (126)
- UUP: 99 (115)
- SDLP: 87 (101)
- Alliance Party: 44 (30)
- Traditional UV: 6
- Green Party: 3
- Progressive UP: 2
- Others: 28
As in the Assembly elections, two parties are in the lead, the DUP and Sinn Fin, to the detriment of others including the
SDLP, while the Alliance Party showed gains. Nevertheless, the DUP did show some losses, with the result that it created an
alliance with the UUP on one council, Castlereagh Council, where it had lost its previous dominance. In the large Belfast City
Council, the situation remained largely unchanged with the Alliance Party still holding the balance of power.
WESTMINSTER ELECTIONS
Northern Ireland returns members to the Westminster Parliament, currently through18 single-seat constituencies. In September
2011, the Boundary Commission for NI issued a consultation document which would reduce the 18 to 16 under reconfigured
constituency boundaries in which Belfast would consist of 3 instead of 4 constituencies as of now. The same 18 constituencies
currently return 6 members from each constituency to the NI Assembly of 108 members. The proposed changes would reduce
that figure of 108 to 96 members. In addition, the DUP pre-2011 election manifesto referenced a reduced Assembly, from 108
to 80 members and a lesser number of departments, 5 or 6 maximum. If the 6-seater constituencies were reduced to 5-seaters,
then the figure of 80 proposed by the DUP would be reached with a possible corollary of a reduced number of departments.
However, such changes are dependent on wider agreement within the current Coalition Government in London and, in fact,
recent indications (mid-2012) are that differences of opinion between the Coalition partners have stalled the intention to
reduce the number of constituencies in NI from 18 to 16 although preliminary work is still ongoing.
For language matters, the crucial question lies in the composition of a possibly reduced Assembly and reduced representation
at Westminster. Given the diminishing support for the nationalist SDLP Party and the unionist UUP as seen in the 2011
Assembly and local elections, these and other smaller parties would most likely suffer if the proposals of the Boundary
Commission became reality. However, these latest proposals could also go the way of the previous proposed review of Local
Government Structure (below), a fact which seems more likely of late.
The 5 Sinn Fin MPs, however, have not taken their seats over the years as, on principle and as republicans, they refuse to
take the oath of allegiance to the Queen. They do not then receive a salary but are entitled to expenses. After the 2010 elections,
the Conservative Prime Minister, in answer to a question, replied that he intended to look into the matter of non-sitting MPs.
The Sinn Fin Party has noted that they have been received more often by the President of America than by Downing Street.
Since the Queens first visit to the Republic in 2011 and the first handshake between the Queen and a member of Sinn
Fin, in the person of the Deputy First Minister, on the occasion of the Queens Jubilee visit to NI in June 2012, there is some
speculation that a mechanism may be found which would allow Sinn Fin to take up their seats at Westminster. It is not clear
what is to be gained by continued abstention. There does exist, however, history: after the 1918 General Election, when Ireland
was still part of the UK and returned members to Westminster, the Sinn Fin elected members did not take up their seats but
instead established Dil ireann.
EUROPEAN ELECTIONS
Northern Ireland returns 3 members to the European Parliament as the Ulster constituency of the UK Parliament. In the 4
June 2009 election, the Sinn Fin candidate topped the poll with some 26% of the vote; the DUP candidate followed with over
18% while the third seat went to the candidate representing Conservatives and Unionists who received just over 17% of the
vote, narrowly beating the SDLP candidate who had 16.2%. The turnout at some 43% was lower than the Assembly election
in 2011. European elections generally appear to have a low turnout both in the Republic and in NI.
The European Parliament debates aspects of linguistic and educational policy from time to time in ways that could influence
domestic policy.
PARTIES AND POLICIES
A shared future and normalisation of relationships?

In the context of a shared future for all communities in NI and on the island of Ireland, some recent events have occurred which
might not have happened not so long ago, despite the evidence of current fairly good relations at the top of the power-sharing
Executive of the NI Assembly. Examples might be, firstly, the visit to Dublin by senior members of the Ulster Unionist Party
in June 2012 to participate in the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and
to attend a debate in the Seanad on the decade of commemorations (below). The first year of the decade, 1912, is of great
significance for Unionists and for the Orange Order. This visit was followed by an invitation to the grand secretary of the
Grand Orange Lodge in Ireland to address Seanad ireann, an invitation which was initiated by Senator Martin McAleese,
husband of the previous President. In his address, on 3 July 2012, the grand secretary spoke, inter alia, of Orange Order
engagement in a normalisation of relationships but that basically from the Orders perspective of its Protestant nature and
belief in union with the UK for NI. He also referred to unhappy events that befell the Order and some of its members in the
past. Its halls were still being burned, he said.
Arguments are made on the religious nature of the annual marches of the Order on 12 July and the call for freedom to
march wherever Order members wish, together with attempts from several quarters to portray the holiday on 14 July and
the marches as a family day out. Despite this nevertheless, the Order does not engage with the Parades Commission; it still
insists on marching in some nationalist areas and absolves itself from any subsequent riots that may occur as a result. While
the majority of parades pass off without incident and local community workers contain possible problems in some areas, there
is still little evidence of the Order engaging with the local community in the more contentious areas nor of any change in
what has been described as the triumphalist nature of the parades themselves. Where rioting occurs, as it does every year, the
cost to the community is high, both to the local community and to the community of tax payers, and particularly to those
who are injured, including members of the police force. It appears that the proposed normalisation of relationships still has
some way to go. Nevertheless, senior members of the Royal Black Institution apologised to the clergy and parishioners of
St. Patricks Church in central Belfast for any offence during a parade by the order in August 2012. Some rioting had also
occurred in North Belfast. A march and huge rally had been planned by the Orange Order to celebrate the centenary of the
Ulster Covenant at the end of September 2012 and tensions had to be reduced. In the event, the September event passed off
peacefully. However, matters deteriorated at the turn of the year following a decision by Belfast City Council to fly the Union
flag on designated days (as is the case in some other councils) rather than every day. Some within the Unionist community were
upset and angry. The First Minister (as leader of the DUP) and the leader of the UUP set up a forum representative of most
Unionist bodies in an effort to channel the anger. This Unionist Forum set up a task force and 8 working groups to address a
range of issues, including flags and parades, as well as encouraging the unionist vote.
The Irish newspaper Gaelscal (10 October 2012) reported that a Donegal member of the Order, with an important post
within it, is the Orders spokesperson on Raidi na Gaeltachta; he was also among those at the head of the Ulster Covenant
march. Funding was received from a Dublin Government Department towards mounting an exhibition on the Covenant in
County Donegal.
An academics letter to The Irish Times recalled that other members of the Orange Order had previously participated in the
political institutions of the Republic: a County Cavan member of the Dil, elected on five occasions between 1923 and 1943,
who was also a grand master of Cavan Orange Lodge as was his son, three times nominated to the Seanad by the Taoiseach of
the day between 1957 and 1966.
Of significance also was the establishment on 4 July 2012, a day after the address on behalf of the Orange Order to the
Seanad, of the North-South Parliamentary Association which took place in Stormont Parliamentary Buildings, Belfast. The
new body, which is to meet twice a year, consists of 48 members, half from the Houses of the Oireachtas and half from the NI
Assembly. It is co-chaired by the Speaker of the Assembly and the Ceann Comhairle (Speaker) of the Dil. Its first meeting was
scheduled for mid-October 2012 in Dublin.
Another example of a degree of normalisation is found above, Westminster Elections, the handshake between the Queen
and the Sinn Fin Deputy First Minister of NI. Both the UUP visit to Dublin and the brief meeting with the Queen in Belfast
occurred in June 2012. Both, in different ways, are further milestones in a repositioning process that witnessed another
handshake of significance in the past, that between the then President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and Gerry Adams, leader of
Sinn Fin.
In March 2012, the chairman of Sinn Fin was seeking reconciliation with Unionists in the interest of the community
of NI and especially the youth, to prevent their being involved in never-ending debate on the conflict. The Party Ardfheis
(annual conference) at the end of May 2012 offered the same message: a call to move from peace-building to nation-building;
an urgent invitation to Unionists, particularly unionist politicians, to engage in the dialogue which had already begun and
become partners and leaders in creating new relationships North and South; a belief that reconciliation could be a a peaceful
and democratic path to a united Ireland. A national conversation on the future of Ireland and a dialogue on a New Republic
leading up to 2016, anniversary of The Rising, were the desires of the Deputy First Minister in his speech to the Ardfheis
which was held, for the first time since 1905 in Belfast. Building a new better relationship with Britain was also considered
important.
In his address for the inaugural Edward Carson Lecture delivered by the NI First Minister (DUP), in Iveagh House, Dublin,
organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, several interesting references were made to the current situation
by the leader of the major unionist political party in NI. These included the new political climate and new relationship with the
Republic and the growing number of Catholics who see their best future within NI as part of the UK, a factor which could lead
to a new type of cultural unionism. Mr Robinson called for a pro-Union consensus with people from different religious and
community backgrounds. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) made a similar approach in September 2012.
These differing overtures to the other side from the two main political parties in NI, while welcome if overdue, may arise
out of the overall improved context but probably also out of the continuing jockeying for position between the two prominent
parties looking into the changing demographic future. The prospect of a decade of commemorations may have also had some
influence on these mutual overtures. They may also owe something to the imminent referendum and ongoing discussion on
independence for Scotland. If successful, this would mean the beginning of the break-up of the Union. Even without that, the
debate has highlighted once more the respective constitutional positions of the different parts of the Union. In September 2012,
the leader of the Orange Order proposed that Ulster Scots should have a vote in the Scottish referendum in order to ensure that
Scotland remain in the Union. He was speaking at an event to commemorate the Ulster Covenant of 1912 organised by the
Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland. The practicalities of the proposal were not elaborated. Nevertheless, parties and policies which
may be considered unionist still constitute the majority political viewpoint overall in NI although the Catholic population is
growing and benefiting especially from third level education. However, the dilemma for future prediction solely on religious
grounds lies in the growing secularisation of society north and south, particularly among the young.
Another interesting aspect of these movements is the relationship between the Republic and the UK at a time of possible
break-up of the UK and possible further alienation of the UK from the EU. In March 2012, a joint statement was signed by
both the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister on future co-operation - economic, cultural and political - between the Republic
and the UK during the ten years to 2022. While NI is included, the scope of the document is much wider and includes the
EU. Irish unity could possibly figure in a scenario where the UK without Scotland would look at the other devolved regions
of Wales and NI. It is NI that would be likely to suffer detachment and possible annexation to Dublin in some form. On the
other hand, a rather ironic belief also exists in possible future political relationships between Ireland, South plus North, and
England plus Wales, in the event of Scotland voting for independence.
Union or re-unification?
The May 2012 Ardfheis of the Sinn Fin party called on the Dublin Government to commission a Green Paper on unity.
However, speaking in Beijing in March 2012, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) had made clear that there was no timescale
for Irish unity although the terms of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement did include the possibility of a referendum of the
peoples North and South on the issue. Peace in NI was the important achievement, in his view. The same view was repeated
in the reply to the same request from the Sinn Fin leader in the Dil in mid-October 2012, when he stated that partitionis
not working. The Taoiseach considered that the time was not right when such a well of emotion needs to be released so that a
new understanding about the future is brought about.
In addition, recent results from the NI Life and Times survey reported that, overall, 73% of citizens polled in NI wish to
remain in the UK; 52% of Catholics and 96% of Protestants likewise. Among Protestants, no more than 4% then were in
favour of unity with the Republic. It would seem that the prospect of a united Ireland would currently probably be defeated
in any NI referendum while the Republic was somewhat of an unknown quantity. Desire for unity, or lack of it, may also be
affected currently by the recession in the Republic, irrespective of religious background. In an Ipsos MRBI general attitudes
and values survey conducted in the Republic, Changing Ireland, (conducted to mark the 50th anniversary of the public survey
body), the following (fairly consistent) views were expressed:
Northern Ireland will never be reunited with the South
35% agreed
A United Ireland is something to hope for
64% agreed
Would still favour a United Ireland (in 10/15 years time) even if it cost more in taxation
69% agreed
Apparently, in this poll Sinn Fin voters were stronger than supporters of other parties in the view that a united Ireland would
never occur. Nevertheless, the party launched a new initiative at the beginning of 2013 towards discussion on the issue of
a united Ireland and the setting of a date for an all-Ireland referendum, some time in the future. It was reported that other
political parties (both North and South) viewed this move as speaking to the Sinn Fin electorate in preparation for the next
set of elections in several years time, or as an attempt to have Sinn Fin regarded as the sole republican party, particularly in the
South. The Secretary of State for NI in fact rejected the idea of a referendum at the time since sufficient community support
appeared to be lacking.
Nevertheless, the results are of interest from a poll in NI by Ipsos MRBI for the BBC Spotlight programme. The survey of
over 1,000 individuals over 18 years of age took place between 17 and 26 January 2013. The following questions were asked
(the overall results are given in brackets):
- If there was a referendum tomorrow would you vote for
Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom (65%)
Northern Ireland to be joined with the Republic of Ireland outside of the United Kingdom (17%)
Would not vote (12%)
Dont know (5%)
- When, if at all, do you think a referendum on this issue should take place?
Within the next year (27%)
Within 1-7 years from now (30%)
More than seven years from now (13%)
Never (19%)
None of these/other answers (4%)
Dont know (8%)
Clearly, the majority in NI wish for union with the UK not with the Republic. There is also majority support for a referendum
within seven years (56%). However, the internal breakdown of these results carry significance also although some of the actual
numbers of respondents under certain categories were quite small.
More males (22%) than females (12%) were in favour of re-unification with the Republic. Among Catholics, 38% opted
for union with the UK, more than the 35% who opted for re-unification with the Republic. Protestants were overwhelmingly
in favour of the UK, 92%; only 2% favoured the Republic. When social class and political persuasion were taken into account,
unionist and the higher AB categories of social class showed 90% in favour of the union with Britain as did 45% of nationalist
persuasion in those same higher social classes. Across respondents voting for or supporting various political parties, those in
favour of the union with Britain were: DUP 96%; UUP 88%; Sinn Fin 23%; SDLP 56%; Alliance 70%. The figures for
re-unification with the Republic were: DUP 1%; UUP 3%; Sinn Fin 55%; SDLP 21%; Alliance 6%. Rural respondents
were 67% in favour of the UK, 16% for the Republic. Urban respondents were fairly similar: 65% for the UK, 18% for the
Republic. Across the regions, Antrim were most in favour of union with Britain at 84% (with 13% for re-unification with the
Republic). At the other end of the scale, Tyrone/Fermanagh were 53% for union with Britain and 19% for re-unification with
the Republic. While Derry was 55% for union with Britain, it was 23% for joining the Republic. Belfast City (60% UK and
20% Republic) was very different from Greater Belfast (77% UK and 9% Republic).
On the issue of the timing of any possible referendum, the results were broadly similar across all categories, close to the
average 56% for a referendum within seven years. There was more variation, however, on never having such a referendum: from
12% in the higher nationalist social classes AB to 22% of unionist AB classes; from 3% of nationalist DE social classes to 42%
of unionist DE classes; from 29% of Protestant community to 7% of Catholic background; from 31% of those supporting
unionist parties to 8% of those supporting nationalist parties.
Factors such as these all have significance with regard to support for the Irish language and Irish language policies across the
communities of NI. The implications for the Irish language in NI of all these shifts could ultimately prove more positive than
negative as polarised attitudes weaken. However, societal acceptance requires official structures in which to function and this,
in turn, requires political decision. Where and at which more auspicious time, in the changing future, that decision will lie is an
issue for consideration: in Stormont, in Westminster or in Dublin. The current changing, or at least apparent weakening, political
support for aspects relating to policy for Irish in the Republic adds additional piquancy, if not urgency even, to such considerations.
Possible rapprochement through economic policy is considered below as are attitudes.
PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT 2011 - 2015
In conjunction with the Budget 2011 2015 and the Investment Strategy, but following these documents later, the First
Minister and deputy First Minister published the Programme for Government on 12 March 2012. It contains 82 commitments
and sets out the actions to be taken from 2011 2015 across 5 Priority Areas. The arrangements to ensure delivery of the
Programme are at three levels:
- the Programme Board, chaired by the First and deputy First Minister, attended by the Minister of Finance and
Personnel and with the support of the Head of the Civil Service have the function of the strategic direction and
management of the Programme;
- the Delivery Oversight Group, chaired by the Head of the Civil Service, supported by the Permanent Secretaries
Group, is responsible for delivery and constancy of direction and purpose;
- the operational aspects through programmes and projects to achieve outputs and targets are the function of
Departments, Senior Responsible Officers and interestingly - Partner Organisations.
Apart from monitoring and progress reports on commitments on a quarterly basis, a legislative programme that complements
delivery objectives was also intended.
Priority 4 is entitled Building a Strong and Shared Community and states what this aim actually means:
- better relations between communities;
- promoting volunteering;
- improving community and personal wellbeing;
- unlocking the potential of the culture, arts and leisure sectors;
- increasing participation in sport and physical recreation;
- collaborative working.
Among what are described as Building Blocks in achieving the various objectives are:
- Strategy for the Irish Language;
- Strategy for Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture;
- Volunteering Strategy;
- Volunteering Concordat;
- Annual Funding Programme (Arts);
- Northern Ireland Museums Policy;
- Sport Matters.
The Strategy for the Irish Language is discussed below, although whether the results will reach actual legislation is
another matter. The Programme is centrally focused on a vibrant and transformative economy together with tackling historic
deprivation and poverty. Other aspects (sport, the arts, cultural institutions, volunteerism) also receive attention in the relevant
sections that follow.
The overall new Programme was generally well received in the press, above all for being a clear indication of an Executive
that was concentrating on the people and future of NI with some degree of vision and determination.
ANNIVERSARIES AND COMMEMORATIONS
The historical events of the decade of commemorations (2012 2022) debated in the Seanad in early June 2012 are of
significant import to both North and South, to Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter, to Unionist and to Nationalist politicians.
The primary aim is to use history to ensure mutual understanding without divisiveness. The possibilities for such at a distance
of 100 years are, hopefully, high, even given long memories and fairly recent NI history.
The commemorations of political events include the Home Rule Bill of 1912 on legislative independence for Ireland
followed by resistance to it through the establishment of the Ulster Volunteers and the signing of the Ulster Covenant in the
same year. The next year saw the Irish Volunteers set up. Then the First World War followed in 1914 in which the Battle of the
Somme took place in July 1916. The Easter Rising had already taken place, largely in Dublin. The First Dil met in the Dublin
Mansion House in early 1919 after the 1918 elections. A year later, 1920, Ireland is partitioned through the Government of
Ireland Act. In 1921, the Free State emerges from the divisive Anglo Irish Treaty and while the pro-Treaty side won in the 1922
General Election (the first in an independent if divided State), Civil War immediately ensued.
The early years of the decade saw events of social import, albeit having political trappings also. The suffragettes sought
some degree of political decision-making; the fight for trade union recognition led to the Dublin lockout but a strengthened
labour movement. Many lost their lives on the Titanic liner, built in a divided shipyard. On the cultural front, the effects of
the Revival (of Irish) were gaining in strength.
One of the important events of the commemorations schedule was the inaugural Edward Carson Lecture delivered by the
NI First Minister (DUP), not in Belfast, but in Iveagh House, Dublin, organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic. Sir Edward Carson was responsible for the Ulster Volunteers and resistance to the Home Rule Bill for Ireland. The
address was one in a series planned by the Department.
SOCIETY
Political party and religious affiliation tend to be closely linked in NI. Even in the case of lapsed or non-practising church
members, or even non-voters, cultural adherence still remains a factor. Some recent social facts are then relevant, particularly
in light of statements from the two main political parties, DUP and Sinn Fin, on the issue of each reaching out to the other
community, or in relation to the professed aims of both parties. One looks to a united Ireland; the other to maintaining the
union with Britain, as discussed above.
Indications were that the Catholic (and probably nationalist) community in NI is increasing, a fact borne out in the
Census 2011 results appear in Autumn 2012. The Equality Impact Assessment accompanying Budget 2011-2015 admits
that the economic inactivity rate for Roman Catholics is higher than that for Protestants; in other words more Catholics are
unemployed. Nevertheless, from statistics for 2009-2010, Catholics constituted almost 60% (59.3%) of students attending
higher education in NI (Queens University; the four campuses of the University of Ulster and the two teacher education
University Colleges) and Protestants over 40% (40.7%). Of the 940 students attending the Catholic St. Marys Teacher
Education College, only 5 were Protestant while 280 (30%) Catholics were attending the Protestant Stranmillis College.
Apparently, Catholics are more represented in higher education and Protestants in further education. The issue of Protestant
underachievement in education is one of the working group topics arising out of the Unionist Forum set up in the wake of
the Belfast riots at the end of 2012. At the other levels of education (nursery, primary, second level) for the same year, a similar
picture emerges: almost 69% of attendees were Catholic.
Several other factors are pertinent. It is accepted that Catholic-controlled schools tend to have better academic results.
This may account for the numbers of Catholics proceeding to third level. Education as a path out of unemployment, or as
substitution for lack of jobs, in the case of Catholics, may also be a factor in third level take up. The third level statistics above
do not entirely represent either the Protestant or Catholic cohorts since some attend institutions outside NI. In 2009-2010, the
number of Protestants at third-level institutions in Britain was 1,238 (or 45% of all attendees from NI) while 1,146 (or 41%
of the total) were Catholics. How many of these students return to NI is not accurately known. The remaining 14% attending
institutions abroad were in the category Other.
ECONOMY
NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE UNITED KINGDOM
In common with the rest of the UK, the NI economy regressed from 2009 onwards. However, NI was one of the worse affected
regions of the UK. NI was also affected by the recession in the Republic, particularly in the Border regions which had been
benefiting from consumer demand from the South. The vicissitudes of the euro compounded the problem. Nevertheless, the
Republic continued to honour its commitments to joint projects, roads for example, and through the cross-border institutions
and bodies, and through mutual agreement by the relevant Ministers North and South on the level of cuts required in the
deteriorating economic situation.
It was, however, the measures in the Emergency Budget brought in by the UK Chancellor of the new Coalition in June
2010 that created most problems for the Assemblys Executive and led to such a degree of unease in advance of the UK October
Comprehensive Spending Review that the text of a joint statement was issued on 7 October 2010 from NI signed by the three
Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They shared a common concern over the consequences
to their budgets of cuts described as too fast and too deep. They urge the UK Government to re-consider its proposals.
On 14 October, Sinn Fin issued its party document, There is a Better Way, outlining its preferred approach to meeting the
consequences of a reduction of billions in the NI Budget over the next four years. It also called for consensus across the
Assembly in finding the Better Way. The DUP proposals followed, Rising to the Challenge. The First Minister was confident
that all the parties represented in the Assembly would work together on the way forward.
By September 2010, the indices showed continuing reductions in the private sector for the 33 previous months. Apart
from the general recession leading to unemployment and reductions in consumer spending, the cuts and costs expected had
two main sources: a cut in the block grant of almost 10 billion annually received by NI from the UK Treasury; the expected
results of the UK Spending Review which, in the event, affected pensions, value added tax (VAT). The differing proposals in
both party documents largely mirror those elsewhere: voluntary salary cuts by politicians; cuts in pay levels in the public sector
and/or pay freezes plus a ban on recruitment; efficiency savings across departments and agencies; reform of local government;
cull of quangos or sharing of administrative costs; sale of under-performing public assets. The documents also had some other
innovative solutions. Among statements welcomed by the public were: efficiency savings before tax increases; no water charges;
domestic rates increases only by inflation rates; higher education fees to remain as before.
BUDGET 2011-2015
A Spending Review was initiated by the NI Minister for Finance in November 2010. Then the NI Assembly Draft Budget of
15 December 2010 went to a formal public consultation process that ended on 16 February 2011, as a result of which some
redistribution of available funds occurred. The Treasury had also allocated an extra 200 million for Justice in light of the
problems outlined by the Chief Constable in policing a situation that could at times become volatile. As already noted above,
Assembly Elections 2011, in March 2011, just a fortnight before dissolution on 25 March in advance of elections in May, the
NI Assembly finally passed a budget that tried to accommodate the cuts of stg4 billion over the following years in the block
grant from the UK Treasury imposed through the UK Government Spending Review of October 2010. In June 2011, the UK
Prime Minister visited the Assembly. He clarified the fiscal situation insofar as no additional moneys could be expected, as in the
past, from the Treasury. Those opposed to the March 2011 Budget were the (nationalist) Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP) and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Sinn Fin and the Alliance Party supported the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Minister for Finance. On 7 March 2011, the final Budget document was published. This incorporated some of the results of the
formal consultation (15,000 responses) and set out detailed spending plans for the period April 2011 to March 2015.
The Budget document also gave as background the economic situation in NI: global and EU recession; ongoing fiscal
consolidation in the UK with resultant reductions in NI monies; growing unemployment; an economy and living standards
which tended to lag behind other regions of the UK; a local economy very reliant on the public sector and on the annual
block grant from the Treasury in London. In fact, both public sector pay and social benefit rates are significantly higher in the
Republic than in NI. It is generally accepted that the economic situation is much worse in the Republic than in the UK or NI.
This is illustrated in unemployment rates.
The NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) reported in early 2012 that the NI seasonally adjusted unemployment
rate at 7.1% was lower than the average UK rate of 8.2% and half that of the Republic at 14.5%. In all areas the highest rates
were among young people: NI 17.9%; UK 19.7%.
An interesting comment is made by the DUP Minister for Finance and Personnel in his Foreword to this Budget 2011-2015:
The delivery of this Budget by the Executive is proof of the growing maturity there is within our political system in
that we can produce a fair, balanced Budget for a four year period even in the face of imminent elections.
This reference is to his initial announcement in the Assembly on 4 March 2011.
CUTS IN THE BUDGET OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, ARTS AND LEISURE
Among the 4-Year Budget spending plans the extracted following figures apply in the case of the Department of Culture, Arts
and Leisure (D/CAL). Most have an effect on Irish language expenditure.
D/CAL Planned Current Expenditure April 2011 March 2015 (m)

Year/Area
2010 2011
2011 2012
2012 2013
2013 2014
2014 2015
Foras na Gaeilge
7.1
7.0
6.7
6.6
6.2
Arts
19.1
18.2
17.1
16.7
16.8
Cultural Policy
1.9
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.4
Libraries NI
33.6
33.5
32.0
32.2
32.5
Museums
21.5
21.4
20.0
19.1
19.5
Sport
13.4
15.2
15.1
16.8
13.1
Some of these areas may also benefit from capital investment. A Ministerial Advisory Group was established to advise on
the strategic development of the Ulster-Scots sector and the proposed Academy.
DRAFT STRATEGIC EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
In accordance with Section 75 stipulations of the NI Act of 1998, a Draft Strategic Equality Impact Assessment was carried
out on the likely effects of Budget 2011-2015 (then in draft form) on the Section 75 groupings. The Assessment refers to some
key inequalities, one of which came under the heading Religious Belief and stated:
Economic inactivity rate for Roman Catholics is higher than that for Protestants.
However, the following observations are also made on the period 1992 - 2008:
- the proportion of the economically active that was unemployed has declined for both communities;
- the rate of economic activity was higher for Protestants than for Roman Catholics;
- the number of economically active Roman Catholics of working age has increased strongly over the period 1992 2008;
- proportionate changes over time were greater for Roman Catholics.
Under the Summary of Mitigating Policies/Actions in relation to Religion and Political Opinion is found:
Religion and Political Opinion
Training programmes will continue to be delivered in an independent and comprehensive manner for the benefit of
all sections of the community, irrespective of their religious belief (or none) or political opinion (or none). The aim
will be to create an environment that provides future employment opportunities including the development of the
skills needed to fill those opportunities with the right people, irrespective of the Section 75 categories they represent.
TOWARDS A SHARED FUTURE IN THE AREAS OF BUSINESS AND CULTURE

There are areas where NI and the ROI have both common and conflicting economic possibilities. In this regard, two N/S
bodies and several committees of common interest exist between political structures North and South. Other interests lie
outside these more political structures. In the matter of facilities, the ROI Electricity Supply Board (ESB) bought the NI
electricity networks in late 2010, including transmission, distribution, construction and maintenance. In mid-2011, the UK
Treasury launched a consultation process on a possible reduction in the corporation tax rate for NI which at 26% is double
that of the ROI. Any reduction resulting in a further income stream for NI could, however, be accompanied by even further
reductions in the Treasury block grant. With regard to the Shared Future concept for NI, there was high consensus on the issue
across the business sector of NI, irrespective of religious or political background.
It is accepted that the advantages of peace and stable institutions are nowhere more appreciated than in the NI business
sector, regardless of political or religious leanings. Even in 2010 when the current 2011-2015 Budget was first drafted, one
group the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors was reminding politicians of the cost of division and the benefits of
concentrating on projects for a shared future. An NI Bureau has been established in Washington. Visits are made to Silicon
Valley and to members of the Irish Technology Leadership Group by the First and deputy First Ministers.
Digital Derry is increasing its importance as a centre for culture-related digital activity. The Department of Culture, Arts
and Leisure is promoting apps for cultural tourism. In early July 2012, the popular Giants Causeway visitor centre re-opened
after having suffered a disastrous fire more than 10 years ago. One of the visitor attractions was the Irish traditional tales linking
Ireland and Scotland, based on Fionn Mac Cumhaill of the Fenian sagas.
Nevertheless, EU funding for peace projects is in process of wind down. Despite recession, the ROI Government and the
NI Assembly are urged to maintain support for cross-border projects and constituencies. Overall then, NI and the ROI are
inextricably linked in many areas of the island economy as are both with the UK.
Both the business sector as sector, and the particular aspect of developing the economy through tourism based on culture,
appear to possess strong possibilities for the shared future so desired for NI.
PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT 2011-2015
In conjunction with the Budget 2011 2015 and the Investment Strategy, but following these documents later, the First
Minister and deputy First Minister published the Programme for Government on 12 March 2012. It contains 82 commitments
and sets out the actions to be taken from 2011 2015 across 5 Priority Areas. The chief thrust of the Programme was the
creation of a vibrant economy.
This overall new Programme was generally well received in the press, above all for being a clear indication of an Executive
that was concentrating on the people and on the future of NI with some degree of vision and determination.
Extracts from the Programme are given as relevant to certain sections below.
ATTITUDES: NORTHERN IRELAND (NI)

Since attitudes to Irish are bound up in, and exhibited through, a nexus of related attitudes, they must necessarily be understood
within a fairly complex context. Several reports were made available on Irish in 2007 and 2012. They include:
- Results from a module in the NI Omnibus Survey 2007.
- Public attitudes towards the Irish language in Northern Ireland 2012: Findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus
Survey January 2012 (48 pages, D/CAL). Irish language version also available.
In addition, much of this material appears also in:

- Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language and Culture: Public Consultation (53
pages, D/CAL July 2012). Irish language version also available.
Some related information on Irish is also found in:
- Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report Number One (February 2012) from the NI Community Relations
Council.
In relation to Ulster-Scots, two reports were published by D/CAL in 2010:
- Public Views on Ulster-Scots Culture, Heritage and Language in Northern Ireland (11 pages).
- Public Views on Ulster-Scots Culture, Heritage and Language in Northern Ireland: Secondary Analysis (32 pages).
Both were based on Findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey April 2010. These were followed in July 2012 by:
- Strategy for Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture (46 pages).
The account given below of attitudes towards Irish in NI is then drawn from a variety of sources.
Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report Number One (2012)

Much illustrative material is drawn together from an impressive range of data sources in the first Northern Ireland Peace
Monitoring Report published in February 2012 by the NI Community Relations Council. The premise of the Report appears to
be a quest for signs of an inclusive and equal society, as opposed to a society with clearly demarcated divisions. Such divisions
are rarely conducive to active language policies on behalf of particular language communities. This is especially true of NI
where, of necessity, community-wide acceptance must be sought for policy in many possibly contentious areas or must be
presented and delivered in reciprocal fashion for the two main communities.
Gestures
In the sense of actions speaking louder than words, the symbolic import of gestures can have powerful community repercussions
in NI, whether for good or otherwise. Handshakes especially appear to have no small significance. Examples include that
between the Queen and the Sinn Fin deputy First Minister (2012). The lack of handshaking between the First and deputy
First Minister at the conclusion of the Hillsborough Castle Agreement (2010) or a similar lack between his Unionist deputy
and the Sinn Fin Mayor of Belfast. This type of omission tends to lead to other reciprocal omissions or actions.
Other more concrete examples as outlined in the Peace Monitoring Report include the following:
- The First (Ian Paisley) and deputy First Minister (Martin McGuinness) on evident good terms in 2007 when
devolution was restored.
- The funeral of murdered Ronan Kerr, a Catholic member of the PSNI, led to several expressions of unity and
solidarity not previously seen: the First Minister as the first DUP politician to attend a Catholic mass; members
of the PSNI and the GAA marching together in the funeral cortege. However, the UUP leader, who also
attended the funeral, had to face a disciplinary hearing of the Orange Order for doing so.
- A Protestant minister accepting an invitation to speak at a Sinn Fin Ardfheis.
- The attendance of Unionist politicians at GAA matches.
Identity
In the NI Census 2011, new questions 14 and 15 concerned relationship to a state through citizenship (based on passport or
passports held) and relationship to a nation through self-ascription of national identity (or identities) from a list (more than
one choice could apply): British, Irish, Northern Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, Other (to be written in). Question 16 on Ethnic
Group, which was not a new question, in the form of a multiple choice list, followed.
The results (above) were of interest particularly in light of the growing acceptance of devolved institutions among the
Catholic population and a level of decreased interest in unity with the Republic (Politics, below). This position has not,
however, had a negative effect on Catholics voting for the party that espouses unity as its political aim, Sinn Fin. On the other
hand, growing acceptance of devolution as a political choice among Catholics could have the effect, over time, of enabling or
normalising one aspect of community integration, since the NI Life and Times Survey 2010 showed high cross-community
support for devolution: Protestants (69%); Catholics (46%); No religion (47%).
Another aspect which might possibly be affected by the lessening of a desire for unity with the ROI among Northern
Catholics is the relatively unquestioning societal acceptance of the stereotypes:Catholic/Nationalist/Irish/Irish speaker;
Protestant/Unionist/British/averse to Irish. What the outcomes of such a lessening might be in the case of language are
problematic since it is such a powerful symbol of nationhood. On the one hand, the Irish language might serve as a much more
generally acceptable form of community-wide and island-wide cultural unity than the concept of political unity could provide.
On the other hand, lessening of the links between language and nation could have as yet unknown serious consequences for the
promotion of the language both North and South. It might also be argued, given the growing secularisation of society North
and South, that the epithets Catholic and Protestant are already more cultural than actively religious for many.
Nevertheless, even if there appears some detaching within the Catholic/Nationalist descriptor, the same is not yet true of
the Protestant/Unionist descriptor.
The 2010 NI Life and Times Survey also probed this issue of stereotypes and identity through professed nationality. In that
study, while 58% of Catholics professed themselves as Irish, 25% of them chose Northern Irish, 1% Ulster and a surprising
8% British. Similarly 61% of Protestants self-designated as British, 5% as Ulster, and 28% as Northern Irish and 4% as Irish.
Taking the two communities together gives the following picture:
NI 2010: Self-designation of National Identity

Category
Catholics
Protestants
Total C+P Communities
British
8%
61%
69%
Irish
58%
4%
62%
Northern Irish
25%
*28%
53%
Ulster
1%
5%
6%
*Increase from 25% in 2007

All over Europe, there are examples of peoples or persons who profess themselves citizens of one state but nationals of
another, e.g. Slovenians in Northern Italy; or regions considered stateless nations, e.g. Wales; or regions/nations with high
levels of self-determination, e.g. Catalonia in Spain. The 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement allows for the holding of dual
passports, Irish and British, by the residents of NI. Self-designation within such situations may be better described within a
layered description where more than one choice, or combinations of choices are possible. An analysis carried out in 2008 of
the 2007 NI Irish Life and Times Survey led to the following possibilities:
NI 2007/08: Layered National Identity

Category
Catholics
Protestants
Total C+P Communities
Equally Irish & British
32%
36%
68%
More Irish than British
54
62%
More British than Irish
39
40%
British not Irish
18
18%
Irish not British
14%
0%
14%
While these are now probably out of date, they demonstrate the complexities for policy in any area touching on identity.
In Census 2011, the self-descriptor Northern Irish was apparently used by persons in both predominantly Catholic and
Protestant areas.
Community Relations
Individual perception of the state of community relations tends to fluctuate with significant political and community events. It has
been regularly tracked by the NI Life and Times Survey (NILT) over the years since its establishment in 1998 by Queens University
and the University of Ulster. NILT Surveys were run annually with the exception of 2011 when full funding was not found.
In 2010, the majority of respondents - 62% - felt that community relations between Protestants and Catholics had
improved and were better than they had been five years previously. Just over a third 33% - considered that relations were
more or less the same with only 3% feeling that relations had got worse in the intervening years. Looking into the future is
difficult unlike the past, where some evidence exists on which to base opinion. Nevertheless, 52% looked ahead to even more
improvement in five years time; 41% felt things would be much the same while 5% thought relations would be worse. Over
the years, Catholics were more hopeful about the future than Protestants.
When asked to choose from a list of possible policies from an actively functioning Assembly, the options most chosen by
respondents, were improving cross-community relations (31%) and tackling the level of unemployment (26%), in that order.
Politics
With regard to a politically united island of Ireland, the NI Life and Times 2010 survey that, overall, 73% of citizens polled in
NI wish to remain in the UK; 52% of Catholics and 96% of Protestants likewise. Among Protestants, no more than 4% then
were in favour of unity with the Republic. However, 33% of Catholics looked to a united Ireland; 6% prefer direct rule from
Westminster; 46% are satisfied with the current situation of devolution. When asked about the most important issues for an
active Assembly, only 4% chose the list option working for a united Ireland.
It would seem that the prospect of a united Ireland would currently probably be defeated in any NI referendum while
the results of a reciprocal referendum in the Republic is unknown although indications on unity from the 2012 Ipsos MRBI
survey seem to presage that such a referendum might be carried in the South. Desire for unity, or lack of it, may also be affected
currently by the recession in the Republic, irrespective of religious background.
On the other hand, in relation to devolved government in NI, in an address given in Dublin in July 2012 by the NI
Secretary of State (a Westminster appointment), reference was made to NI as being still deeply divided as a community and
to disappointment with the NI Executive because of the ongoing difficulties with the long proposed and still elusive Strategy
for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration. Despite the undoubted improvements in stability, the NI Secretary decried the situation
where everything is carved up on sectarian grounds.
The First and deputy First Ministers were not impressed, pointing to the recent developments such as the board just set up
on the development of the former Maze prison as a conflict-resolution centre and the appointment of a single Commissioner
for victims (of The Troubles).
Other comments on manifestations of this aspect are found above, Politics in NI 2007-2012.
Religion, society and economy

Composition of society in NI was considered to be rapidly moving towards a situation where the numbers of the Catholic
community are increasing; Catholics outnumber Protestants in the younger age cohorts, below age 35, while the opposite is
true above age 35. Precise figures from Census 2011 proved this (Religion, below). Nevertheless, as noted elsewhere in this
account, Catholics are generally more deprived than Protestants but have higher education attainment levels, particularly in
the case of girls. However, given that the numbers of unemployed young people is high and that there are more Catholics in
the younger age groups, young Catholics form a significant proportion of the unemployed. Several other factors exacerbate
this situation. Of those leaving school with low educational attainment, because of their higher numbers in the age cohort
in question, Catholics are more numerous than Protestants, and less likely to find employment. Women outnumber men
generally in the population as well as in the Catholic population. The civil service, which has been relatively stable to date
in employment terms, is largely female. Men in full-time employment suffered most in the recession in part due to the
construction crash. Quoting from the Equality Commission (2010), the Peace Monitoring Report shows that:
In broad terms, the overall composition of the monitored workforce continues to become more female and more
Roman Catholic over time.
At the same time, until the recession began to bite, Catholics were gaining a greater share than they previously had held of
available employment. That has now halted with the recession. Catholics had been increasing in the civil service, among other
sectors. It is considered likely that these will be gradually moving upwards in the future and replacing Protestants in a range of
occupations. According to the Labour Force Survey Religion Report 2011, the community composition of the NI workforce was
Protestant 48%; Catholic 42%; Other 10%.
Since both Catholics and Protestants belong to the Christian tradition, it is of interest to look at attitudes towards cooperation by voluntary organisations in organised civil society. Information from a 2007 survey based on 535 organisations
and contained in the Peace Monitoring Report 2012 is useful if not very encouraging; overall Catholic groups were more willing
to engage in co-operation with their Protestant counterparts.
- The community background of members of voluntary management committees revealed that 35.6% were wholly or
mainly Catholic; 38.2% were wholly or mainly Protestant while 26.1% were mixed.
- On the issue of Catholics and Protestants working together, 41% of all Catholic organisations and 25.4% of all
Protestant agreed. With regard to equal access to services for Catholics and Protestants the figures of assent were
higher: 71.4% (Catholic organisations) and 49.1% (Protestant organisations).
In the case of young people and volunteering, a 2009 Young Life and Times survey showed that 54% of 16-year-olds had been
volunteers in the previous year. Of these, while the more well-off were more likely to volunteer, those from more straitened
circumstances were more likely to have benefited from volunteering through increased contact with people from different
backgrounds (community or religious) and seemed to have spent more time volunteering.
- With regard to volunteering as a source for contact with people from a different community or religious background
(by family financial background), 96.2% of these 16-year-olds agreed on opportunities to do things together and
93% agreed on opportunities to co-operate on common tasks. However, assent fell to 60% on encouragement to
work on cross-community issues.
The Arts and Festivals

The Arts are potentially a mechanism for involvement by the entire community and resulting social cohesion leading to less
polarised attitudes. However, in common with other regions, involvement in the arts tends to be tied to social class on the
one hand, and to forms of popular culture on the other. In the case of NI, this may mean the popular culture of separate
communities, such as that of marching bands in the Unionist community.

Festivals may tend to be directed at the whole local community, or be open to all, but in the locally segregated communities
of NI, many tend to be largely one-community events. Apparently fewer Catholics than Protestants participated in arts events
in 2010-2011 according to the Continuous Household Survey. The Arts Council developed a framework, Creative Connections
2007-2012, to assess the input of the arts in areas such as sectarianism.
Sport
Whatever about the Arts as an agent for social cohesion, different surveys in 2009 and 2010 found support for Sport as entailing
voluntary organisations which could create a form of bridging social capital as opposed to bonding social capital which
merely reinforces internal community bonds and forms no bridge to other communities. Up to 69% of survey respondents
were of the view that sports brought different people in NI closer together and 88% were in favour of more or much more
mixing in leisure and sporting activities. In fact, the major sports organisations have initiated successful cross-community
programmes and the whole NI community appear to unite in enjoying sports successes, particularly those of individual
sportspersons.
Language and Culture

More comprehensive information on language and culture is found below under Policies for Irish and the Arts. Reference
is also made, as appropriate, under other headings. In summary, some Unionists in positions of political power, whether at
Assembly or local government level, have consistently shown, in their official capacity, a negative or negatively neutral attitude
towards the Irish language.
Conclusions of the Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report Number One (2012) on Cohesion
and Sharing
The views on cohesion and sharing in NI, as expressed by the Northern Secretary in Dublin in July 2012, were also clearly
written in this Peace Monitoring Report in February 2012. While admitting to some successes over the years, especially more
stable political institutions and a marked decrease in violence, the Report also asserts (page 178):
Northern Ireland is still a very divided society but government now seems less determined to address the roots of
division than before renewed devolution. The policy framework A Shared Future (2005), [during direct rule], made
it clear that sharing would always be favoured over separation and that benign apartheid was not an option. The
consultation paper Cohesion, Sharing and Integration [from the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister]
showed less sense of urgency or priority.
Communal division continues to affect participation in art, sport and cultural activitiesAt grassroots level, cultural
events are still bound closely to communal identities and these may have deepened.
There are those who would dispute such a stark description to focus on the very changed situation now pertaining in the
Assembly and in society in comparison with the relatively recent past. Irrespective, however, of non-acceptance of NI as a still
very divided society, it is, nevertheless, true that NI is not a non-divided society.
Interestingly, the Report goes on to state:
For young people especially, new cultural identities appear to be constructed around consumption and leisure. A
cosmopolitan culture has grown up post-Agreement and is relatively facilitative of new identity formation that
transcends sectarian division, but neutral and shared spaces are primarily the preserve of those with disposable income.
For those who feel cut off from such developments they represent another form of social exclusion.
It is against this complex background then, not in isolation, that attitudes to the Irish language, as noted below from the most
recent (2012) Survey, must be understood. To this cluster may be added ability in, and attitudes to, the Ulster-Scots language,
heritage and culture on the part of the Catholic community as opposed to those of the Protestant community in respect of
Irish. The 2007 NI Omnibus Survey, for example, showed 3% of Catholics (an increase of 2% since 1999) professing ability
in Ulster-Scots, in comparison to 5% of Protestants (an increase of 3% since 1999). Only 2% of Protestant respondents selfreported knowledge of Irish in the 2007 sample. However, these differences may be understood in terms of a language, UlsterScots, a variety which may be spoken in community by members of both communities, in comparison with Irish which, for
Protestants, would be a language of education, if it were available to them, which it generally is not.
FINDINGS FROM THE NI OMNIBUS SURVEY 2012
Information from the Irish language component of the 2012 Omnibus Survey is quite revealing. It was intended to provide
evidence on which to base policy. Much of the information is also found in the draft Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)
accompanying the public consultation document on a Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish
Language issued by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (D/CAL) in July 2012. However, the most complete analysis
of the 2012 Omnibus Survey is given in the D/CAL research publication, Findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey,
January 2012, on which the following account is based.

The first three tables below are concerned with attitudes:

- towards Irish language usage;
- towards Irish as school subject for those who wish it;
- towards the importance of Irish to NI culture.
They are supplemented by information from related tables in the original research. The sample of respondents for the survey was 1,141.
The main thrust of the results are given below. As the level of Refusals/Dont knows was generally 0 or 1%, with only three examples of
2% over the three tables, that category has not been included below. The higher percentages are highlighted in the columns.
Attitudes towards usage of Irish

Usage of a language is an active practical concept which, depending on the forms of usage in evidence in the environment,
may impinge to a high or to a low level on the consciousness of the individual, whether the person be a speaker or not, as the
information reveals.
NI Omnibus Survey 2012: Attitudes towards Irish Language usage in NI (%)
All
Strongly
in favour
Slightly
in favour
Neither
in favour nor
against
Slightly
against
Strongly
against
15
20
35
12
17
[35]
35
[29]
Male
17
19
30
13
19
Female
14
20
39
11
15
Catholic
33
33
27
Protestant
10
40
19
27
Age 16-24
15
16
46
14
Age 25-34
19
22
31
18
Age 35-44
20
23
36
11
Age 45-54
14
20
34
11
20
Age 55-64
13
15
34
21
17
Age 65 +
12
20
34
13
21
Single
16
20
39
15
Married/Cohabiting
15
20
33
13
18
Divorced/Separated/
17
12
43
14
14
Widowed
12
21
32
13
21
Has disability
19
19
32
12
18
Has no disability
14
20
36
12
17
With dependents
16
22
34
11
16
No dependents
15
18
36
13
18
The overall indications show:

- 35% strongly or slightly in favour of the usage of Irish in NI;
- 35% neutral towards it (although contact with actual increased usage could change this proportion in either
direction);
- 29% were strongly or slightly against such usage;
- Catholics were most in favour, 66%, and least against, 4%;
- Protestants were most against, 46%, including 27% who were strongly against;
- The age cohort 16-24 were the most neutral, 46%, while the age cohort 55-64 were the highest slightly against,
21%;
- The age group 25-44 were the most favourable to Irish usage within the age bands.
From a policy perspective, 70% are either in favour or neutral while 29% are against the usage of Irish. Despite the fact that
46% of Protestants were overall against, nevertheless 40% were neutral, and 13% in favour. However, the overall category
Strongly against at 17% was higher than the category Strongly in favour at 15%. Within that negative category, males scored
highly as did Protestants and those in the age groups 25-34, 45-54, and over 65.
These results on Irish language usage must be read in conjunction with other findings from the same research.
- Use of Irish should be supported andencouraged

throughout NI
Agreement
Disagreement
Neither
41%
35%
23%
Agreement was higher among the age groups under 44 years and among Catholics (74%). Among Protestants, 54%
disagreed as did 10% of Catholics.
- More opportunities to learn Irish across NI
53%
26%
20%
Agreement was high in the 16-24 age group (66%) and generally under 44 years and also among Catholics (78%).
- See and hear more Irish in use in NI
44% more use
46% less use
Agreement was higher in the age groups under 44 than in the older age groups. In the case of Catholics, 76% would like
to see and hear more Irish while 16% opted for less. For Protestants, the opposite holds: 21% opting for more Irish and
67% for less Irish.
- Irish as an option on public documents where other
languages offered
56% (Yes)
43% (No)
More of those in the age groups under 54 agreed while 75% of Catholics and 41% of Protestants agreed.
Passive use of Irish (e.g. in public documentation) at 56% seemed to have attracted more general agreement than more
active use (seeing and hearing Irish) at 44%. However, as with Irish as school subject below, a condition or caveat is
attached: Irish in use in documentation in cases where other languages are already offered.
- Irish is not relevant for NI today
32%
46%
21%
Agreement with this (negative) statement increased with age and doubled from age 16-24 (22%) to age 65+ (41%). For
Catholics agreement was at 16% and at 45% for Protestants. On the other hand, 31% of Protestants and 66% of Catholics
disagreed with the proposition.
- Irish only relevant in certain parts of NI
56%
24%
18%
Agreement was higher in the age groups over 35 years. 51% of Catholics and 62% of Protestants were in agreement with
the statement.
- Comments on a list of possible factors that would encourage more use of Irish
(a) By gender
Male
Female
None of the above (on list) I already use Irish as much as I want
2%
3%
None of the above (on list) nothing would encourage me
58%
58%
Age 16-24
Age 65+
2%
4%
41%
72%
Catholic
Protestant
5%
1%
28%
81%
(b) By age
(c) By religion
Attitudes towards Irish as school subject (for those who wish it)
In the next set of tables, the percentages for the profiles marital status, disability and dependents are omitted. Results for these
profiles are, however, included in the overall result, under All. The next table concerns views on one aspect of the use of Irish, as
a subject at school.
NI Omnibus Survey 2012: Views on Irish as subject at school for pupils who so wish (%)
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
39
41
10
[80]
[8]
Male
38
41
10
Female
40
41
11
Catholic
62
30
Protestant
23
50
13
Age 16-24
42
41
Age 25-34
47
34
11
Age 35-44
44
40
Age 45-54
36
44
12
Age 55-64
37
45
Age 65 +
35
41
12
There is high agreement, 80%, with the proposition of offering Irish at school, not universally but for pupils who so wish.
Disagreement is low, 8%, and the non-committed comprise 10%. It is not entirely clear how pupils wishes are to be gauged
unless Irish is offered as an option on the curriculum and take-up determines pupils wishes. While Protestant disagreement
of 13% is higher than the average 8%, agreement is also high at 73%, although including the highest score overall of 50% in
the agree slightly column. Catholic agreement is 92% with 2% disagreement (which may arise from a preference for Irishmedium education instead of Irish as a subject). As in the previous table, agreement is high in the age group 25 to 44. It is also
high in the younger age cohort 16-24 (83%).
Other results from the same research follow concerning Irish in education.
- More opportunities for learning Irish across NI
Agreement
Disagreement
Neither
53%
20%
26%
In addition, from a list of possible factors that would encourage more use of Irish, the factor receiving the highest number of
citations was:
- More opportunity to study Irish in schools and further education (18%)
Attitudes towards the importance of Irish to NI culture.

Holding views on Irish language and NI culture is, to some extent, a more personal and subjective issue than having views on
education and documentation, matters which may affect others rather than self and are thus at a remove from self. Language,
culture and territory tend to be tied into identity.
NI Omnibus Survey 2012: Views on the importance of Irish to Northern Irish culture (%)
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
20
29
19
14
18
[49]
19
[32]
Male
22
26
17
15
18
Female
18
31
21
13
17
Catholic
39
37
15
Protestant
23
21
21
28
Age 16-24
19
34
21
11
15
Age 25-34
26
28
22
12
11
Age 35-44
26
28
21
12
12
Age 45-54
21
29
18
13
19
Age 55-64
14
27
18
19
22
Age 65 +
14
28
16
17
24
While there is 49% agreement that Irish is important to NI culture, 32% of respondents disagree. Agreement is highest among
Catholic respondents at 76% and disagreement among Protestants at 49% much higher than the average of 32%. While
both male and female respondents are at the average level of agreement, interestingly the age groups 16-44 are up to 5 points
higher than the average. This table is clearly language-focused, the next could be interpreted in more ambivalent fashion by
respondents.
The following table is from Public attitudes towards the Irish language in Northern Ireland 2012: Findings from the
Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey January 2012 (48 pages, D/CAL). From a base sample of 1,141 it examines views on the
importance attached by respondents to Northern Ireland maintaining, or not losing, its Irish language traditions. There are
four additional profiles in this table pertaining to living in most or least deprived areas; in urban or rural areas. Views are
sought on Irish language traditions. Some respondents may have interpreted this in purely linguistic terms, others in more
cultural (and therefore perhaps less threatening) terms. Comparison between approaches to Irish language and to UlsterScots matters cannot be discounted in any survey on language in NI. Under the European Charter, Irish in NI has higher
status than Ulster-Scots.
NI Omnibus Survey 2012: Views on the importance that Northern Ireland does not lose
its Irish language traditions (%)
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
24
28
22
12
14
[52]
22
[26]
Male
26
26
20
12
15
Female
22
29
23
11
14
Catholic
47
35
11
Protestant
23
30
18
23
Age 16-24
29
28
27
Age 25-34
34
21
22
10
11
Age 35-44
28
33
19
11
Age 45-54
21
33
19
11
17
Age 55-64
21
25
22
13
18
Age 65 +
15
26
24
16
18
Living in the most deprived areas
32
27
15
10
15
Living in the least deprived areas
16
30
22
16
15
Living in urban areas
25
27
22
11
15
Living in rural areas`
22
29
22
13
14
From these percentages, it could be taken that just above a quarter of respondents disagree with Irish language traditions having
importance to NI; just over 50% agree while 22% are neutral (as matters stand currently, at any rate). More significant perhaps
are the clear differences between Catholics, of whom 82% are in favour, and Protestants, of whom 41% (half the figure of
Catholic agreement) are not in favour. This, however, is not to discount the almost 29% of Protestants in favour and the 30%
neutral, or two thirds overall. Those living in the most deprived areas, at 59%, also have agreement above the overall average
(52%). In the age cohorts, agreement is higher in the groups aged 16-44.
The D/CAL research offers the following information on matters relating to identity.
Irish important to personal identity
Agreement
Disagreement
Neither
24%
52%
23%
Irish as a facet of personal identity had more importance for the younger age groups: 16-24 cohort (29% agreement) and
25-34 years (31%). Just over half of Catholics agreed (52%) and 5% of Protestants while 74% of Protestants and 21% of
Catholics did not consider Irish important to personal identity.
-
Irish makes valuable contribution to promoting identity

of NI abroad
42%
36%
21%
Among age groups, 55% of those aged 16-24 years agreed while almost half that number, 29%, agreed in the age group
65+ years. Among Protestants 22% agreed with the proposition and 68% among Catholics. But 54% of Protestants
disagreed as did 14% of Catholics.
The next table gives an overall view of attitudes across four areas (2012). It is preceded by knowledge of language, or the
extent of the language community, from the 2007 survey.
NI Omnibus Survey 2007: Ability in Irish & Ulster-Scots

All respondents in sample (%)
Some knowledge
No knowledge
18%
82%
Irish
All
Strongly
in favour
Slightly
in favour
Neither
in favour
nor against
Slightly
against
Strongly
against
15
20
35
12
17
[35]
35
[29]
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
39
41
10
[80]
10
[8]
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
20
29
19
14
18
[49]
19
[32]
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
24
28
22
12
14
[52]
22
[26]
Looked at in the round, there appears to exist:

- very strong community support for Irish as a subject at school for those who so wish (80%);
- in the region of 50% community support for the importance of Irish to NI culture and that NI does not lose its
Irish language traditions;
- but no more than 35% supportive attitudes towards Irish language usage in NI.
However, the community attitudinal average across these four tables reveals the following:
- agreement at 54%; disagreement at 23.75%; neither agreement nor disagreement at 21.5%.
For Irish language policy purposes:
- the level of disagreement is half that of the level of agreement;
- the levels of agreement plus neutrality together outweigh the level of disagreement - keeping in mind that
neutral attitudes may shift either way in the face of any policy changes, perhaps in language usage where least
overall support was shown and the level of support was equalled by the level of neutrality, both at 35%.
In fact, across the tables, the average floating vote or the uncommitted or neutral public varied from 35% on usage of Irish
down to 10% on Irish as school subject, with the level generally around the 20s%. The profile of those with the highest
percentage in the uncommitted camp for specific issues was as follows:
Average of All
Age 16-24
46%
35%
- Support/encourage use of Irish throughout NI
Protestant
27%
23%
- More opportunities to learn Irish across NI
Protestant
34%
26%
- Importance of Irish to personal identity
Living in least deprived areas
28%
23%
- Irish not relevant NI today
Age 16-24
25%
21%
- NI not lose Irish language traditions
Protestant
30%
22%
- Irish and NI identity abroad
Age 16-24
23%
21%
Living in rural areas
23%
Age 45-54
24%
Issue
Profile of the Uncommitted
- Irish language usage
- Irish relevant only in certain parts of NI
18%
From the information by age and religion in the complete tables above, it appears that, in general, support for Irish is higher:
- in the younger age groups;
- among Catholics.
Nevertheless, Protestants also support Irish on the following issues:
- study of Irish in schools and further education;
- use of Irish in documentation.
Protestants agree that Irish is relevant only in certain parts of NI. Relevance, even thus qualified, is, however, admitted.
It is striking that in two cases, Irish as a school subject and Irish in public documentation, caveats are attached: Irish to be
offered at school where pupils wish to take that option; Irish in documentation only where other languages are already in use.
ATTITUDES TO ULSTER-SCOTS 2010
Since community attitudes to both the Irish language and to Ulster-Scots are somewhat intertwined, this section looks at the
available evidence on attitudes to Ulster-Scots. It adds to that already given above, Ulster-Scots. In relation to Ulster-Scots,
two reports were published by D/CAL in 2010:
Both were based on Findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey April 2010. The same information is also found in:
- Strategy for Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture (July 2012, 46 pages).
The sample base for the 2010 survey comprised 1,212 respondents. In the first table, the column for Dont Know/
Refusals has been retained as the figures vary from 1 to 4%. The table gives percentages on self-report with regard to selfperception as an Ulster-Scot. The highest figure in each column is highlighted.
In 1999, the percentage of respondents who reported having ability in Ulster-Scots was 2%. This had risen to 4% in
2007. Knowledge of a language and identification with the culture, heritage and traditions of a language may need to be
distinguished.
NI Omnibus Survey 2010: Perception of self as an Ulster Scot (%)

YES
NO
Dont Know/
Refusal
All
18
80
Male
20
77
Female
16
83
Catholic
96
Protestant
31
67
Age 16-24
91
Age 25-34
12
86
Age 35-44
14
84
Age 45-54
18
79
Age 55-64
23
75
Age 65 +
29
70
Single
11
86
Married/Cohabiting
22
77
Divorced/Separated/Widowed
17
82
Has disability
20
77
Has no disability
17
81
With dependents
17
81
No dependents
19
79
While 18% of the sample self-identify as an Ulster-Scot, 80% do not. Of Protestants, 31% so identify while 96% of Catholics
do not. Positive self-identification is also higher than 18% among males (20%); among respondents in the age cohort over
65 (29%); among persons with a disability (20%) and among respondents who are married or cohabiting (22%). Selfidentification as an Ulster-Scot is low in the age group 16-24 (5%) but increasing after that.
In the next set of tables, the percentages for the profiles marital status, disability and dependents are omitted. Results for
these profiles are, however, included in the overall result, under All. While not given in the accompanying table, the level of Dont
know/Refusals varied from 2 to 5%, the over-65 age group registering 5% as did persons with a disability.
NI Omnibus Survey 2010: Learning about Ulster-Scots traditions in the school

curriculum has educational benefits for children at school in Northern Ireland:
Howmuch do you agree or disagree with this statement? (%)
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
41
29
15
[48]
29
[21]
Male
40
26
15
Female
41
31
14
Catholic
32
34
18
Protestant
10
48
25
13
Age 16-24
39
29
17
Age 25-34
38
33
12
Age 35-44
38
34
14
Age 45-54
40
28
14
Age 55-64
51
24
11
Age 65 +
40
26
18
On the issue of the educational benefits of presenting Ulster-Scots traditions to school children, agreement is at 48% and
disagreement at 21% while 29% are neutral. Strong agreement is 7% and strong disagreement is 6%. Overall, almost 70%
could be said to be not against the concept. Protestants are most in agreement (58%) while Catholics are most against (27%)
as is the age group over 65 at 25% and males at 23%. Nevertheless, Catholic agreement is at 35%. Agreement is higher in the
age cohorts 16-24 (48%), 45-54 (48%) and 55-64 (60%) than in the other age groups.
Interestingly, in the case of Irish, the subject was the language but offered only to those who might make that choice. In
the case of Ulster-Scots, the option appears wider without caveats, but more cultural than linguistically based.
NI Omnibus Survey 2010: Ulster-Scots is a valuable part of the culture of Northern

Ireland: How much do you agree or disagree with this statement? (%)
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
10
33
35
10
[43]
35
[16]
Male
10
33
31
12
Female
10
34
38
Catholic
27
40
13
Protestant
15
40
30
Age 16-24
19
45
13
Age 25-34
32
40
Age 35-44
10
31
36
12
Age 45-54
11
31
36
11
Age 55-64
11
45
29
Age 65 +
10
39
27
13
The value of the Ulster-Scots heritage as a part of the culture of NI has agreement at 43% and disagreement at 16% with
35% neutral and 5% Dont know/Refusal. The highest level of agreement came from the age cohort 55-64 (56%) and
from Protestants (55%) while the lowest level of agreement was seen in the age cohort 16-24 (28%). The highest level of
disagreement came from Catholics (22%), from males (21%) and from those in the 65+ age group (20%). The rate of Dont
know/Refusals was high, between 1% in the age cohort 55-64 and 11% in the age cohort 16-24; Catholics had a 6% rate,
double that of Protestants at 3%.
IRISH AND ULSTER-SCOTS
From a community-wide viewpoint, it is useful to look now at the general overall results for both Irish and Ulster-Scots,
keeping in mind:
- the percentages of those professing some ability in 2007;
- that the information on Irish is from 2012;
- that the information on Ulster-Scots dates from 2010.
NI Omnibus Survey 2007: Ability in Irish & Ulster-Scots

All respondents in sample (%)
Some knowledge
No knowledge
Irish
18%
82%
Ulster-Scots
4%
96%
All
Strongly
in favour
Slightly
in favour
Neither
in favour
nor against
Slightly
against
Strongly
against
15
20
35
12
17
[35]
35
[29]
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
39
41
10
[80]
[8]
NI Omnibus Survey 2010: Learning about Ulster-Scots traditions in the school

curriculum has educational benefits for children at school in Northern Ireland:
Howmuch do you agree or disagree with this statement? (%)
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
41
29
15
[48]
29
[21]
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
20
29
19
14
18
[49]
19
[32]
NI Omnibus Survey 2010: Ulster-Scots is a valuable part of the culture of Northern

Ireland: How much do you agree or disagree with this statement? (%)
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
10
33
35
10
[43]
35
[16]
All
Agree
strongly
Agree
slightly
Neither
agree nor
disagree
Disagree
slightly
Disagree
strongly
24
28
22
12
14
[52]
22
[26]
NI Omnibus Survey 2010: Perception of self as an Ulster Scot (%)
All
YES
NO
Dont Know/
Refusal
18
80
With regard to education, it appears that Irish as a subject, but only for those pupils who wish to study it, has wide community
acceptance at 80%. Acquaintance with Ulster-Scots traditions for all pupils, apparently in cultural rather than in specifically
linguistic terms, also has high agreement at 48%, if less than that for Irish. More disagree with the proposal for Ulster-Scots
(21%) than with that for Irish (8%). Similarly those professing no preference, neither agreement nor disagreement, form a
higher proportion of the sample in the case of Ulster-Scots (29%) than those in the case of Irish (10%). Actual application of
policy could sway this uncommitted group either way so a low figure may ultimately prove more beneficial.
Views on the comparative importance to NI culture of Irish and Ulster-Scots heritage/traditions show interesting results.
Those in agreement in both cases are quite high: 43% for Ulster-Scots and 52% for Irish. However, disagreement in the case
of Irish (26%) is higher than in the case of Ulster-Scots (16%). The figure of 43% for Ulster-Scots may appear high, given that
80% do not perceive themselves as Ulster-Scots.
In the case of the Irish language and its importance to NI culture, as opposed to solely Irish language traditions, 49%
agree but 32% disagree. This may account for the attitudes to Irish language usage, with 35% in favour, 29% against and 35%
uncommitted.
It was also clear from the sections on both Irish and Ulster-Scots above, that while both enjoy levels of cross community
support, Protestants are more favourable to Ulster-Scots and Catholics to Irish. The younger generations seem more favourable
to both figuring in education. Overall, the younger generation favour Irish while the older appear to favour Ulster-Scots.

The distinction between language on the one hand and its associated culture on the other can give rise to differing attitudes.
Language may appear more actively present and person or specific community focused, and therefore more threatening, than
some cultural traditions or aspects of culture. Familiarity may help in transition to less fearful attitudes. Aspects of a joint
culture may help in creating a shared culture. Beginning with culture and heritage may be a bridge to acceptance of language.
On the other hand, aspects of culture may also prove to be a barrier, if presented in a threatening or triumphalist manner.
Respect is a vital component in reaching cross-community acceptance.
LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION FOR IRISH 2007-2012

CONTEXT
In general in NI, the degree of domestic legal provision for Irish is too often left in the realm of delayed implementation of
commitments while external bodies appear much more pro-active.
Current legal protection for the Irish language arises out of the Education Order, the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement
of 1998 and from what was promised in its successor, the St Andrews Agreement of 2006. Commitments in relation to the
Irish language are also monitored under Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of the Council
of Europe, the UK having signed and ratified this international instrument in 2001. The Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities (Council of Europe) is also pertinent. In addition, the proposed Bill of Rights for NI is an
outstanding issue.
There are two items promised by the British Government in the St Andrews Agreement:
To introduce an Irish Language Act reflecting on the experience of Wales and Ireland and to work with the incoming
Executive to enhance and protect the development of the Irish Language.
Monitoring reports on implementation of the European Charter had also urged the introduction of an Irish Language Act.
However, the legal amendments to the Northern Ireland Act 1998, following the 2006 Agreement, make no mention of
an Irish Language Act. The references are solely to the adoption of Strategies by the Executive (both for Irish and Ulster-Scots),
these Strategies to be kept under review, revised or replaced by new strategies.
The February 2010 Hillsborough Castle Agreement which ensured devolution of policing and justice to the NI Assembly
after years of delay by Unionists (on the basis of community support not being complete) also included commitment to
progress on issues outstanding from the St Andrews Agreement of 2006. These issues included movement on the Irish
language, a matter that received comment at the time from both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Dil
on 9 February 2010. In speaking of the importance of respect for each others political aspirations and cultural expression and
inheritance, the Taoiseach remarked:
That includes respect for the Irish language and for those who treasure it as part of their cultural heritage. In this
regard, we look forward to further progress in implementing the relevant commitments in the St Andrews Agreement.
The Minister spoke at some length on the issue in his Closing Statement in the Dil Debate on the situation in NI.
There are a number of areas which will be covered in the working group to be established on outstanding
commitments from the St Andrews Agreement. One of particular interest to this House is that of the Irish language
The Irish government is committed to assisting the development of the Irish language in Northern Ireland and the
implementation of outstanding commitments made in the St Andrews Agreement including an Irish Language Act
We also look forward to early agreement on an Irish language strategy. Since language issues are a devolved matter, this
is an area where the Government works directly with the Northern Ireland Executive including through the North/
South body, Foras na Gaeilge.
The Minister went on to speak of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish in the South and how energies could be optimised for speakers
of Irish on the whole island including tolerance and respect for both Irish and Ulster-Scots. He urged a more open approach
to Irish by those who perceive it as threatening and looked forward to the languages and cultures of the island being shared
and celebrated.
Further progress after early 2010 was, however, slow in being realised. But then, the preceding period had been politically
quite difficult. The St Andrews Agreement was concluded in 2006. A year later, in a Statement to the Assembly on 16 October
2007 the (then) DUP Minister for Culture said:
Having reviewed the responses to both consultation processes [on legislation for Irish] and reflected carefully on all the
relevant issues I remain unpersuaded that there is a compelling case for bringing forward Irish language legislation at this time.
He listed his arguments against although the majority of respondents had supported some form of legislation in terms of:
Political sensitivities
It is my assessment that the proposal to introduce Irish language legislation at this time is unlikely to command the
necessary support in the Assembly on the grounds of being incapable of securing sufficient consensus.
Costs
I cannot reconcile the likely opportunity costs of introducing legislation against other spending priorities.
Legislation versus Strategy
It is my assessment that the legislative requirement placed on the Executive to adopt a strategy to enhance and protect
the development of the Irish language offers a more cost effective and proportionate approach.
This approach continued unchanged until 2011-2012.
In June 2008, his DUP successor (resulting from a reshuffle after the appointment of a new First Minister following the
departure of Dr Ian Paisley) is asserting that Significant progress has been made, not just in preventing this costly and absurd
piece of legislation [for Irish], but in remedying the imbalance in funding between the promotion of Ulster-Scots and Irish
culture, while in December of the same year he answered a question from his Department Scrutiny Committee on when he
intended to introduce an Irish language Act with a bluntly clear, I do not intend to do so. In December 2009, the third DUP
Minister for Culture was not yet ready to meet the Department Scrutiny Committee to brief members on his plans for Irish
and Ulster-Scots, leaving the Sinn Fin Committee chairperson to comment that:
Successive DUP ministers had downgraded plans for an Irish language Act to a strategy for Irish and Ulster-Scots
latest promise to produce principles that will shape the creation of a strategy was a delaying tactic that had now been
pushed into next yearThe DUP has been moving at a tortoise pace on this issue, now the Minister is being obstructive.
Belfast Telegraph 5 December 2009
The Hillsborough Castle Agreement followed on 5 February 2010 and momentum began to build up. On 16 February,
the same DUP Minister for Culture was in a position to announce that measures to protect and enhance the Irish language
would go to the Executive by the end of March, after which a draft Strategy would go to public consultation. A similar process
would apply in the case of Ulster-Scots. In relation to Ulster-Scots, community attitudes were surveyed in April 2010 and two
reports subsequently published by the Department for Culture (D/CAL):
Both were based on Findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey April 2010. The same information is also found in:
- Strategy for Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture (July 2012, 46 pages).
Mid-year 2011 saw Assembly Elections.
In the area of education, the Assembly introduced a Bill (NIA 3/08) to establish a single composite Education and Skills
Authority which went through the initial stages of legislative steps. It has not yet been enacted (2012). This entity was of great
concern to Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta which would lose its stand-alone position under the new arrangements.
The Highway Code was made available in Irish (and in Mandarin, Polish, Lithuanian, Portuguese and Russian) in late
2012 at www.nidirect.gov.uk/highway-code-Irish.
CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES
Ratification of the Charter in respect of Irish in NI, as agreed by the UK in 2001, is through the application of 36 actions
across 7 domains of public life. Over the period since, three reports (2003, 2007, 2010) have been issued by the Committee
of Experts (COMEX) of the Council of Europe on the areas of implementation. The umbrella organisation, POBAL, has also
prepared its own detailed reports on implementation on the ground and has met with COMEX on its inspection visits.
Reference is made as relevant in the sections which follow to the ongoing problems of compliance with the provisions of
the Charter, particularly with regard to aspects of the domain of Administrative Authorities and Public Services, for which ten
measures have been officially agreed. In this section, emphasis is on the most recent third report of 2010.
Third monitoring report 2010

COMEX oversees the five Celtic languages in the UK on which the Government is required to issue periodic reports. Both the
UK Government and the devolved governments may comment on the findings of COMEX. These are included in COMEX
reports. COMEX is responsible to the Council of Europe which accepts (or otherwise) their findings. If considered necessary
and appropriate, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe may issue a Recommendation to state authorities
arising out of COMEX findings.
The third COMEX report of 2010 comments thus on these various responsibilities (page 5):
the responsibility for the practical implementation of the Charter lies within the devolved administrations, with the
exception of Cornish and those undertakings that lie directly within the competence of the central authorities. The
UK Government nevertheless has the overall and final responsibility for the implementation of the Charter.
The next comment is of even more interest:

Since the previous monitoring round, devolved government has been restored in Northern Ireland following the St
Andrews Agreement in 2006. Information about Irish and Ulster-Scots in the third periodical report [from the UK
Government] is confined to those areas which remain the sole competence of the UK Government in London. Areas
which have been devolved to Northern Ireland are not included.
The reason for this omission is all too familiar in NI politics.
It was explained to the Committee of Experts that the responsibility for preparing these relevant parts of the report was the
Northern Ireland power-sharing Executive, and they failed to deliver. Apparently it was not possible to agree within the
Executive on the relevant text to be included in the reportThe Committee of Experts deeply regrets that the periodical
report does not include important information relating to one Part III [Irish] and one Part II [Ulster-Scots] language.
It is the UK Government, however, which is told the following:
It reminds the UK Government that it is its duty under the Charter to submit a complete report on time and expects
that the forthcoming report will comply in full with Article 15 of the Charter.
This warning is followed by a boxed statement in bold italic print that stands out from the surrounding text:
The Committee of Experts urges the UK authorities to comply with their obligation to report on the application of the
Charter in accordance with Article 15 of the Charter.
COMEX, the Charter and legislation for Irish

In this third monitoring report, after commenting on the need to obtain consensus between the Nationalist and Unionist
parties in the Assembly on the issue of legislation not having been passed for Irish, COMEX go on to state:
It appears to the Committee of Experts that legislation is needed to protect and promote Irish in Northern Ireland,
as is the case for Welsh in Wales and Scottish Gaelic in ScotlandIt appears to the Committee of Experts that, as
things currently stand, legislation on the protection and promotion of the Irish language is unlikely to be made by the
Northern Ireland Assembly. It could however be made by the UK Parliament under its parallel legislative competence.
This is followed by a boxed statement in bold italic script (page 6) to the effect that:
The Committee of Experts urges the UK authorities to provide an appropriate legislative base for the protection and promotion
of Irish in Northern Ireland.
The COMEX finishes by noting their observation of inappropriate claims for parity of treatment between Irish and
Ulster-Scots in a number of instances and that the situation of the two languages is quite different.
Even stronger than a COMEX report is a Recommendation from the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
to the relevant state authorities based on COMEX observations. In this instance, the Committee of Ministers (21 April 2010)
recommends to the UK, as a matter of priority, the following two actions in respect of Northern Ireland:
Adopt and implement a comprehensive Irish language policy, preferably through the adoption of legislation;
Adopt a strategy to enhance and develop Ulster-Scots, in co-operation with the speakers.
The rsum of the main Findings of COMEX (pages 58-59) in this third report refer again to the need for a statutory basis
for Irish as in the case of Welsh and Scottish Gaelic since Irish and Ulster-Scots seem to have become hostages to party politics
Reference is also made to:
- the 1737 Act being still in force;
- positive developments previously noted having been put on hold or reduced;
- provision for Irish in local authority administration remaining unsatisfactory;
- no settled funding arrangements for the Irish Language Broadcasting Fund;
- the demise of the newspaper L.
However, with some reservations, the domain of Education is considered an exception to the negative trend.
THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF

NATIONAL MINORITIES OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council
of Europe commented, inter alia, in their Third Opinion on the UK (adopted 30 June 2011, published 22 December
2011) on the situation of Irish in NI. The relevant comments concerned the implementation of the Convention in
that jurisdiction in relation to Article 5 of the Convention: Preservation and promotion of minority cultures and
languages. Among the interlocutors was the advocacy group, POBAL, which also prepared a report for the Advisory
Committee.
One of the three issues highlighted for immediate action by the authorities at the end of the Executive Summary which
begins this Opinion is:
- Develop comprehensive legislation on the Irish language in Northern Ireland and take resolute measures
to protect and implement more effectively the language rights of persons belonging to the Irish-speaking
community.

In its response of 24 February 2012 to this Opinion, the UK Government does not refer to these comments.
POLICIES FOR IRISH
Language policy and the Commission of the NI Assembly

Language policy in terms of the Commissions deliberations does not necessarily mean policy for Irish or for Irish and UlsterScots. Irish may figure in the policy, but essentially all it denotes is a composite policy for use of indigenous and immigrant
languages in some areas of the functioning of the Assembly and in Parliament Buildings.
The Commission of the NI Assembly has legislative basis under section 40(4) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The
current Commission was appointed on 23 May 2011 following a resolution of the Assembly, consisting of a representative
from each of the five main political parties and chaired by the Speaker. As the body corporate of the Assembly, its general
function is to provide the Assembly with the required property, staff and services to enable it to carry out its work. The
Commission itself states its purpose as:
to serve and support the Assembly in its role of representing the interests of the electorate; making effective legislation
and influencing the Executive and holding it to account.
The Assembly Secretariat Corporate Plan (2008-2011) enlarges on the Commissions purpose in these terms:
To support the Assembly and its Members in their role as elected representatives and legislators and to facilitate
engagement between the Assembly and the public.
In June 2010, the Commission requested an external consultancy to carry out an Internal Good Relations Audit within the
Assembly and to prepare an implementation plan for 2010-2011 following on from the then existing Good Relations Plan and
Corporate Plan (2008-2011).
Section 75(2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 is to ensure that public bodies statutorily address in their policy-making
the differential effects any policies and their implementation may have on relationships between different categories of citizens:
e.g. people of different religions, or political opinions, or racial groups. Issues relating to language and to interaction between
the Assembly and the public, as well as between Members of the Assembly themselves, are pertinent to the exercise of good
relations. Issues of equality and good relations are intertwined but separate aspects of behaviour.
The Main Findings of the commissioned Audit (page 14 ff) make the following comments, inter alia:
- It is important to remember that when facilitating an audit into a difficult and sometimes divisive issue such
such as good relations that the process is likely to reflect problems or issues rather than successes. This is a
recognition that we live in a divided society and that our perceptions and comments are often shaped by this.
- These findings have been themed into two broad areas What Works Well and Challenges Identified
- Changing Relationships (under What Works Well): It is obvious that the relationships between elected
representatives has softened over recent years.
- Visitors (under Challenges Identified ): 23% of Nationalists had visited Parliament Buildings compared with
38% of Unionists [2009 Ipsos MORI Public Attitudes Survey].
- MLA Behaviour (under Challenges Identified ): Despite recent acknowledged improvements in relationships
and attitudes there still remain divisions between elected members. These divisions can sometimes be manifest
in inappropriate or disrespectful behaviour. While this may be common in other legislative chambers, it must
be recognised that this [the Assembly] is a place emerging from a violent past and the significance of actions
cannot be underestimated or lost on elected representatives.
- Flags and Emblems (under Challenges Identified ): Flags and emblems will continue to be a divisive issue within
the Assembly. The visible manifestations of difference are precious to people in Northern Ireland. A limited
understanding of the meaning and significance of some flags and emblems can lead to increased divisions and
tensions.
The Final Report of this Internal Good Relations Audit was discussed at several meetings of the Assembly Commission.
On 8 November 2011, it was the view of the Sinn Fin Commissioner that:
there were some difficult issues to be addressed in relation to Good Relations but there was also a requirement for
the Commission as the corporate body to take forward. He highlighted that certain emblems and symbols within the
environs of Parliament Buildings presented a particular challenge to the Commission.
On 29 November 2011, the same Commissioner pointed out that:
issues around the building relating to signage, statues, symbols and language had to be addressed and there was a need
to secure a space to have the discussion in an attempt to address them. [He] also requested further information in
relation to what good relations work had been undertaken and if the issue of language had been considered within
the development of the new website.
The UUP Commissioner highlighted
that the issues discussed were sensitive and that the history of Parliament Buildings could not be re-written. He
further proposed that a balanced approach should be adopted to address sensitivities and there was a need to ensure
that Good Relations is dovetailed into the Corporate Strategy. [He] also drew Members attention to developments
such as the reconciliation sculpture within the Stormont Estate.
Draft Language Policy

A draft policy had been initially presented in March 2010, had been considered by parties and a fuller amended version then
provided to the parties in June 2010. No more was apparently heard of the draft put forward during the mandate of the
previous Commission. At the 29 November 2011 meeting of the Commission the issue of a language policy for the Assembly
again came up,. The Head of the Commission and Corporate Support Unit confirmed to Members:
that there had been limited progress in relation to the draft language policy. It was agreed that the submissions on the
draft language policy and cover paper that were considered during the last mandate would re-issue to Members with
a view to requesting outstanding submissions from those Parties who had not responded.
The meeting of 24 January 2012 received the following update on this draft:
submissions on the draft policy have now been received from parties and were currently being compiled with a view
to being presented for consideration to an early meeting of the Commission.
A draft policy was published in January 2012. By 28 February 2012, the position was as follows:
discussions [had been held] with those Parties who had not to date submitted responses to the draft policy. [The
Head of the Commission] informed the Commission that on receipt of outstanding submissions he would compile
responses for consideration at an early Commission meeting.
Months later an SDLP Member of the Assembly was still requesting information on progress on this language policy
during a debate on another issue on 3 July 2012.He had criticised the Draft Language Policy in relation to the Irish language
in January 2012 in the media as not providing any development on the existing situation of Irish in Stormont. In his partys
view, the draft policy did not consider the existing use of Irish in Assembly debates or the needs of Irish-medium schools and
the Irish community. He called for:
- more visibility for Irish in signage, in bilingual announcements, in the Assembly website, in the brochure on the
history of the Parliament Buildings and in papers relating to Assembly business;
- simultaneous translation and adequate facilities and staff for this purpose;
- an Assembly Road Show for Irish speakers.
The existing situation permits Members to use their language of choice but then requires them to translate immediately if
using Irish or Ulster-Scots in Assembly debates. Members who do not follow this procedure properly face being barred from
speaking for a defined period unless apologies are made. This has occurred.
The draft policy proposes that persons may give evidence before Assembly Committees in their chosen language but
preferaby through advance notice of a fortnight. The Commission was to examine the possibility of providing some information
in languages other than English, regional or minority languages included. Officials may be permitted act proactively and
translate documents into other languages. The Irish language is specifically mentioned in the sole instance of welcoming
notices in Stormont (Filte), as is Ulster-Scots, Polish and other languages.
The Assembly Commission announced in July 2012 that guided tours of Stormont through Irish will be available from
Autumn 2012. A staff member of the Education Service had attended a Gaeltacht course to ensure this service to the public.
Northern Ireland Assembly Commission Good Relations Strategy 2012 2016

Consultation on the Good Relations Strategy and the Corporate Strategy of the Commission ended on 10 August 2012. Item
2.9 under Point 2, Promotion of Good Relations, in the Good Relations Strategy states:
To develop a clear and concise Language Policy with measurable standards during the current mandate.
Under the list of organisations to be consulted, and that receive all documentation, the Ulster-Scots Agency is listed, but not
Foras na Gaeilge.
Lofa 2015
Following the May 2011 Assembly Elections and distribution of portfolios in a new Executive, Sinn Fin acquired the Culture
ministry which up to then had been held by the DUP party. An early initiative from the new Minister, not herself a fluent
speaker of Irish, was the Lofa (Fluent) 2015 Challenge in September 2011. The Minister explains on the D/CAL website:
As Minister for Culture, one of my priorities in office is the promotion of Gaelic language and culture to as wide an
audience as possible.
I believe that the rich cultural and linguistic heritage on this island is something that we all share and something that
we can all embrace and enjoy.
Therefore, I intend to introduce measures aimed at broadening the appeal of the Irish language and returning it to a
status where it can be practised and enjoyed by people of all backgrounds and traditions.
The Lofa 2015 project aims to encourage 5000 people from all walks of life across the North to sign up to becoming
fluent in Irish by 2015. This is obviously a challenging target and will require a significant degree of commitment from
the participants involved but I am greatly encouraged by the discussions I have already had with stakeholders from
across the community and I firmly believe this is a realistic goal.
The numbers signing up were, in fact, very encouraging, having begun with a target of 1,000 which was reached within four
months. This was increased to 5,000 in June 2012, given the public interest in the scheme. The first year was celebrated at an
open event in Belfast on 22 September 2012, when up to 2,300 had signed up to the challenge. The website also gives details
of where classes in Irish are available. In Summer 2012, scholarships were available for registered participants in this scheme
to attend classes with the organisation Oideas Gael in Donegal. The scholarships were funded by Foras na Gaeilge and were
directed principally at learners who not had the opportunity to learn Irish at school or who would not be in a position to attend
classes without scholarship assistance. A news release from her Department in November 2011 referred, inter alia, to the costs
associated with the initiative as just over 2,370 (sterling).
In September 2011, members of the PSNI, sporting organisations and other public bodies attended the launch of Lofa
2015. There was also a Unionist presence at the launch, which was held in Stormont.
Strategies
In response to questions in the Assembly on 30 January 2012, the Minister expressed her intention to take forward Strategies
for Irish and for Ulster-Scots to consultation once the consultation then under way on the Programme for Government was
completed through the Executive. She promised that unlike previous consultations, Members views will be incorporated.
Funding for implementation would come from her own and other departments budgets and would be given out
proportionallymeeting peoples needs rather than those of politicians. With regard to consultation on an Irish language Bill,
scoping would take some time to be done properly and not rushed in the interests of political expediency.
In March 2012, a Programme for Government was issued. As described above, Priority 4 is entitled Building a Strong and
Shared Community and states what this aim actually means:
- better relations between communities;
- promoting volunteering;
- improving community and personal wellbeing;
- unlocking the potential of the culture, arts and leisure sectors;
- increasing participation in sport and physical recreation;
- collaborative working.
Among what are described as Building Blocks in achieving the various objectives are:
- Strategy for the Irish Language;
- Strategy for Ulster-Scots Language, Heritage and Culture.
Six years after the St Andrews Agreement, some action on the Irish language was finally signalled officially. However, legislation
or an Act for Irish did not receive mention.
General background
Draft Strategies for Irish and for Ulster-Scots were issued simultaneously for public consultation in July 2012. The period
for consultation was extended to 20 from the usual 12 weeks to allow for the Summer break, from 11 July to 27 November.
Bringing forward both draft Strategies at the same time could have benefits later when debated by the Assembly and political
trading might possibly occur. The DUP chairperson of the D/CAL Scrutiny Committee expressed dissatisfaction that the draft
Strategy for Irish was not first laid before the Committee. An Irish language version of the Strategy for Irish is also available.
Both strategies contain basically the same overall format but differ in the specific actions detailed for Irish and for Ulster-Scots.
In addition to existing information from Census 2001 and from a module in the NI Omnibus Survey 2007, further
contemporary information on Irish in the community was sought in 2012 and a report on the results was published by the
Department for Culture:
Public attitudes towards the Irish language in Northern Ireland 2012: Findings from the Northern Ireland Omnibus
Survey January 2012 (48 pages, D/CAL). Irish language version also available.
Much of this material underlies the required Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) undertaken for the Strategy.
Extracts from the specific content of proposed actions in the draft Strategy are set out below under the various relevant
sections. The continuing input of the umbrella organisation, POBAL, into campaigning for legislation for Irish is also detailed
below, Towards language legislation.
The general layout of the 53-page draft Strategy is clear, concise and comprehensive. Some of the proposed actions, while
welcome to the Irish language community, may well prove controversial for others, given past history. However, exactly the
same may be said of the Strategy for Ulster-Scots: language, heritage and culture. The current desires of each community are set
out. It would appear that few lacunae are present in these documents and therein lies their weakness. Listing demands, desires
and aspirations is not the same as putting forward language policies based, not only on attitudinal surveys, but on analysis
using sociolinguistic principles. In some respects, the same weakness attaches to the 20-Year Strategy for Irish in the Republic.
This is probably the reason why both strategies for Irish are seen by some to be complementary when, in fact, if sociolinguistic
criteria were used, the very different contexts of the Irish language North and South would be immediately apparent.
The Department analysed the results of the consultation that finished at the end of November 2012. There were some 274
responses to the detailed document (of which 100 were in Irish). The final version of the Strategy will then go to the Executive.
It is unlikely that this part of the process will be completed before mid-2014. The final Strategy that emerges for Irish may
bear little resemblance to the draft issued for consultation without a great deal of political will. Understanding and recognition
of each others aspirations will probably be a very necessary part of the consultation and further process for both the Irish and
Ulster-Scots strategies. In the context of Cohesion, Sharing and Integration, it is a source of regret that not more space was
devoted to cross-community actions for language in place of aspirational statements. This was borne out at a conference on the
draft strategy convened by the group POBAL in October 2012 before the consultation process ended; some participants were
of the view that the draft strategy lacked any concrete approach to members of the Unionist community or to the disaffected.
General outline
The political context of both Strategies is clearly set in fulfilling two legal aims: the Executives action objectives as outlined in
the Programme for Government, aims which in turn are part of the unfinished business from previous Agreements; the
requirements of the European Charter.
The community context may be said to arise from community aspirations and demands, but is also set in the desired aim
of a shared society; a contribution towards community cohesion and integration.
The linguistic context is based certainly on each communitys vision for language but in a quite comprehensive open
manner, indeed surprisingly so given past history.
Sociolinguistic analysis is, however, sparse.
The extracts below may serve to illustrate this. All extracts are in brown print to ensure easier retrieval for the reader. The
Ministers Foreword sets the tone both for the Strategy and the consultation.
MINISTERIAL FOREWORD
The development and protection of the Irish language should not be viewed as divisive or a threat to any member of
our community. The purpose of this Strategy is to make the Irish language more accessible. The Strategy promotes
the Irish language in a positive progressive way aiming to break down the barriers and negative preconceptions which
have surrounded the language and opening Irish up to everyone who chooses to use it.
It is critical that the content of this Strategy reflects the needs of our people. I view full and comprehensive public
consultation as a vital part of the development of the content and substance of the Strategy. This consultation document
and consultation process is intended to be a robust and meaningful as possible. My aim is to allow everybody who
wishes the opportunity to contribute by providing their views which will help inform and shape the enhancement,
development and protection of the Irish language.
Part 1:INTRODUCTION HOW TO RESPOND
This section is purely practical. Similar advice is given also in relation to the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA).
Part 2: VISION
2.1 In its Programme for Government 2011-15, published on March 12 2012, the Executive [of the NI Assembly]
recognised the importance of local people setting priorities for the future and seizing the opportunity offered by
devolution to deliver a shared and better future for all our people.
2.3 This Strategy recognises the Irish language as a valuable part of our shared cultural heritage. The creation of a
climate of tolerance and dialogue is necessary to enable our cultural heritage and cultural diversity in general to
be a source and a factor, not of division, but of enrichment for our society. The Strategy will therefore seek to
promote wider understanding of the background to the language across all sections of our community.
2.5 The Irish language should be respected as part of our shared diverse cultural wealth, to be enjoyed by all who
choose to use it.
Part 2: CONTEXT
This section gives a brief history of the Irish language and Census figures for Irish ability. It also gives the relevant section of the
Programme for Government as context as well as the 20-Year Strategy in the Republic. It addresses the benefits of bilingualism
and family transmission of the language.
In the introductory EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, the key aims of the draft Strategy (NI) are stated as to:
- create a framework where Irish can flourish and be shared by all who wish to use it;
- protect and support the development and learning of Irish; and

- promote wider understanding of the background to the Irish language.
In Part 2, under CONTEXT, this is further clarified:
2.9 This Strategy seeks to increase on an incremental basis the use and knowledge of Irish as a language for all the
community. It aims to ensure that all citizens, who wish to, can access the language and draw on the benefits of
bilingualism in both Irish and English.
This Strategy aims to:
- increase knowledge of the language;
- create opportunities to use the language;
- foster positive attitudes towards the language;
- increase the number of families who use Irish as the daily language of communication;
- provide linguistic support to the Irish-speaking community;
- ensure that in public discourse and in public services the use of Irish or English will be, as far as practical, a
choice for the citizen to make and that people can do their business in Irish; and
- ensure that Irish is more visible in our society, both as a spoken language and also in areas such as signage and
literature.
The introductory EXECUTIVE SUMMARY lists the general objectives and how these may be actioned. The objectives
include:
- to increase the number of those who can access Irish medium education;
- to increase the number of those that use public services through the Irish language; and
- to increase access to Irish language media.
Six Key areas for action to protect, enhance and develop the Irish language should include
- Education;
- Family transmission of Irish;
- Administration, Services and
- Community; Media and Technology;
- Legislation and Status of the Language and
- Economic Life.
The CONTEXT section also treats:
- the existing legal background for a Strategy: the various Agreements from 1998 onwards and the European
Charter;
- the 20-Year Strategy in the Republic;
- international legal instruments.
Part 3: AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND STAKEHOLDERS
This Part 3 briefly reiterates the Aims and Objectives with questions for response to the public consultation. It also includes
an account of the key stakeholders, but only in an official and monitoring sense. Nevertheless, without such active monitoring,
neither responsibility nor clarity on incremental results is possible. Publicly listing stakeholders from the outset has its own
advantages. Presumably, Irish speakers, the Irish community and voluntary groups are also significant stakeholders who will be
engaging with the consultation and ultimately acting as vocal monitors.
KEY STAKEHOLDERS
Scope of the Strategy
3.4 The development, implementation and monitoring of this Strategy will be taken forward in partnership with
key stakeholders.
3.5 The Interdepartmental Charter Implementation Group (ICIG) is comprised of representatives of all NICS
Departments and the UK Departments operating in NI. The ICIG will be responsible for ensuring the
Executive is aware of progress being made against the Strategys aims, objectives and areas for action.
3.6 Responsibility for some public services, such as Broadcasting, remains with the Government in Westminster.
Engagement with the responsible Ministers in Westminster to seek cooperation from their Departments on the
aims and objectives of this Strategy will be critical.
3.7 Consultation with stakeholders is important to the Strategy development process. It is important that this
Strategy is developed in a mature and reflective way, with each voice being heard particularly via public
consultation.
Part 4: AREAS FOR ACTION
The real content of the Strategy lies in this Part 4 where actions are listed and questions listed for respondents. As might be
expected, it is the longest chapter. It clarifies from the outset that effectiveness and real progress lie in the promotion and
implementation of actions.
4.2 Promoting and implementing positive changes in the six key areas for action set out in part 4 of the draft
Strategy is vital to ensure the effectiveness of this Strategy and it is in these areas for action that real progress can
be made to protect, enhance and develop the Irish language.
The proposed actions in the six key areas are given in the separate relevant sections below. The subsection of Part 4 on
education also contained actions towards family transmission of the language. Since this actually means increasing the volume
of speakers, these actions have been listed above, THE PRESENT LANGUAGE COMMUNITY.
Part 5: IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND REPORTING
Interestingly, all sectors - public, private and community - are included in the implementation of the Strategy. Implementation
plans are part of that process. More significantly, relevant agencies will be required to co-operate. This has echoes of the
Official Languages Act in the Republic. The implementation structure mirrors that in the 20-Year Strategy in the South: a
Unit in the Department itself and an Interdepartmental Strategy Delivery Group to oversee strategy and resources, to ensure
articulation and alignment of departmental plans and to report annually to the Executive. This report will also satisfy the
reporting requirements of the Charter of the Council of Europe. The existing promotion and advisory role of Foras na Gaeilge
will continue.
A possible reservation with regard to this structure will be to ensure that the final iteration of the Strategy will be robust
enough to keep it busy.
Strategy Implementation
5.1 The aims objectives and associated areas for action in this Strategy have implications for all Executive
Departments and their Arms Length Bodies, for local government and other state bodies, the private sector and
all our people.
5.2 Implementation of the Strategy will be integrated across the routine operations of public bodies and be driven
by strong leadership Relevant Agencies will be required to co-operate in pursuing the aims and objectives of
the Strategy.
5.3 Where appropriate, public bodies shall produce an Implementation Plan
5.5 An Interdepartmental Strategy Delivery Group (ISDG) should be established involving senior officials
from all Executive Departments to ensure full and appropriate interdepartmental communication and the
implementation of good practice across departments.
5.6 A Strategy Unit within the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure should be established with dedicated staff
to provide administrative support to the ISDG.
Strategy Monitoring and Reporting
5.7 The ISDG should be responsible for overseeing the strategic planning process and monitoring the development
of resources.
5.8 The Strategy Unit within the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure should ensure cross-departmental
implementation of initiatives; provide expert advice; oversee operational plans as developed by the
implementation bodies; and publish updates and relevant documentation for public information.
5.9 Foras na Gaeilge should continue to deliver on its statutory responsibilities in relation to Irish. Foras na Gaeilge
should be invited to advise both the ISDG [Interdepartmental Strategy Delivery Group] and the Strategy Unit
within the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure.
5.10 The ISDG should:
Meet regularly to discuss implementation of the Strategy
Report annually to the Executive on the progress of the Strategy
Ensure that each Departments actions align with and contribute to the aims and objectives of the Strategy.
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
5.11 This Strategys monitoring and evaluation process reflects the reporting cycle of the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages. The Charter requires the UK to submit a report on its implementation of the
Charter every three years. Appropriate input to this report must be agreed by the Executive
Public Bodies
5.12 Departments will be responsible for communicating the Strategys aims and objectives in relation to the Irish
language to their Arms Length Bodies and other public bodies which they support. It will be a matter for each
Department to ensure these bodies work towards the aims and objectives of this Strategy.
Review and Revision
5.13 In line with Section 28 D of the amended Northern Ireland Act 1998 where the Executive considers it
appropriate, this Strategy can be reviewed, revised or replaced
Part 6: EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EQIA)
There are nine categories of persons for whom public policy in NI may require to be examined in relation to the any possible
adverse effects on the promotion of equality of opportunity. These categories are listed in Section 75 of the Northern Ireland
Act 1998. An EQIA was duly conducted by D/CAL in relation to the Strategy on equality of opportunity between: men and
women generally; persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status, or sexual orientation;
persons with a disability and persons without; persons with dependents and persons without. The Departments assessment
(based on evidence from Census 2001, Omnibus 2007 and Omnibus 2012) is attached to the Strategy and views are sought
on the content which is summarised under three headings: knowledge of Irish; attitude to Irish and education; attitude to Irish
culture. The survey tables are included. This material has been discussed above, Attitudes. It is intended to conduct reviews at
key stages of the implementation of the Strategy in order to assess if any adverse changes of impact occur. The EQIA will also
take into account the outcome of the public consultation and any resulting amendments will then be made to the Strategy.
The Conclusions of D/CAL are given below.
Conclusions of the Impact Assessment conducted by D/CAL
The available evidence suggests that those speaking and possessing some knowledge of Irish are more likely to be
Catholic, nationalist and young as well as without a disability, with dependants and single. There were no significant
statistical differences in relation to gender and racial group. No data is available in relation to sexual orientation.
It is D/CALs view that bringing forward an Irish language Strategy will have a positive impact on Irish speakers and
therefore indirectly on Catholics, nationalists, single people, younger people, people without a disability and people
with dependants, which are the groups most likely to speak Irish. In D/CALs view, there are no discriminatory or
adverse impacts.
Assessment of impact on good relations
D/CAL considers that the introduction of an Irish Language Strategy has the potential to improve good relations, as
it will potentially give the Irish Language a more accessible platform for all sections of the community.
Part 7: CONSULTATION QUESTIONS
The Strategy ends helpfully with a reprise of all the questions for consultation from the preceding parts.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BELFAST (GOOD FRIDAY) AGREEMENT

NORTHERN IRELAND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AND A BILL OF RIGHTS 2009-2012
NI Human Rights Commission

With regard to the ongoing debate on the provision of an Irish language Act, interesting arguments were reported in October
2010 when the then DUP Minister for Culture disagreed with the legal case put forward by the NI Human Rights Commission
for. (The Commission had written to the Minister the previous August on the failure to introduce language legislation not
being compliant with human rights). The Minister did not accept the basis of the Commissions case on the right of religious
assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights as pertaining to language. In his view, there was little benefit in
legislation for Irish when community consensus on the issue was absent, opting instead for a strategy for regional or minority
languages (Irish and Ulster-Scots). The Commission, on the other hand, while accepting that the legal example used was not
directly relevant to language, made three very pertinent points:
- the principle involved was crucial: that the human rights of a minority were not subject to the agreement of the
majority;
- it is precisely in the absence of consensus that the need for legal recognition of minority rights arises;
- seeking consensus is not an appropriate basis for decision making on minority languages, including Irish.
Perhaps the most important reality arising was the Ministers oblique reference to the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages. Presumably, without the existence of this legal instrument, little progress might be possible.
In November 2010 on the same issue, a fairly intense debate took place in the Assembly on foot of a Sinn Fin motion:
That this Assembly notes that correspondence sent to the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure by the NI Human
Rights Commission on 17 August 2010 stated that the Ministers failure to introduce Irish language legislation is not
human-rights compliant; and calls on the Minister to bring forward his proposals for a strategy to enhance and protect
the development of the Irish language in accordance with obligations agreed in the St Andrews Agreement 2006.
The following amendment from the SDLP was accepted by Sinn Fin.
Leave out all after compliant and insert
; acknowledges the legislative requirement of the Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 for an Irish
language strategy; further notes the commitment in the agreement at Saint Andrews that The Government will
introduce an Irish Language Act; and calls on the Minister to bring forward proposals for an Irish Language Bill.
During the debate, it was clarified once more by Unionist members of the Assembly that Agreements of 1998 and 2006
committed to strategies but not necessarily to an Act for Irish. Parity of esteem had been the touchstone of the 1998 Agreement.
The Unionist view on language was that parity (in all aspects) should exist between Irish and Ulster-Scots, particularly in
relation to funding and legislation.
In reality, the existing commitments under the Charter of the Council of Europe had recognised the differences between
the position of Irish and Ulster-Scots. However, this had led to DUP ministerial proposals mooted within D/CAL that any
advancement for Irish should await upon the position of Ulster-Scots catching up and, more concretely, that a joint strategy
for both Irish and Ulster-Scots be put forward rather than two separate strategies, a policy which would also have a delaying
effect on advancement for Irish. Both were found wanting by the Committee of Experts that monitors the implementation
of the Charter. The majority of the measures being monitored come under the aegis of the devolved administration, not the
Westminster Government that had ratified the Charter in respect of the three Celtic languages together with Scots and UlsterScots within the UK.
If proof were needed of continuing negative attitudes, at that time at any rate, towards development of the Irish language
situation in NI, this November 2010 debate supplied it. The winding-up speech on the debate ended thus:
The debate was full of mediocrity; however, it will go on. The drive to get an Irish language Act and strategy in place
will go on regardless of the hot air and mediocrity of this afternoon.
The Irish language may be caught in a political situation where, apparently, Unionist politicians feel they must oppose not so
much the language per se as any Nationalists who propose further measures for the language. In Assembly debate, Unionists
use arguments on further measures for Irish as being divisive but still appear to be themselves providing an element of that
divisiveness. Extracts from the maiden speech of a DUP Assembly member during the 8 November debate are given below:
As I begin my maiden contribution to the HouseI oppose the motion and the amendment. As we move forward, we
continue to build a normal society and a tolerant community in Northern Ireland. Culture, history and tradition have
long divided our community - and we do have one community in Northern Ireland. To facilitate the development
and maturation of our society, we must all learn to appreciate, accept and tolerate our respective cultures, history,
tradition and politics. If we, the parties elected to the House, are serious about a shared future, we must embrace
those concepts.
Given the history of NI, the continuation of the argument in the Members contribution is of interest:
There are those who seek to use an Irish language Act to be divisive. The question must be asked: why? Is an Irish
language Act intended to genuinely improve community relations? Is it intended to improve recognition and
understanding of the Irish language, or, as I suspect of some, is it to be used as a tool and a means of division or as a
political football? I genuinely believe that an Irish language Act will further polarise our divided community at this
time. Some have used the Irish language as a tool. Sadly, they are not about promoting the Irish language but, instead
and unfortunately, they seek to use the language for political reasons, often to the huge annoyance of those who truly
love and cherish it. On occasion, many of those who speak loudest about an Irish language Act and their Irish culture
are those who have peddled intolerance towards my culture and my tradition. What they need to appreciate is that
Northern Ireland can move forward only with toleration and accommodation, not domination.
The actual result of the vote taken on the motion (main question) and amendment (question) proposed to the Assembly
was as follows:
- Amendment, on a simple majority vote defeated: Ayes 37; Noes 48 (Total 85)
- Motion, according to conventions on cross-community vote: Ayes 43; Noes 42
However, the motion was defeated since of the 43 Ayes, 37 represented 100% of the total Nationalist vote and
6 represented 100% of the total of Other votes while the 42 Noes represented 100% of the Unionist votes. The
motion, or question, was therefore negatived on the basis of cross-community rubrics.
On certain issues, it would appear that the voting result may almost be predicted in advance.
The issue of a Bill of Rights for NI is also still ongoing as the next section illustrates.
A Bill of Rights for NI 2009-2012

The issue of human rights and language is a very significant and live issue in NI. A public consultation was initiated on 30
November 2009 to last until 31 March 2010 on the content of a Bill of Rights for NI. One of the consultation questions asked
respondents their views on protections, (and the form such protections might take), in relation to Irish or Ulster-Scots that
should be included in a Bill of Rights. With regard to the support and development of Irish (and Ulster-Scots), it was proposed
in the consultation document that:
Public authorities must, as a minimum, act compatibly with the obligations undertaken by the UK Government
under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
The Irish language lobby, found the entire document incomplete and lacking as a comprehensive Bill of Rights. On the one
hand, a general reference would have been expected in such a document to the Governments view on the importance of
language in and to the community. Secondly, all the specific obligations under the various domains of Part III of the Charter
which fall under the devolved administration should have been listed. Thirdly, reference should be have been made to the Act
for Irish promised in 2006 (St Andrews Agreement) together with a time schedule for its enactment at Westminster. Fourthly,
mention should have been made of an intention to prorogue the discriminatory Administration of Justice (English) Act of 1737.
The Secretary of State for NI, addressing the British-Irish Parliamentary Body in late November 2010, clarified that a
Bill of Rights for NI would not be put forward by Westminster because of lack of consensus in the Stormont Assembly. The
Assembly would have to pass a legislative consent motion in circumstances where Westminster brings forward legislation which
might have a significant impact on devolved policy. A DUP participant, while against a Bill of Rights for NI, said his party
would not oppose a UK Bill of Rights which would include a chapter for NI.
Two years after this 2009-2010 consultation process ended - and 14 years after the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement of
1998 - the Labour Party Tnaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) of the Republic addressed an Alliance Party Conference in April
2012. The Alliance Party holds the (newly devolved) Justice portfolio in the NI Executive. He spoke cogently of the need for:
a Bill of Rights drawn up by agreement between the main parties [which] would set out precisely and formally the
rights upon which a shared future can be based [in NI].
He reminded his audience that:
The Good Friday Agreement provides for a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland which would be based on the European
Convention for Human Rights but also formulate rights which reflect the principles of mutual respect for the identity
and ethos of both communities and parity of esteemThe only way we can ensure that this peace will last is by
ensuring that human rights and equality are the basis of all progress.
Writing in August 2011 after six years in office, the Chief Human Rights Commissioner in NI referred to the two projects
arising from the Belfast Agreement that the Commission had completed:
- advising the UK Government on a proposed Bill of Rights for NI; 89% responded in favour of such a Bill on
foot of public consultation;
- collaborating with the Irish Human Rights Commission (ROI) on a Charter of Rights for the island of Ireland.
She states unequivocally that Political will is now required to deliver an outcome on both of these important matters. The
document on the Charter of Rights had been presented to both Governments in late June 2011. She also makes reference to
issuesall of which remain the subject of much political debate that are particular to the context of Northern Ireland: these
are parades and counter-protests; the Irish language and Ulster-Scots. In fact, the Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report
of February 2012 refers to a series of logjams 2007-11 (page 119). Among them is the Irish Language Act being blocked by
the Unionist party Minister for Culture.
However, the proposed Bill of Rights for NI was at times disputed on several grounds:
- that commitment in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 to advice on a Bill of Rights is not necessarily
equivalent to commitment to legislation;
- that existing rights legislation, both British and European, is sufficient;
- that many of the issues in the advisory Bill prepared are more correctly issues for elected representatives (issues
of governance) and not for legal appointees (issues concerning rights);
- that some contentious issues have been omitted;
- that the original brief may have been exceeded.
Nevertheless, given recent calls for more normal politics in NI (government and opposition), these contested areas could
appear to comprise part of that problem of governance.
The UK Human Rights Act 1998, with commencement in 2000, also received criticism on foot of some rulings to the
extent that the current Conservative Prime Minister had, while in opposition, called for its replacement with a Bill of Rights
for Britain. An official Commission on the subject did not, however, reach consensus. After the General Election of 2010, a
further investigation of the issue was promised by the incoming Coalition.
Belfast also hosts the non-party political campaigning organisation, the Human Rights Consortium, which comprises
almost 200 members representing NGOs, trade unions and community groups. The focus of the Consortium is to ensure a
strong and inclusive Bill of Rights for NI with emphasis on social and economic rights in order to ensure lasting peace in NI,
particularly in light of recent economic cutbacks. In January 2012, a delegation from the Consortium made their case before
the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Irish in Britain and the Federation of Irish Societies (which provides secretarial
services to the Group). The delegation reminded their hearers of the genesis of the Bill in the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement
and the community support for the advice of the NI Human Rights Commission on a specific Bill for NI. It was stated that,
among DUP voters, 84% thought a Bill of Rights for NI was important and 92% thought that socio-economic rights should
be included.
Interestingly, the members of the British Commission on a Bill of Rights disagreed internally with 2 of 9 members not
accepting the creation of a specific British law (December 2012). The Conservative Party is in favour of a Bill of Rights; the
coalition partner, the Liberal Democrats, is not. Britain already has a Human Rights Act.
ROI Human Rights Commission

Issues of rights may be contested even in what may be regarded as fully functioning democracies. The Human Rights
Commission in the South was one of the instances of cutbacks after the 2009 Budget as was that of the Equality Authority. A
cutback of 43% in the budget of the Equality Authority led to the resignation of its director in December 2008 and reference
to a campaign of misinformation in the Authoritys report for 2009. A cut of 32% was made in the budget of the Irish Human
Rights Commission. Ongoing complaints on this situation ensued up to late 2010 from the Equality and Rights Alliance (a
coalition of 140 civil society groups and others) to the European Parliament on non-compliance by Ireland with European
law in the area of equality. The importance of this stance lay in the (then) upcoming review (October 2011) by the United
Nations of the States record on human rights. A new Minister of State (Junior Minister) with responsibility for Equality,
Integration and Human Rights was appointed at the re-named Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs in
June 2010. She made clear her wish that no further cuts be made in Budget 2011; she also intended to bring recommendations
to Government by the end of 2010 on a review of the Equality Tribunal, the Human Rights Commission and the Equality
Authority.
By August 2011, a possible merger of the latter two agencies was still under discussion; the Chair of the Equality Authority
justified such a merger in a media article. The tenure of the board of the Authority had expired in July 2011 but it had not been
replaced or renewed; the tenure of the 14 members (but not the Chair) of the Commission would expire in September 2011. In
the meantime over the years of recession, the Commission had suffered a 40% budget cut since 2008 and its staff fell by almost
50% (from 21 to 11). It had, however, continued to be an impartial actor, independent of both Government and NGOs, since
its inception. The Attorney-General was of the view that the lack of funding was putting the Commissions remit at risk. Its
incumbent Chair, given that the current tenure of Commissioners was near its end, requested even more independence for the
body in future, through accountability to the Oireachtas, not to a Government Department, and through adherence to the
Paris Principles on human rights bodies.
Unlike the Equality Authority, in the Republic the Commission was a result of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement,
with a sister body in Northern Ireland. Finally, in September 2011, a new merged Human Rights and Equality Commission
was announced, on the now familiar grounds of better value for money; leaner more streamlined body able [to function]
more effectively, efficiently, cohesively. In this decision, the current Government was following a proposal of the previous
administration. The Minister had spoken with the NI authorities on the change. The new board of 12 was to be less than half
that of the two combined boards. Legislation to effect the merger was to be enacted before the end of 2011. Eventually, in
June 2012, a Bill was published of which some elements were welcomed while others are still being debated. By July 2012,
a selection panel, chaired by the Ombudsman, was appointed by the Minister for Justice to choose the members of the
new merged Commission. Within the same week they had stood aside on foot of concerns on aspects of the proposed Bill
communicated by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Between mid-2011 and mid-2012 then, much debate in the Republic centred on the future and on the composition of the
Human Rights Commission in that jurisdiction. Calls are now being made for changes to the Constitution, in advance of the
2016 commemoration of the Rising, in order to strengthen human rights in relation to domestic and international legislation.
In February 2012, Ireland was engaged in lobbying for one of three seats, for the period 2012-2015, to be voted in Autumn
2012 on the UN Human Rights Council; the other contenders were Germany, Greece, Sweden and the US.
These are all important issues in light of any advice or future North-South co-operation, particularly in the area of language
rights and legislation. The 20-Year Strategy for Irish in the Republic receives mention, for example, in the Strategy for Irish
published for public consultation in NI in July 2012.
A conference was held in late 2009 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Equality Commission in NI, a body that had been
formed from a variety of existing agencies having differing emphases on the protection of rights. The overall message from the
conference focused on the benefits of having rights protected and the more beneficial climate this created in NI. However,
unlike the proposed legislation on the amalgamation of the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission in the
Republic, the Human Rights Commission in NI remains a stand-alone entity, as was probably the intention of the 1998
Agreement.
A revealing account of linguistic legislation language planning is given in the publication, Language and Conflict in Northern
Ireland and Canada A Silent War, from the busy pen of the Chief Executive of POBAL, the voluntary sector umbrella group in NI.
THE COURTS AND POLICE

CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS
4.8 AREAS FOR ACTION: LEGISLATION AND STATUS OF THE LANGUAGE
4.8.1 The Department of Justice should take measures to have the Administration of Justice Act (Ireland) 1737
prorogued.
4.8.3 Applicants for citizenship or residency should be allowed to take their qualifying tests in Irish.
4.8.4 Important legal texts should be provided in Irish.
The Courts: Administration of Justice (Language) Act 1737

In late 2008, a case was taken by an Irish speaker whose application through Irish for an occasional drinks licence for a
concert in the Cultrlann in Belfast had been refused to be considered by the courts on the grounds of language. The courts
argument rested on the ancient Administration of Justice (Language) Act of 1737 stipulating that English be the language
of the courts. The applicant argued that the 1737 Act was incompatible with the Charter of the Council of Europe and in
breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, in July 2009, the High Court dismissed these arguments,
in a reserved judgment. Following this dismissal, the judgment was appealed in February 2010 in the Court of Appeal before
a panel of three senior members of the NI judiciary. The grounds were: the 1737 Act had been repealed in Scotland and in
Wales but not in NI, which discriminated against the applicant. The panel, however, were of the view that the case was not a
case of linguistic necessity, since the applicant spoke English. In cases of linguistic necessity, rather than of linguistic preference,
translation arrangements would be made to conduct proceedings through English. In June 2010, the Court of Appeal rejected
the applicants case once more.
Apart from the legal basis for maintaining the use of English in the courts system, the issue of possible increased costs if
Irish were allowed has been raised several times. A report in the Irish language newspaper, Gaelscal, of 27 June 2012, states the
calculations in 2007 of the former DUP Minister for Culture of these costs as being in the region of 200,000 sterling. The
courts system itself had calculated 20,000 in 2010 and even as low as 5,000, depending on demand, in early 2012.
In relation to the demand of the Irish community that the 1737 Act be prorogued, the organisation, POBAL, which had
done much work on this and related issues, were disappointed to be refused a meeting with the Minister for Justice of the
Assembly from his appointment, on the grounds of advice from officials that his Department had no plans to prorogue the Act
since no comprehensive strategy for Irish had yet been agreed by the representative parties of the Assembly.
The well-known solicitor who represented in court many of the members and of the institutions of the Irish community in
Belfast died in May 2012. Pl Grachin (Paul Graham) also contributed hugely as a volunteer member of many committees.
As a result of the Act from 1737, legal documents are also required to be in English only. These matters have been put
forward as proposals in the Strategy for the Irish Language (July 2012). The relevant extract appears below.
The Courts: Appointment of Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)

In what was seen in some aspects of the media as a further step in the normalisation of Northern Ireland, the new DPP in
NI appointed in late 2011 is a Catholic, an Irish speaker and a follower of the GAA. More importantly, however, he is also
eminently qualified for the post, having gone through a rigorous selection process. He is also the first solicitor from NI to be
appointed a QC (Queens Counsel) QCs are more usually appointed from the ranks of barristers.
In fact, two other high ranking posts in the legal system of NI are also currently held by incumbents from a nationalist or
Catholic background: the Attorney General and the Lord Chief Justice. The previous Police Ombudsman also had a Catholic
background. The religious backround of legal appointees is rarely given such scrutiny as pertains in NI.
The new DPP was the first holder of the office to address the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) in Belfast.
The CAJ is a human rights organisation that has issued many reports on the situation in NI. In his address, while adverting to the
enormity of the task facing both society and politicians, the DPP spoke of the need for NI to find ways of confronting the past
speedily, whether through more resources for existing mechanisms or the establishment of some new appropriate mechanism.
The Police (PSNI) and Irish

In late 2010, the (then) new Minister for Justice in NI addressed the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the
Belfast Agreement in Dublin. He informed the Committee that almost 30% of the PSNI at that time came from a Catholic
background, up from 8% in the 1990s to the extent that the British Government was proposing to end the 50/50 arrangement
in the recruitment of Catholics and Protestants.
h Interest in the Irish language continues in the PSNI. In September 2011, members of the PSNI, sporting organisations and
other public bodies attended the launch of Lofa 2015 (above), the initiative by the Minister for Culture to encourage people
to embark on learning or increasing their knowledge of Irish. There was also a Unionist presence at the launch, which was held
in Stormont. Up to100 members of the PSNI signed up to the challenge, including the Deputy Chief Constable who is fluent
in several languages. She later received a finne airgid (silver/ring) from the Minister at a training centre in recognition of her
progress as a learner. Gold circle/rings (finne ir) are worn, generally as brooches/lapel pins, to signify fluency.
The British Human Rights Act 1998, which commenced in 2000, incorporated into domestic law the measures of the
European Convention on Human Rights, inter alia. With respect to human rights and the police, the NI Policing Board has
a statutory duty under this Act to monitor compliance by the PSNI. To this end, the Board has Human Rights Advisors since
2003 and has established a Human Rights Monitoring Framework for policing on which annual reports have been published
since 2005. For its part, the PSNI has training programmes for all staff and has produced an annual Human Rights Programme
of Action since 2006-2007.
LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC SERVICES

As context for this section on local authorities and public services, relevant extracts are given below from the public consultation
document on a Strategy for the Irish Language (July 2012) issued by D/CAL. It will be noted from examples given later that
they are very pertinent indeed to the subject matter.
Measures for Irish in the Public Service
4.6.1 Irish speakers should have the right to conduct their business through Irish with all local government,
Executive and other state departments, and the legal system and public sector bodies should facilitate the use
of Irish by citizens.
4.6.2 Language awareness and language training programmes need to be provided so that a higher proportion of
public service staff are truly functional in Irish and can deliver services in Irish to customers who seek them.
The Interdepartmental Strategy Delivery Group should devise appropriate arrangements to increase the
number of public servants who are functional bilinguals.
4.6.3 Irish speakers should be facilitated in dealing with the public sector including local authorities both orally and
in writing, including Census returns and other legal /quasi-legal intervention by citizens.
4.6.4 Where the Executive has permanent international representation measures should be taken to ensure the
promotion of Irish, for example in Washington, Brussels.
4.6.5 Those Executive departments and local authorities who do not yet have a reliable service through Irish should
undertake to provide it within a reasonable time-scale and to publicise its availability.
4.6.6 Local authorities should adopt Irish language policies and plans and appoint Irish language officers where
needed. The provision of services through Irish should be maximised.
4.6.7 Local authorities should expand/initiate facilities for the use of Irish in their council/committee meetings.
4.6.8 Local authorities should guard against any diminution of services provided through the Irish language as a
result of those authorities with Irish language policies and services being merged under the Review of Public
Administration with those authorities that do not.
4.6.9 Local authorities should provide an Irish or bilingual version of all publications, official documents and forms
in line with the approach of this Strategy and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
4.6.10 Local authorities should facilitate the proper preservation and signposting of Irish place-names and the
naming of new housing developments to reflect local or national heritage.
4.6.11 Local authorities should encourage tourism and cultural initiatives through Irish.
CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS: REDUCTION AND RE-ORGANISATION
Context 2011
Local elections were held for the 26 local councils of NI on the same date as Assembly elections, 5 May 2011 (in the UK,
elections also took place on that date for the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly). In fact, these local elections were
scheduled to take place in 2009 but, following a request for delay from the then Environment Minister in 2008 arising out
of the proposed new Local Government structure then in progress under the Review of Public Administration, Westminster
agreed to a postponement through an Order of February 2009. In the event, the proposed new local government structure
reducing the number of councils from 26 to 11 did not take place at that period.
In advance of the May elections, Unionists dominated 13 councils and Nationalists 11 councils. Neither party dominated
in the remaining two councils that included Belfast City Council.
After the 2011 local elections, the party results across the 582 seats were as follows (previous position of larger parties in
2005 in brackets):
- DUP: 175 (182)
- Sinn Fin: 138 (126)
- UUP: 99 (115)
- SDLP: 87 (101)
- Alliance Party: 44 (30)
- Traditional UV: 6
- Green Party: 3
- Progressive UP: 2
- Others: 28
As in the Assembly elections, two parties are in the lead, the DUP and Sinn Fin, to the detriment of others including the
SDLP, while the Alliance Party showed gains. Nevertheless, the DUP did show some losses, with the result that it created an
alliance with the UUP on one council, Castlereagh Council, where it had lost its previous dominance. In the large Belfast City
Council, the situation remained largely unchanged with the Alliance Party still holding the balance of power. Language policy
is highly dependent on the political composition of every local council.
Context 2012
The process of local government reform (Review of Public Administration) to reduce the number of councils from 26 to 11 by
2015 received renewed impetus in the post-Assembly Elections of May 2011. Legislation on the boundaries of the new local
government councils, including the number and the names of the subdivisions into wards in each district was approved by
the Assembly in June 2012. Inevitably, some councils will have an increased number of councillors. The political make-up of
councils may, or may not change as a result. This could influence policy on Irish at local government level as could the proposed
transfer of some functions from central to local level. Those being currently mooted include: planning (from the Department
of Environment); local roads (from Regional Development); economic development and tourism (from Enterprise, Trade and
Investment); regeneration (from Social Development). Possible new functions include: community planning on an integrated
basis and through engagement with the local community; policy on improving the well-being of the local community. In
addition, existing services for Irish speakers in one local authority could possibly be diluted or lost in amalgamation with
another less compliant authority.
SERVICES THROUGH IRISH

There are currently 26 local authorities in Northern Ireland. They comprise 3 city councils (Belfast, Derry, Lisburn); one city
and district council (Armagh); 13 borough councils and 9 district councils.
The umbrella organisation, POBAL, is to the fore in ensuring that citizens are aware of their rights to use Irish with public
bodies under the Charter of the Council of Europe and have issued information leaflets for that purpose. The range of public
bodies concerned is wide, including government departments (and their arms length bodies), local authorities, health boards, NI
Court Service, education and library boards and a host of other statutory or publicly created agencies. In 2009, POBAL initiated
a support network for Irish Language Officers working in local authorities and was available for advice and advocacy on bilingual
policy development and related issues.
The range of services which may be used by Irish speakers, if they were universally available, includes: contact by letter
or by phone or through application forms; requests for a limited number of official forms in Irish or use of a translator
during meetings; use of personal names and traditional place names in Irish. However, delivery of these services may be
uneven across the public service, depending on the existence of a formal agreed language/bilingual policy, as some examples
below testify.
Derry City Council and Newry & Mourne Council (which has had a bilingual policy since 1990) have very developed
policies for Irish. They also have the services of Irish Language Officers and supporting Committees for Irish; Newry &
Mournes website carries bilingual versions of the minutes of meetings of the Irish Committee. These two Councils clearly
advise citizens of the services provided (as in above list), including application for bilingual nameplates on streets. Forms are
available for certain services. Derry City Council supplies all forms through Irish. They work in conjunction with local Irish
language institutions (Derry through its Irish Language Community Network Forum) or with neighbouring councils in the
Republic (Newry and Mourne with Louth).
Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council is, in its own words:
committed to meeting obligations towards Irish Development in light of equality, The European Charter for Regional
& Minority Languages, The Belfast Agreement and in its dedication towards celebrating a diverse and culturally
enriched community. This is evident in Councils appointment of Irish Development Officer and implementation of
Irish Development Programme.
The Development Programme includes towns in the surrounding area in the provision of classes and events, with emphasis
on language courses/conversation circles, on varied language and cultural events (Gaelfest) and on youth. So far the Irish
Programme is not as easily accessible on the Councils website as is the case with Derry City and Newry & Mourne. The
Irish Development Officer is part-time and her title clearly indicates that this is a work in progress. The information on
Irish on the site points out that in half of the councils in the North more that 10% of the population has knowledge of
the language.
FORAS NA GAEILGE SCHEME
The Irish Language Officers scheme initiated by Foras na Gaeilge in local authorities in the Republic has been superseded in
that jurisdiction by the Official Languages Act and the operation of the office of An Coimisinir Teanga. The tables below show
the current position in NI local authorities and the funding decisions of Foras na Gaeilge. Irish language officers continue to
operate in some local authorities, part-funded by Foras na Gaeilge on a three-year basis through application in response to
public advertisement. The policy results recounted above arise largely from this scheme.
At the May 2007 meeting of Foras na Gaeilge, the following recommendation from the Grants Committee on the Irish
Language Officer Scheme was accepted by the Board for the period July 2007 to June 2010.
Three years later, at the May 2010 meeting of the Board, the grants were at the same level for the period July 2010 to June 2013.
Foras na Gaeilge: Irish Officer Scheme in Local Authorities in Northern Ireland - Funding
Total
Comhairle Cathrach Dhoire (Derry City Council)
47,286
Comhairle Dhn Geanainn & Thr Eoghain Theas/ An Chorr Chrochach

(Dungannon and South Tyrone/Cookstown Council)
31,524
Comhairle Ceantair Machaire Folta agus Comhairle Bhuirg Lim an Mhadaidh

(Magherafelt District Council & Limavady Borough Council)
31,524
At the May 2007 meeting, the two applications below were refused.
Comhairl Ceantair An tSratha Bin & na hmaighe (District Councils of Strabane and Omagh)
31,524
Comhairle Ceantair Fhearmanach (Fermanagh District Council)
47,287
In November 2013, under the rubric of its linguistic diversity policy, Fermanagh Council advertised for an assistant good
relations officer with knowledge of Irish as an essential criterion. In one way, this could be regarded as continuing for the
contemporary community the linguistic tradition of the last speaker connected with the Gaeltacht in Fermanagh who
had recently died. The advertised post was, however, viewed by the Ulster Unionist Party member of the Assembly as an
unwelcoming gesture to unionists.
The next table gives the present position across the local government entities of NI. The current list of councils (prereduction to 11 as foreseen in the Review of Public Administration) is:
Antrim, Ards, Armagh
Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast
Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon
Derry, Down, Dungannon
Fermanagh
Larne, Limavady, Lisburn
Magherafelt, Moyle
Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down
Omagh
Strabane
Irish language support is available in 7 of these 26 local government areas as follows; policies and plans are also in operation.
Irish Language Officers in Local Authorities in Northern Ireland

Council
Irish Officer
Bilingual Policy
Funded
Derry City
1, full-time
Yes (2009) and in full

operation
50% FnaG
50% Council
Dungannon Borough &

Cookstown District
1, full-time
Not yet
50% FnaG
50% two Councils
Limavady Borough &

Magherafelt District
1, full-time
Draft
Not yet
50% FnaG
50% two Councils
*Newry and Mourne

District
3, full-time
Yes and in full operation
100% Council
Omagh District
1, part-time
Not yet
Council
(Source: Information from relevant websites or kindly supplied by the Irish Language Officers, as at end 2012)
*The Councils Bilingualism Policy document provides for an Irish Language Unit as follows:
THE IRISH LANGUAGE UNIT
This will comprise of the following

i The Irish Language Development Officer
ii The Irish Language Community Liaison Officer
iii Secretarial and administrative support with a written and spoken command of the Irish Language
Interestingly, results from Census 2011 appear to bear out the effects of such linguistic support. In general, the percentage in
the supported LGDs possessing all four language skills is higher than the overall figure for NI, as is the combined total of all
possessing some skill in the category of some ability in Irish.
NI Census 2011: Results of skills in Irish by % in certain Local Government Districts (LGD)
Usual residents aged 3+
LGD/
Skill
Understand
only
Speak
only
Speak,
Read, not
write
Understand
Speak
Read
Write
Other
combination
of skills
Some
ability in
Irish
(and
numbers)
No ability
in Irish
Belfast
4.74
1.93
0.50
5.24
1.25
13.65
(36,837)
86.35
Cookstown
5.76
2.17
0.55
4.75
1.3
14.53
(5,132)
85.47
Derry
4.99
1.85
0.56
5.37
1.37
14.13
(14,605)
85.87
Dungannon
6.59
2.41
0.86
6.71
1.68
18.25
(10,050)
81.75
Fermanagh
5.14
1.71
0.54
4.21
1.49
13.10
(7,766)
86.90
Limavady
4.21
1.37
0.47
3.10
1.03
10.17
(3,270)
89.83
Magherafelt
7.20
2.63
0.72
6.39
1.55
18.48
(7,924)
81.52
Newry &
Mourne
7.47
2.53
0.86
7.06
1.92
19.84
(18,816)
80.16
Omagh
6.81
2.14
0.59
5.19
1.54
16.27
(7,993)
83.73
Northern
Ireland
Overall
4.06
1.42
0.43
3.74
1.01
10.65
(184,898)
89.35
PUBLIC SIGNAGE
Different types of public signage come under different rubrics in NI and the Assembly has not yet adopted a comprehensive
policy on the issue. Established street signs or signs on new developments may be decided by local authorities. These authorities,
in turn, come under the Department of the Environment.
The Department of Regional Development has discretion in relation to public signage in general. However, any farreaching proposals would normally have to go before the Executive as other departments (e.g. the Department of Culture - D/
CAL) might have to be consulted on any change of policy. Public consultation then ensues, clarification of any legal issues, and
debate in the Assembly towards official policy on the finalised document after consultation, if the Minister so decides.
As public bodies, local authorities are subject to the provisions of the European Charter and to provisions relating to issues
of good relations and of equality. As in the case of the NI Assembly, issues relating to language and to interaction between
local authorities and the public, as well as between local councillors themselves, are pertinent to the exercise of good relations.
In 2010, the Equality Commission of NI issued a Summary Guide for public authorities on the promotion of good relations
in fulfilment of Section 75(2) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 which is to ensure that public bodies statutorily address in
their policy-making the differential effects any policies and their implementation may have on relationships between different
categories of citizens: e.g. people of different religions, or political opinions, or racial groups. The Guide emphasises moving
from merely managing to actively promoting diversity and integration, a shift which:
requires public authorities to take a pro-active initiating approach to contributing to a shared society, rather than
responding to the effects of a divided one.
Whether all local councils in NI act accordingly is a moot point.
Consultation on bilingual town and village signs 2011

During 2010, under a Sinn Fin Minister for Regional Development, a draft policy covering a restricted number of bilingual
signs was prepared in compliance with the Charter of the Council of Europe. It included placenames with the Irish or UlsterScots version included on the outskirts of towns and villages (welcome signs) and notices for tourists, as well as some plate
signs denoting the proximity of schools, for example. The cost of erection would be borne, not by the Department, but by
the promoter requesting such signs; promoters could be the local District Council, a local tourist operator or the manager of
a facility, e.g. a school principal. A consultation process on the draft policy was launched on 11 January 2011. The proposals
were reportedly attacked by an UUP member of the Assembly on the grounds of being a highly divisive movefocused
on the upcoming Assembly election. Two-thirds of respondents to the consultation were in favour of the policy. However, no
further steps were taken by the same UUP Assembly member, who became Minister for Regional Development after the May
Assembly election.
The newsletter of the Ulster Place-Name Society comments that two members (who were also researchers with the PlaceNames Project at Queens) sent comments on a draft policy document by DRDNI in early 2011. However a letter of thanks
from the new [UUP] Minister says he has decided not to pursue the provision of bi-lingual traffic signs given the challenging
economic times that we are living in, it is imperative that the Departments limited resources are focused on issues that will
directly improve the safe and efficient use of the road network. Later, the same Minister decided (without consultation) on
the erection of English-only Welcome to Northern Ireland signs. It was noted that the signs seemed to be predominantly in
Nationalist areas. The cost implications were not clarified.
The mooted policy was relatively restricted and did not include road traffic signs. It has been commented that Northern
Ireland is the sole Celtic region within the UK without bilingual road signage.
Local Councils and street signs

No clear overall policy exists or has been formulated either by the body representing local authorities, by the Department
under which local authorities come, or by the Assembly. Whatever policy on bilingualism is in evidence appears dictated by
two imperatives: the requirements of the Charter or, more significantly, by the political composition of individual Councils as
is clear from the examples below.
In early October 2010, Craigavon Council finally adopted a Language Diversity Policy which included voicemail and
its website in both Irish and Ulster-Scots in order to avoid censure under the provisions of the European Charter. However,
Unionist councillors on the policy committee vetoed the inclusion of street signs (in situations where two thirds of local
residents agree). A DUP statement reported that they would oppose any attempt to introduce multi-lingual signs on cost
grounds. This was generally taken as opposition to Irish.
In March 2011, a bilingual signs policy which included Irish and Ulster-Scots, was defeated in Belfast City Council by two
votes: 23 to 21. The motion was opposed by Unionists lest it affect the good relations in the city. The Mayor was Nationalist,
elected for a year from mid 2011.

In December 2011, Banbridge deliberated on bilingual signage at committee level although any resolution would have
to go before the full Council. Media comment afterwards spoke of Unionist concerns that acceptance of such a policy would
lead to increased community frictionwasted ratepayers moneywould have had a significant impact on signage across the
entire district, with the possibility of Irish signs erected anywhere. In addition, voting by Unionist councillors should be in a
manner the Unionist electorate would expect.
Armagh City and District Council were also criticised in August 2011 on similar issues, particularly in relation to signs
in Irish at the historic Eamhain Mhacha or Navan Fort, and marketing of the site as a tourist attraction. This led to a picket of
Irish speakers outside the Council offices seeking recognition for Irish in the area.
In June 2012, the Unionist members of Magherafelt District Council were reportedly berated by a Sinn Fin councillor for
their objections to Irish street names, to an Irish language policy for the Council, and for alternative plans for a site earmarked
for a Irish-medium school.

On the other hand, Dungannon Council erected seasonal good wishes in both Irish and Ulster-Scots in the towns shopping
streets for Christmas 2011. It was the first time this had happened.
Moyle Council surveys in the Glens of Antrim during July 2012 indicated support for bilingual street signs among local
residential areas ranging from 100% (5) through 88% (1) to 65% (1) and 55% (1). Two thirds of residents must approve
before signs may be erected.
In Derry, two applications by local street residents for Irish signage were reported in January 2012. After questionnaires
were returned by all residents, one application was in favour (Alexandra Place, Foyle Road) but the second not in favour
(Argyle Street, Rosemount).
In January 2014, after a plebiscite of local residents, other bilingual signs were allowed by Derry City Council. More
importantly perhaps, the existing anomaly was addressed with regard to the City Councils policy. In March 2014, two related
issues arose on this matter of bilingual signage and local authorities. A resident of Ballymurphy Drive in Belfast was granted leave
to seek a judicial review of the decision by Belfast City Council to deny her bilingual signage. The current policy requires twothirds of residents to vote in favour of change. This is taken by the Council to mean all residents not two-thirds of those who
actually respond and indicate a position either way. In the case of 92 eligible residents of Ballymurphy Drive, 52 were positive
towards change, one was negative, and 39 failed to respond to the survey. The latter were counted as negative in the Councils
view. The case is listed for June 2014. The legal team contend that the survey method in use is irrational and unlawful and that the
Council is in breach of the European Charter. It was reported that since April 2013, up to 14 applications on signage to Belfast
City Council had been successful, one failed and two were still in process.
Down Council was later criticised by UUP Councillors for its policy of majority rather than two-thirds to be sufficient for
granting bilingual signage.
The Derry/Londonderry issue continues. In June 2012, the use of Londonderry by the Minister for Justice when
addressing the Dil in Dublin was welcomed by members of the DUP.
There were no media reports of Unionist proposals in favour of Ulster-Scots street signs or of Nationalist opposition
to such proposals. Proposals were made either on behalf of Irish or on behalf of Irish and Ulster-Scots. It is to be taken into
account that it is the nature of media reports to favour news stories that concern tension or opposition. Individual councillors
do not necessarily always reflect either party or community or electorate views.
Public services
Translink conducted a public consultation in West Belfast in February 2011 on the provision of bilingual English/Irish
destination screens on the companys buses. Due to the very high positive response, the service was introduced on Metro
services (10 A-F) along the Falls Road. In fact, the entire fleet of the Translink Metro buses have the facility. Translink already
provide bilingual information at bus shelters and have published several bilingual publications on using public services in
Belfast and in Northern Ireland.
A local Irish language development group, Cumann Pobail Dhroim Arg (Drumarg, Armagh) persuaded the energy
company, Power NI, to erect bilingual notices, on the basis of the number of local children attending Irish-medium schooling
and of adult learners.
PLACENAMES
Up to 97% of placenames on the island of Ireland derive from the Irish language. The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project
(1987-2010) was based in the Irish and Celtic School (Modern Languages) at Queens University, Belfast, where the archives
still reside. The Project developed from the voluntary work of the Ulster Place-Name Society (1952). The overall scope of the
Projects work was considerable, involving over 30,000 placenames including almost 10,000 townlands, which had long mostly
documented histories and Irish, English, Scots, Latin and Scandinavian derivations. As a specific independent research project,
it suffered from funding problems. From 2004 to 2009, the Project was under Ordnance Survey which, at the time, was in
the Department of Culture, Arts and Heritage, by which it was funded. Ordnance Survey then moved to the Department
of Finance and Personnel. In 2010, further funding was refused to the Place-Name Project on the basis of reduced public
finances generally and the requirement to maintain frontline services. From 2005 to 2010 funding of 420,000 had been
provided. However, the Department of Finance was prepared to provide technical assistance in maintaining the website, www.
placenamesni.org.
The Federation for Ulster Local Studies (1974) was among those expressing disappointment at what was hoped would
be no more than a hiatus in the research work. In October 2010, a seminar on the significance of townlands in placenames
research was organised by the Federation in Armagh. Townland names are integral to postal addresses. If not in use, they may
tend to be forgotten and disappear as an aspect of local history and tradition. Foras na Gaeilge had funded Project work on
postal addresses in 2005. Fermanagh had been the only local authority where the use of townlands in postal addresses remained
by cross-party consensus; the other 25 councils had adopted the road number based postal code system from 1974. However,
debate on the issue began in Fermanagh Council in 2010 but at first the status quo was retained through a combination of both
systems, post code with townland added, after consultation with Royal Mail. By December 2011, however, that had changed
and the Council voted (9 to 11) in favour of omitting townland names. Fermanagh Council did, however, vote to have Irish as
well as English on Council letterheads. This debate divided Council members, Nationalists voting for and Unionists against the
change to bilingualism. In the aftermath, some Unionists felt that the approach to use of Irish was becoming more truculent
and might do more harm than good. On the other hand, assertiveness may sometimes be required.
The Ulster Trust group had also assisted the Ulster Place-Names Project with funding. Place names tend to be a topic that
transcends boundaries. In August 2012, the Unionist Mayor of Belfast launched a publication on Irish placenames in the city.
This had been compiled by the Ulster Trust from the research of the Project at the request of the Good Relations Committee
of the City Council. It will be available free to tourists.
A significant international congress on place names and mapping in the digital age was organised by Fiontar (Dublin City
University) in August 2012. Fiontar is responsible for the popular website, www.logainm.ie, on Irish place names.

The cost of any official actions on behalf of Irish, whether actual or proposed, is the usual argument of those who oppose such
development, whatever about the content of Agreements or the requirements of the European Charter.
Funding for Irish language and culture in NI is found under different headings. These will include the Departments of
Culture, Arts and Leisure and Education; the Broadcasting Fund (from the UK Government); moneys spent by public bodies
on Irish classes for staff, or on advertising or on websites, or on occasional initiatives. D/CAL is responsible for not only the
Language Body but also for arts and culture.
Funding figures for An Foras Teanga (the dual agency N/S Language Body), provided by the NI Assembly Research and
Information Service Background Briefing dated 3 June 2011, appear in the Peace Monitoring Report 2012 (page 165). They are
given below. Both governments fund the body on a 75%/25% basis, the North giving 75% to Ulster-Scots and the South 75%
to Irish. Funding is also discussed on an all-island basis in Chapter 3 above.
Funding (sterling) of An Foras Teanga (Joint Language Body) 2007 2011

Foras na Gaeilge
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
Dept of (then)
Community,
Equality &
Gaeltacht Affairs
12,950.004
16,216,579
16,850,812
Dept of Culture,
Arts & Leisure
4,016,055
3,928,857
3,577,092
3,781,000
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011
Dept of Culture,
Arts & Leisure
1,946,069
2,481,932
2,384,123
2,966,000
Dept of (then)
Community,
Equality &
Gaeltacht Affairs
627,548
846,112
793,152
46,143
165,406
2,244
Ulster-Scots
Other sources
In mid-2010, Sinn Fin Ministers were called on to detail and clarify their spending on Irish. Translation for the Minister
for Education was reported at 100,000 annually; 68,000 on documents (2009-2010) and the rest in salaries for two
translators. Some 35 was spent on translation for Ulster-Scots. By 2010-2011, the cost had risen to 110,000 for Education.
The Minister for Regional Development had spent 1,500 on lunch-time classes for staff. Similar classes were planned for staff
of the Department of Education.
As recounted above, as part of the negotiating around the Hillsborough Agreement 2010, the British Government
committed to giving 20 million for expenditure on Irish and 5 million for Ulster-Scots.
The NI Budget 2011-2015 necessitated cuts across all departments of the Executive. The D/CAL budget is as follows on
budget heads that may affect expenditure on the Irish language.
D/CAL Budget 2011-2015 Current Expenditure (sterling millions)

Head/Year
2010-11
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Arts
19.1
18.2
17.1
16.7
16.8
Museums
21.5
21.4
20.0
19.1
19.5
Libraries
33.6
33.5
32.0
32.2
32.5
Sport
13.4
15.2
15.1
16.8
13.1
Cultural Policy
1.9
1.4
1.4
1.4
1.4
An Foras Teanga
7.1
7.0
6.7
6.6
6.2
Public Records
6.3
5.3
5.0
4.6
4.6
NI Events Co.
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
(N/S Body)
This budget represents a decrease from a total (which excludes Inland Waterways & Fisheries and the N/S Body Waterways
Ireland) of 103.9 millions in 2010-2011 to 95.1 millions in 2014-2015, or 8.8 millions, (8.4%). This is significant during
a period when elements at least of a Strategy for Irish, even perhaps legislation for Irish, are due for implementation.
D/CAL Budget 2011-2015 Capital Investment (sterling millions)

Head/Year
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Arts
3.8
0.6
0.5
0.4
Museums
0.2
2.4
1.1
0.6
Libraries
2.3
4.2
2.6
2.7
Sport
11.8
26.8
25.1
69.8
Public Records
-2.0
0.3
0.1
0.1
Capital investment might include bilingual or trilingual signage as a condition if a co-ordinated policy existed. It is cheaper
to include this expenditure at the beginning of projects rather than as a later add-on. Capital expenditure on Sport Matters
is in the context of the NI Strategy 2009-2019 which includes stadium needs for football, rugby and gaelic games (GAA).
Community participation in physical recreation activities is also planned. In the Arts, the running costs of existing capital
projects (the Lyric Theatre and the Metropolitan Arts Centre) will be a priority in order to protect investment already made.
The level of annual support for organisations will reduce but the Community Festivals Fund (with local authorities) will
continue. The creative industries sector is receiving attention in many countries as an aspect of local economic growth - 1
million annually is to be devoted to this. Each of these areas of creative and community expression has roots in both Irish and
Ulster-Scots language and culture, aspects which may have to be built into the D/CAL grants policy before applications are
made. The Ulster-Scots Academy is another commitment for completion in some form. Implementation of the proposed new
Museums policy has linguistic aspects. Electronic systems, as proposed for Libraries should be capable of using the diacritic
marks in Irish (an excuse made in the case of the Census application forms for change to two Irish names).
In the public consultation conducted on the NI Budget 2011-2015, cuts in funding for both the Arts and Museums
were specifically raised by respondents. In the case of Museums, concerns related to job losses, reductions in opening times
and programmes detrimental to learning links and to tourism. A significant majority of responses related to Arts funding,
particularly to their social and economic impact. Over-reliance on Lottery funding was also criticised. On the other hand, a
small minority called for Arts funding to be reduced or removed.
TOWARDS LANGUAGE LEGISLATION 2007-2012

BACKGROUND
The existing legal underpinning for the Irish language in NI is found above, POLICIES FOR IRISH. Some further background
concerns the role of the Westminster Parliament. In addition to seats for NI in the House of Commons, two committees of the
Westminster Parliament are concerned with NI business: the Northern Ireland Grand Committee and the Northern Ireland
Affairs Committee.
In theory, linguistic legislation for Irish in NI could be raised and discussed in any of the three fora, House of Commons,
Grand Committee or NI Affairs Committee. Also, as has been pointed out in the third monitoring report (2010) on
implementation of the European Charter, the UK Government has a parallel legislative role in relation to the devolved
Assembly (and the other devolved administrations) if it wished to exercise it, although normally this would be operated only
with the consent of the devolved parliaments. However, it was also pointed out by a previous Secretary of State for NI, Peter
Hain MP, in his memoirs, Outside In, which appeared in January 2012, that it did not make sense for the UK Government to
be asked to legislate for Irish as part of the St Andrews Agreement as was requested by the Sinn Fin party, although reference
was indeed eventually made in the Agreement to an Act for Irish. In his view, language legislation would be a devolved matter, a
view shared by Unionists in particular. While constitutionally this view may have had some substance, the political composition
of the Assembly and attitudes to Irish as manifested by Unionist parties would lend support to the Sinn Fin viewpoint.
In addition, the earlier Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement allowed party veto, a point admitted in the memoirs in which
reference is made to the UK Government acting against the wishes of an Assembly in which the unionists had a blocking majority
if it attempted to introduce language legislation. In any event, despite the reference to an act in the St Andrews Agreement, such
legislation was not included in the subsequent amendments to the NI Act passed by the Westminster Parliament.
Nevertheless, on the other hand, it is the British Government that ratified the Charter of the Council of Europe and is
ultimately responsible to ensure its implementation. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe recently pressed
for legislation for Irish in NI. It is also of note, despite the comments in the memoirs above, that a consultation paper on
proposed Irish language legislation for NI was issued on 13 December 2006 during a Direct Rule period. The Introduction to
this document makes specific mention of the provision regarding an Irish Language Bill in the St Andrews Agreement. It also
puts the case for language legislation in NI in the context of other examples of such legislation in the UK and in the Republic.
Even more significantly, the Conclusion states:
While recognising that language policy is a transferred matter which will, on restoration of devolution in Northern
Ireland, be the responsibility of the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, the Northern Ireland Executive and the
Northern Ireland Assembly, the Government [of the UK] supports the need for legislation to underpin the Irish
language in Northern Ireland.
Finally, unlike the case of the other devolved parliaments in the UK, the Irish Government has a role in any political settlements
regarding NI and an expressed interest in legislation for the Irish language in NI. This is a point that might be uinderstood by
the other devolved administrations if the UK Government decided to use its powers of legislation in relation to Irish in NI.
Such a move would indeed test the stability of the NI institutions. Even the Nationalist parties might find themselves in the
position of having to choose. On the other hand, so would the Unionists, and the whole community of NI might thank neither
side for creating instability without very serious cause. The public often outstrip political parties in their ability to adapt.
While it remains to be seen what decisions the Assembly will eventually make on the basis of the July 2012 Strategy for
Irish, the following section now considers the possibilities for improvement in the legal status of Irish on foot of statements
and documents from both the official and community side, particularly with regard to an Act for Irish.
OFFICIAL APPROACHES
Some advances in 2011

The year 2011 saw some increased movement towards language legislation for NI. Following the distribution of portfolios in
the NI Executive after the Assembly May 2011 elections, the Sinn Fin President (apparently ignoring the views expressed in
the memoirs of a previous Secretary of State for NI, above) spoke in the same month of the Irish language being a priority for
Government, North and South.
In the north the priority for the time ahead must be to ensure that the British Government follow through on its
commitment to introduce a fully-resourced and rights-based Irish Language Act. Our Minister for Culture, Arts and
Leisure [D/CAL] is determined to ensure that this important commitment is delivered and will bring forward an Irish
language Strategy as soon as possible.
On 18 November, the D/CAL Minister issued a news release rejecting comments that she would not resource an Irish
Language Act.
It is premature to state there is no money for the Irish languageTo me this is not simply about a piece of legislation.
It is about challenging and changing how we perceive the Irish languagePresently officials in my department are
working to determine the scope of the draft bill and this includes likely implementation costsbut please make no
mistake I am taking this forward.
In December 2011, the Shadow Secretary of State for NI met with POBAL and other Irish language groups in Belfast.
As a result, he committed to taking up the question of an Irish Language Act with the Parliamentary Secretary of State in the
context of comparison with the position of Welsh in Wales and Gaelic in Scotland.
Strategies North and South

The two Strategies for the language, that in the South and that in the North, comment on an Act for Irish. The Northern
version is direct and to the point. The brevity of the proposal is undoubtedly in inverse proportion to the debate it will generate.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012) - AREAS FOR ACTION: LEGISLATION AND STATUS OF
THE LANGUAGE
4.8.2 As agreed in the St Andrews Agreement, an Irish Language Bill should be prepared. This Bill should be
presented to the Assembly at the earliest possible time.
The Strategy in the Republic refers to Irish in NI several times.
Context
Ireland is also clearly stated under Vision: promotion and protection of the language there is also a priority for the Government
press for the introduction of a Language Act, inter alia. This intention is reiterated in the section on Legislation and Status as
areas for action:
the Government will continue to press for the full implementation of commitments relating to the Irish language,
which fall to the British Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, including the introduction of an Irish
Language Act and the enhancement, protection and development of the Irish language in Northern Ireland.
Objective 8 of the Irish Government Statement 2006 is reiterated in the section of the Strategy dealing with actions in the
areas of administration, services and community.
The State will continue to support Foras na Gaeilge in the context of the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999.
This section states that:
Foras na Gaeilge will continue to be supported in providing resources and supports to the language on an all-Ireland level.
In the section on implementation structures for the Strategy, Foras na Gaeilge is quoted as a key element of the support
structure for the language in both parts of the island and its functions are stated as: supportive projects and grant-aiding
bodies and groups; terminologies and dictionaries; supporting Irish-medium education and the teaching of Irish on the island;
facilitating and encouraging the use of the language in public and private life. In effect, Foras na Gaeilge will continue to
deliver on its statutory responsibilities. Nevertheless, with the previously proposed advent of a solely Republic-based new
structure, dars na Gaeilge, it is not difficult to understand the misgivings of the voluntary sector in NI as voiced at the Joint
Oireachtas Committee hearing on the Strategy in January 2010, since their funding comes primarily through Foras na Gaeilge.
COMMUNITY APPROACHES
NI Irish language voluntary sector views on the 20-Year Strategy in the Republic
The D/CAL Strategy statement on the 20-Year Strategy in the Republic may be read at several levels.
Part 2: CONTEXT
2.12 Recognising that Irish speakers across the whole of the island of Ireland are linked through family, social,
resource and economic connections, this Strategy complements the approach envisaged in the 20-Year Strategy
of the Dublin Government for the Irish Language 2010 2030.
As context to the Strategy for Irish in NI, it is possible to accept at some levels that Irish speakers across the whole of the
island of Ireland are linked through family, social, resource and economic connections. However, the ways in which this
[NI] Strategy complements the approach envisaged in the 20-Year Strategy of the Dublin Government for the Irish Language
2010 2030 are quite clear only in the following ways:
- the level of acceptance of the general arguments on languages such as Irish in the section, Other Perspectives
2.31-35, under the general heading, The Basis for a Strategy;
- the general layout, but not necessarily the content, of the domain actions proposed in Part 4;
- the general outline of the implementation structures proposed by and for D/CAL;
- the fact that two Strategies, one in either jurisdiction, exist for the development and enhancement of Irish.
Otherwise, the section, The Basis for a Strategy, deals clearly with the legal position of the Irish language in NI, which is
totally different from that in the Republic. Nevertheless, the legal Agreements mentioned do involve the Government in
the Republic, a fact that underlies the references (above) in the Strategy for Irish in the Republic. Also, the Irish language
part of the cross-border language body established under the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999, Foras na Gaeilge, has certain
responsibilities with regard to those legal commitments of the Charter of the Council of Europe which pertain solely to NI.
Almost the same language is used in both Strategies in relation to the cross-border Irish language body: In the 20-Year
Strategy of the Dublin Government:
In effect, Foras na Gaeilge will continue to deliver on its statutory responsibilities.
In the NI Strategy:
5.9 Foras na Gaeilge should continue to deliver on its statutory responsibilities in relation to Irish. Foras na Gaeilge
should be invited to advise both the ISDG [Interdepartmental Strategy Delivery Group] and the Strategy Unit
within the Department of Culture Arts and Leisure.
These issues apart, while an all-island differentiated Strategy for Irish might have advantages, the two existing Strategies,
while welcome, do not as yet create that synergy. Nor has the cross-border Foras na Gaeilge accomplished that aim. Indeed,
the efforts of that body to do so through changing the funding mechanism for all core-funded organisations, North and South,
had to be eventually withdrawn (Chapter 3: Funding) as unworkable in the form presented. It did, however, highlight the
differences between the position of Irish, North and South, which require quite differentiated approaches whether within the
same all-island or separate but truly complementary Strategies for Irish at the jurisdictional level.
These sociopolitical and sociolinguistic differences have been often enumerated by the Irish language voluntary sector of NI
and others in the period 2008-2012 as comprising:
- constitutional and legal position of Irish across various Acts including the Official Languages Act in the Republic;
- demographic situation and geographic spread of speakers;
- levels of attitudinal support;
- levels of political support;
- levels of social and community-wide support;
- position in education in general;
- funding in general;
- necessity for outreach to disaffected sections of the community by religion;
- perception of Irish and Irish language activists in some sections of the community;
- lack of infrastructure for the existing voluntary language sector.
Clearly, any approach to language planning and policy in NI cannot ignore these areas of difference with circumstances in the
South. While parts of the Irish language voluntary sector may be functioning on a jurisdictional or on an all-island basis, and
while the objectives of individual organisations may be the same whether operating North or South, the context in which they
operate in NI or in the Republic is totally different. Any language strategies, approaches, policies or plans whether at official or
community level have no option but to take account of this currently unalterable fact is the belief of the NI language sector.
Two opposing arguments have been made, even by senior politicians in the Republic. One likens the differences between
Irish language work North and South to work in differing areas of the South, in city or rural areas for example. This argument
manages to ignore the wider overarching contextual differences between North and South. It is the fundamental nature of those
differences that is at issue. The second argument is at a more visceral level: that to accept this reality of contextual difference
equates with being a partitionist or not accepting that the Irish language overstrides borders. It is, of course, nothing of the
kind. Ignoring reality does the language and its community, current and potential, no favours.
POBAL
In 2006, the advocacy umbrella organisation in NI, POBAL, had produced a very comprehensive document, Irish Language
Act NI Acht na Gaeilge do Thuaisceart ireann the proposals of which had received an average of 75% backing in two official
consultations in 2007 (93% in the first consultation). Work continued throughout the period 2007-2012 on campaigning
for the introduction of official policy for Irish and on updating existing documents as political circumstances changed. The
advocacy approach of the organisation centred on the production of expert documents, organising high level conferences
with international experts, briefing meetings with relevant political groups and putting the case before prominent people
while enlisting their help, whether in the NI universities or further afield. By 2010, these supportive groups for POBAL and
their continuing work on legislative proposals included not only the staff of Irish Departments in NI universities but also
the United Nations (Committee for National Minorities and Committee for Social, Economic and Cultural Rights) and the
Advisory Group on the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (Council of Europe).
A visit to the House of Representatives and Congress Washington and to New York in May 2010 led to support from Irish
American Democrats, Irish American Republicans, the Irish American Unity Conference, the Brehon Law Society, the Ancient
Order of Hibernians and Irish Northern Aid. In addition, in October 2010, following a day of carnival festivities in Belfast
based on the theme Cearta agus Ceiliradh (Rights and Celebration), hundreds of letters were sent to the Prime Minister
and Deputy Prime Minister at Westminster with demands that the long overdue legislation for Irish in NI be implemented.
Westminster political parties received several briefing visits (March 2011). Over the period 2007-2012, POBAL regularly met
with the various NI Ministers for Culture or gave evidence to the Scrutiny Committee of the Department of Culture or before
the Interdepartmental Charter Implementation Group. In November 2010, the organisation met with the (then) AttorneyGeneral in advance of a symposium on Irish and the law in NI, organised by POBAL.
The Committee of Experts (COMEX) that oversees the implementation of the Charter of the Council of Europe in NI
proved exemplary in their reporting of the actual situation on the ground. POBAL both briefs the COMEX and issues its own
periodic monitoring reports on implementation.
Twice COMEX adverted to the need for official policy on Irish, in keeping with existing commitments whether under
the Charter or arising from the various Agreements. In early 2007, the COMEX Report advised the development of a
comprehensive language policy. In early 2008, POBAL invited a representative of the COMEX to a conference to discuss
the elements of such a policy. Experts on linguistic policy from Wales and Scotland also attended. However, in opening that
conference, the (then) DUP Minister for Culture announced that he intended to introduce a Strategy (which, in his view,
might satisfy the requirements of the COMEX) rather than an Act. (As detailed above, this commitment was extremely slow in
becoming a reality amid the political wrangling then ongoing which did not reach a conclusion until February 2010 with the
Hillsborough Castle Agreement). The report of this March 2008 Conference, Developing a Comprehensive Policy and a Strategy
to enhance and protect the Development of the Irish language in the North of Ireland, was indeed a comprehensive tool for any
Minister contemplating a more active approach.
By the time of the COMEX Report of April 2010, the Committee of Ministers (of the Council of Europe) were issuing a
Recommendation to the authorities that they:
Adopt and implement a comprehensive Irish language policy, preferably through the adoption of legislation
And this as a matter of priority. In addition, the COMEX expressed concern at the (then) proposal of the DUP Minister
for Culture to introduce, instead of legislation, a Strategy for Indigenous or Regional Minority Languages, in other words
a single joint strategy for Irish and Ulster-Scots. In the Experts view, such an attempt at parity would not serve the needs
of speakers of either Irish or Ulster-Scots. However, under Revised Written Answers of Friday 11 March 2011, the Minister
informed the Assembly:
Considerable work has been carried out on a Regional or Minority Languages Strategy for the Ulster-Scots
language, heritage and culture and the Irish languageintention bring a draft strategy to the Executive before the
end of this Assembly.
Delaying not denying movement on Irish was the explanation given for this ongoing official Unionist attitude to Irish.
POBAL, however, had not ceased from its efforts and in late 2009 had established a Working Group with input from the
Universities and from the media. The Group reported as part of a Conference on 23 June 2010, Developing a comprehensive policy
and strategy framework for Irish in the North of Ireland. This Conference also examined the 20-Year Strategy then available in the
Republic, the results of the third monitoring cycle of COMEX and the NI Languages Strategy which had been commissioned
by the Department of Education with particular emphasis on languages in schools. The overall theme of the Conference could
be summarised as a desire to ensure that language planning in NI took cognisance of the particular sociolinguistic and sociopolitical circumstances of the language in Northern Ireland as compared with the Republic. Legislation for Irish in NI in a UK
and in international perspectives was again the theme of a Conference on 16 November 2011 in the Long Gallery of Stormont
itself. The holding of this event was facilitated by the Sinn Fin Minister for Culture and an Ulster Unionist Party Member of
the Assembly.

In February and March 2012, public meetings were convened by POBAL around NI to elicit views on their two documents
on Irish which had also been widely distributed to relevant organisations and bodies:
- an updated version of the 2006 document The Irish Language Act NI, in which the sections on education and
the media in particular had received further attention on foot of changes since 2006;
- a finalised version of the Strategic Framework for the Irish Language in NI.
It was intended to present community input together with the documents to the Minister. The proposals for the Strategic
Framework were launched on 7 June 2012 while the updated Language Act document was launched by the Minister for D/
CAL on 25 June 2012. A panel of speakers also gave presentations at this event, among them An Coimisinir Teanga (Irish
Language Commissioner) from the Republic on legislation; the Deputy Director of the Committee on the Administration of
Justice (human rights viewpoint); the CEO of the Council for Irish Medium Education and the Professor of Irish (Queens
University) who had chaired the Working Group on the Strategic Framework.
The Minister reiterated that work was ongoing on preparing legislative proposals for an Act for Irish, adding that full
legislation would require agreement from the Executive and from the Assembly.
It is generally accepted that some of the proposals made by POBAL found their way into the D/CAL Strategy for Irish of
July 2012, some reward at least for the unremitting work of the previous six years.

Other research by POBAL in the area of Special Needs Education is found below, Acquisition of Irish through Education.
Irish Language Act NI 2012 and Strategic Framework for the Irish Language in NI
These are complementary documents; one lays out the elements of an Act for Irish; the other develops the policy document
across various domains from the 2008 Conference. Both are firmly based on the rights of Irish speakers in NI; on the particular
circumstances of the Irish language in NI; on the context which includes non-Irish speakers.
The revised Introduction to the Irish Language Act 2012 by Maurice Hayes, former Senator of the Seanad in Dublin, exOmbudsman and senior civil servant for NI, makes several pertinent observations:
The document recognises too the need to secure the support of people who are not Irish speakers, and of state and
public authorities. I welcome the reasonable way the proposals are made and the thought and research that have gone
into them, the recognition of the problems they might cause for other people and the provision of a mechanism to
deal with these
Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom (apart from England itself ) which does not have the
benefit of a specific language act the Welsh language has had protection since 1993 and Scots Gaelic in 2005. More
widely there are the examples of Canada, Finland, Spain and Switzerland. For this reason it makes sense to argue for
legislation at Westminster rather than in the Assembly. The Northern Ireland Act provides a sort of Constitution, and
that is where constitutional protection for language rights should be entrenched
The point is that there should now be a conclusive debate involving all the actors, leading to an Act which enables the
Government of the United Kingdom to meet its treaty obligations, and those assumed in the St Andrews Agreement,
which protects the rights of Irish speakers in their dealings with public bodies and officials, and preserves and
strengthens the language and Irish speaking communities as a distinct part of a multicultural society.
These three points provide not only food for thought but a definite way forward. The legal argument on the Northern Ireland
Act is quite persuasive.
Public attitudes to an Act for Irish in NI 2012

In the Northern Ireland Omnibus Survey of January 2012, views were elicited on the issue of an Irish Language Act for NI. The
results appear in the research, Public Attitudes towards the Irish Language in Northern Ireland 2012: Findings from the Northern
Ireland Omnibus Survey January 2012, published by D/CAL.
The question posed to participants was not related to their support or not for an Act for Irish. Nevertheless, 43%
spontaneously replied that they were not in favour of such an Act. The research states:
The structure of the question does not permit deductions to be made about the proportion who did support an Irish
Language Act.
From the accompanying tables, the following categories did not support the idea of an Act for Irish. The respondents in the
higher percentages for non-support are male, in the older age groups, and Protestant. Males and females are, however, very
close at 43% and 42% respectively. Interestingly, the actual number of respondents in the age groups 16-44 (450) are less than
the total of those in the age groups 45-65 and over (691), while the actual number of Catholics (431) is less than the number
of Protestants in the survey (602).
NI Omnibus Survey January 2012: % of Respondents not in support of an Irish

Language Act (spontaneous response)
GENDER
BASE
Male
43
525
Female
42
616
16-24
30
93
25-34
33
160
35-44
33
197
45-54
45
207
55-64
53
179
65 and over
55
305
Catholic
16
431
Protestant
63
602
TOTAL
ALL
1,141
AGE
1,141
RELIGION
1,141
43%
In the actual question, respondents were presented with a list of specific items that are commonly part of linguistic
legislation and asked which, if any, of these items they thought should be included in an Act for Irish in NI. The choices are
given below.
NI Omnibus Survey January 2012: Views of Respondents on possible content of an

Irish Language Act by Element most chosen
GENDER
ELEMENT
Male
Promotion of the Irish language 24%
23%
Female
Equality of treatment of Irish and English 24%
24%
16-24
24%
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
Facilitate the use of the Irish language 18%
20%
65 and over
23%
Catholic
23%
Protestant
24%
ALL
AGE
23%
RELIGION
NI Omnibus Survey January 2012: Views of Respondents on possible content of an

Irish Language Act by Element least chosen
GENDER
ELEMENT
Male
Designation of Irish as the official language of NI 4%
4%
Female
4%
16-24
4%
25-34
4%
35-44
4%
45-54
4%
55-64
4%
ALL
AGE
Delivery of public services in Irish 5%

65 and over
11%
4%
Catholic
4%
Protestant
Establishment of a language board 4%
10%
Provision of strategic direction for the development of the

Irishlanguage 4%
11%
RELIGION
The two preceding tables looked the most and the least chosen elements for inclusion in an Irish Language Act in the views
of the respondents in the survey. Refusals/Dont knows were 5%. The next table shows the order of preference, by percentage,
from the list of elements for an Irish Language Act presented to participants. The report from D/CAL states that 52% of the
respondents selected at least one item on the list.
NI Omnibus Survey January 2012: Views of All Respondents on possible content of an

Irish Language Act by Preference of Elements Presented
ELEMENT
ALL
Equality of treatment of Irish and English
24%
Promotion of the Irish language
23%
Facilitate the use of the Irish language
20%
Preparation of guidance on Irish education
19%
Enhancement and protection of the development of the Irish language
17%
Delivery of public services in Irish
11%
Provision of strategic direction for the development of the Irish language
11%
Establishment of a language board
10%
Designation of Irish as the official language of NI
4%
The least chosen element, Designation of Irish as the official language of NI, might have received a different response if worded
differently, the official language may have proved offputting.
Conclusions
While 43% spontaneously replied that they were not in favour of an Irish Language Act, the research states:
The structure of the question does not permit deductions to be made about the proportion who did support an Irish
Language Act.
The respondents in the higher percentages for non-support are male (although male and female were almost at the same
percentage), in the older age groups, and Protestant.
With regard to the content of an Irish Language Act, four elements headed the list:
- Equality of treatment of Irish and English
- Promotion of the Irish language
- Facilitate the use of the Irish language
- Preparation of guidance on Irish education
The elements receiving least support were:
- Establishment of a language board
- Designation of Irish as the official language of NI.
Responses to the public consultation on the Strategy and Assembly response to the final versions of both Strategies on Irish and
on Ulster-Scots are awaited with interest. Political responses will undoubtedly involve both Strategies simultaneously.
CORPUS PLANNING
Corpus planning is a wider issue than the lexicographical project currently underway under the aegis of Foras na Gaeilge which
is the sole reference in the Strategy for Irish in NI. However, in an all-island context for Irish, corpus planning is an area where
both jurisdictions could combine resources.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): DICTIONARIES
4.4.30 Foras na Gaeilge should ensure that up-to-date dictionaries, both English-Irish and Irish-English are
developed and published with provision for regular review. Concise, shorter dictionaries should also be
developed. The dictionaries should be published in both print and electronic formats using the new social
media where appropriate.
SUMMARY ON LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION FOR IRISH

Existing provisions, such as they are, at both central and local government levels, have largely been conceded as a result of
the Good Friday Agreement and the Charter of the Council of Europe. The eventual publication for consultation of a Draft
Strategy for Irish was welcome. However, implementation is a matter for the NI Assembly in the future.
ACQUISITION OF IRISH THROUGH EDUCATION

Extracts will be given below from the July 2012 Strategy for Irish from D/CAL as introduction to the various subsections.
The following is in addition to information given in More Facts about Irish 2008.
Northern Ireland Assembly 3/08 (NIA 3/08)

Bill No. 3 of 2008, which proposed the establishment of a single Education and Skills Authority has not yet been enacted.
This proposed composite Authority remains an issue for existing educational oversight structures, including Comhairle na
Gaelscolaochta for Irish-medium education. Instead of being an independent stand-alone structure, An Chomhairle would
instead have a seat with others on general educational matters. Policy for Irish-medium education could thus become submerged
within general issues of the majority.
DUP policy
The DUP leadership had called for a single education system for NI which would contain no specific sectors as is currently
the case, whether Protestant, Catholic, integrated or Irish-medium. This was apparently for possible inclusion in the Cohesion,
Sharing and Integration document. Indications are that this policy in its current form will not now appear in the CSI document
whenever it is finally published.
BUDGET 2011-2015: FUNDING FOR EDUCATION
Given the cuts proposed in Budget 2011-2015 to meet the stg4 billion shortfall over the period in the Treasury Block
Grant to NI, both departments with responsibility for education together with the department with responsibility for culture
were required to achieve significant savings, as were all departments of the Executive. Following the input from the public
consultation, all three departments were given some extra funding: Education, 154 million to ensure frontline services;
Education and Learning, 51 million for its role in equipping citizens for employment; Museums, additional funds for the
New World Development Plan at the Ulster American Folk Park; the Arts, almost 1 million.
The Irish-medium and Irish language sectors had expressed concern that the cuts would impinge on developments.
IRISH AS CURRICULAR AREA

The official figures for the teaching of Irish in English-medium schools from the draft Strategy (below), are given here in table form:
School Year 2010-2011: Irish in the English-medium Sector

The Primary Language Programme
Sector
No. of Schools (Students)
Stage (Curriculum)
Primary (831)
85 schools
Foundation + Key Stage 1 (to age 8)
10
Key Stage 2 (pilot; to age 11)
Key Stage 2 (age 8-11)
67 (1,705)
GCSE (age 16)
49 (273)
A Level
Examination
Post-Primary (216)
Key stages and ages are:

Key Stages and Ages
Key Stage 1: Ages 6 - 8
In the Primary sector, peripatetic teachers often teach Irish rather than the class teacher. The majority of graduates tend to move
into the Irish-medium sector.
The reasons for maintaining Irish in the English-medium sector are many but one is to ensure the viability of the as yet
small Irish-medium sector and to ensure its development as it is not yet in a position to fully maintain itself and develop into
the future. While Irish is taught at second level largely in Catholic grammar schools (but in declining numbers), it is also taught
(outside school hours mostly) in a small number of Protestant schools. Catholic schools, whether teaching Irish or not, will also
offer to students engagement with aspects of Irish culture such as Gaelic games and Irish music.
The organisation, Comhaltas Uladh, awards the Ashbourne Shield (Sciath Mhic Giolla Bhrde) annually to the grammar
school with the highest standard of spoken Irish. The Ultach Trust conducts valuable awareness-raising and information
activities in Protestant schools.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): IRISH IN THE ENGLISH MEDIUM SECTOR
Primary Schools
4.4.11 The Primary Language Programme delivers for pupils at Foundation and Key Stage 1. As at 30 November
2011, 85 schools are learning Irish through this Programme. A 4 year pilot programme involving 10 primary
schools in the Derry/North West area will serve pupils in Key Stage 2.
4.4.12 Key stage 2 assessment in Irish 2010/11 - 9 of the 831 English Medium schools made returns in respect of
KS2 assessments in Irish 93% of these pupils achieved level 4 or above.
4.4.13 The Department of Education will continue to support the use of peripatetic teachers to facilitate the
learning of Irish in English Medium primary schools.
Post Primary Schools
4.4.14 GCSE Irish
In 2010/11 there were 1705 entries for GCSE Irish from 67 English Medium schools.
4.4.15 A level Irish

In 2010/11, there were 273 entries for A level Irish from 49 English Medium schools.
4.4.16 It is important that the teaching of Irish in the English Medium Sector continues to grow and develop.
In relation to support for Irish in schools, the (Sinn Fin) Minister for Education announced in mid-October 2012 the provision
of 230,000 for programmes to enable pupils and parents have access to Irish through the Extended Schools Programme. It is
hoped to continue the programme for two years. Some funding will also be available to communities to extend Irish language
skills in the home or workplace. The Extended Schools project began in 2006 to raise standards and regenerate communities.
An Extended School may be at any level of the system. It is distinguished by its extended programme for pupils, parents and
community in collaboration with statutory and voluntary agencies, becoming a focus for its community. Clusters of schools
have created a network across the five Education and Library Boards.
IRISH AND PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS
General background
Statistics reveal that in general, examinations results in NI tend to be higher than those in England and Wales and are constantly
improving year on year with regard to the achievement of higher grades. The number of students leaving school without any
qualification is decreasing. However, there is a higher proportion of these early leavers among those receiving free school
meals than among those not qualifying for free school meals. Girls outperform boys in all examinations. This is true of Irish
as a subject also. Grammar school results are much higher than those in non-grammar schools. The proportion of students
continuing to Higher or Further Education is also increasing. A higher proportion of Catholic school leavers achieve two or
more A-levels compared to Protestant school leavers. Irish is in the upper range of all grade results.
Irish
The examinations at issue are towards the awards of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and the GCE
Advanced or A-Level examination. The number of students taking Irish in examinations has been decreasing over the years,
partly due to past changes in Government policy in relation to language studies. This decrease may perhaps have been reflected
in the 2011 Census returns for Irish. It is reported that those presenting for the examination decreased from 2,710 in 2007 to
2,084 in 2009. The D/CAL Strategy states that in 2010/11 there were 1705 entries for GCSE Irish from 67 English-medium
schools. In 2010/11, there were 273 entries for A level Irish from 49 English-medium schools.
Irish-medium students take a different examination, Gaeilge (Irish) for GCSE. A revised specification for Gaeilge was issued
by the CCEA with first teaching beginning from September 2010 and first awards in 2012. Assessment now includes two written
external examinations both of 1.5 hours duration worth 20% each of the total marks and two controlled assessments worth 30%
each. Both external examinations contain an element of translation (from Irish to English and from English to Irish). In relation
to the controlled assessments, one on Listening and Speaking comprises three student tasks (a 3-minute presentation followed
by 2-minute question and answer; one-to-one discussion lasting 4-6 minutes; group discussion 4-6 minutes) all prepared under
supervision while the second on Reading and Writing comrises two tasks (written response to two literary texts and a written
response to non-fictional reading, both of 1-hour duration) prepared under supervision. The controlled assessment elements are
carried by teachers and moderated for standardisation by the CCEA. The Listening and Speaking element must be recorded. The
CCEA has provided support materials for the revised specification in Irish and English.
The tables below (extracted from CCEA statistics) show information across recent examinations (M = Males; F = Females).
GAEILGE: GCSE Full Course Specifications (Summer) 2008/2011/2012

Year
2008
2011
2012
Applicants
128 (55 M + 73 F)
121 (60 M + 61 F)
143 (66 M + 77 F)
IRISH: GCSE Full Course Specifications (Summer) 2008/2011/2012

Year
2008
2011
2012
Applicants
2305 (1,013 M + 1292 F)
1854 (820 M + 103F)
1737 (695 M + 1042 F)
GAEILGE and IRISH Total Applicants GCSE 2008/2011/2012

Year
Applicants
2008
2,433
2011
1,975
2012
1,880
Not all applicants come from the second level school sector.
GCSE Applicants 2012

Sector
Grammar
Non-Grammar
Further Ed.
Other
Total
Irish
930
671
15
121
1737
Gaeilge
27
29
87
143
Total
957
700
15
208
1880
Short GCSE courses in Irish (and in other modern languages) are also taken by a small number of students. In Summer
2008, there were 24 candidates, 18 males and 6 females, from the non-Grammar School sector. By 2011, there were two short
courses by language skills, one in speaking and one in writing Irish. The first was taken by 14 candidates, 4 males and 10
females; 6 were from the non-Grammar sector and 8 from the sector described as Other. The writing course was taken by 19
candidates, 6 males and 13 females, who came from the same two sectors as those in the speaking course. In 2012, two male
candidates took the speaking course and 4 females took the writing course. Again they were from the same two sectors as in
the previous years.
The A Level applicants appear to be on the increase, perhaps from growth in the Irish-medium sector. Interestingly, in the
examination years given below, candidates came from all the sectors, showing more variation than for GCSE above: Grammar,
non-Grammar, Further Education, and Other.
IRISH: GCE Advanced (Summer) 2008/2011/2012

Year
Applicants
2008
2011
2012
249 (90 M + 159 F)
328 (128 M + 200 F)
304 (101 M + 203 F)
While numbers may not be large, results are significant. When presenting the Summer 2012 results to the press, the JCQ (Joint
Council for Qualifications) commented as follows on Irish:
- Irish with 51.6% grades of A* - A was second on the list of subjects with best performance, placed between
Further Mathematics and Mathematics and ahead of German, French, Spanish.
- However, among the Modern Languages entries, Irish was still in third place in 2012 with 304 applicants,
having fallen by 7.3% since 2011 (328 applicants).
NI Modern Languages Entries

% of Total Entry
2012
2011
% change in entry
French
1.8
601
576
+ 4.3
Spanish
1.5
490
481
+ 1.9
Irish
0.9
304
328
- 7.3
German
0.4
125
121
+ 3.3
(Source: JCQ briefing)

A consideration in relation to Irish as one of the modern languages offered by schools is that, in theory, a choice may be made
by any second-level school to offer any one of the four languages, the three continental languages and Irish. For Irish, however,
in the historic NI situation, there is a reduced pool of schools which may be willing to offer the subject. Hopefully, the D/
CAL Strategy will help to change that. In addition, attitudes among the young, and among young Protestants, appear to be
less rigid than in the past.
With regard to languages on the school curriculum, the (then) Direct Rule Minister for Education initiated a review in
December 2006 and supported a joint project of the University of Ulster and Queens University on a Languages Strategy
for NI. The project included a range of modern languages wider than the European languages, Irish, Ulster-Scots, immigrant
languages and sign language. Recommendations following consultation were expected by March 2008. However, it was June
2010 before some information was given by a speaker at the POBAL Conference Developing a comprehensive policy and strategy
framework for Irish in the North of Ireland. As one of the researchers, he commented on the on the broad remit, on the process
of meetings and questionnaires. Nevertheless, as the report and recommendations were at that point with the Department, he
could say no more than that there was strong support for Irish in the study.
The report, Languages for the Future: Northern Ireland Languages Strategy, was published in 2012. In general it recommends
extension of languages throughout the education system. The successes of the Irish-medium system are cited as examples
of encouraging and producing bilingualism. On the Irish language, the following is stated as a recommendation under the
subheading, Languages for Understanding:
That the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, ratified by the government of
the United Kingdom, are fully applied and that, as a fully recognised indigenous language on an equal footing with
Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, Irish should be afforded the full status and privileges that such standing entails.
It is to be noted that it is the Charter which fully recognises all three Celtic languages equally.
The next table looks at applications for the GCE Advanced Subsidiary Specifications in Irish. Curriculum changes were introduced
in 2000 that resulted in the introduction of modules over the two years of study towards A-level examinations. In the first year a set
number of modules (depending on the subject area) may be assessed and, depending on results, be certified as a qualification, the AS
or Advanced Subsidiary level. Both the AS and the modules of the second year, A2, are required towards A-level.
IRISH: GCE Advanced Subsidiary Specifications (Summer) 2008/2011/2012

Year
Applicants
2008
2011
2012
381 (146 M + 235 F)
385 (125 M + 260 F)
430 (148 M + 282 F)
Over 50% of applicants achieved the high A grade in 2012 and in 2011 and just below 50% in 2008. Some of these students
may continue into year 2, or A2, of the course towards completion of full A-level.
HISTORY
Several anniversaries took place during the period under review. In January 2010, the (then) Sinn Fin Minister for Education
held a reception at Parliament Buildings to mark 40 years of Irish-medium education in Northern Ireland. Menscoil, now
Coliste, Feirste in Belfast celebrated 20 years of second-level provision through Irish in 2011. It began in 1991 with 9 pupils
and since then has grown to over 530 pupils and a staff of almost 50. It is now housed in a new building with sports and other
facilities, due to State investment of just under 12 million. Students consistently score very highly across the subject areas in
public examinations. A large percentage of the schools intake come from what are considered disadvantaged areas.
On the other hand, in 2010 statements from Unionist politicians caused concern on the future of the education system
in NI. In October, the First Minister, addressing members of his own DUP Party, referred to the NI education system as one
of benign apartheid, his view being that while he had no objection to schools being operated by churches, the state should
not be required to fund them. The vision, as reported in the media from a DUP spokesperson, was one of a state-run and
funded system open to all. Apparently, any particular interest group would, however, pay for whichever system they might
wish to operate, Irish-medium education included. In the partys view, this approach would fulfil the provisions of the Charter
for Regional or Minority Languages. Questions of ethos apart, there would seem to be little savings for the public purse in
all schools reverting to the state. Currently, all funded schools follow the prescribed curriculum and even if schools currently
under the control of churches became state-run schools, they would still have to be funded. In November, at the TUV annual
conference, the issue was revisited amid references from one member to public money being expended on Irish.
There were many objections to the proposal, not all from the interest groups affected. No change in the system had taken
place by end 2012.
Nevertheless, the Irish Language Group of the East Belfast Mission have an Irish Language Officer funded by Foras na
Gaeilge. The Group conducts Irish language classes attended by over 50 people from the local community and plans are afoot
for an Irish-medium Mother-and-Toddlers group and a possible preschool group, depending on local interest. In January
2013, the Officer spoke at a well-attended seminar on Irish, the hidden language, organised by the Shankill Womens group (in
a Protestant area) with assistance from the Cultrlann (situated in a Catholic area).
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): AREAS FOR ACTION- EDUCATION
Irish Medium Education (IME)
4.4.1 The IME sector has been growing steadily in recent years and this growth looks set to continue. Increased
demand should be met. In 2011/12 there were 70 schools/Units providing IME to over 4,000 children at preschool, primary and post primary level.
IME Pre-school
4.4.2 The Department of Education should continue to support the development of IME at pre-school level
through the provision of PEAGS.
4.4.3 Criteria for the enrolment of bilingual/Irish medium pre-schools should be reviewed.
4.4.4 Capacity in English medium pre-schooling in a particular area should not deter the opening/development/
financing of IME pre-schools.
IME Primary Schools
4.4.5 The Department of Education should continue to support the development of IME primary schools.
4.4.6 Thresholds for entitlement to capital funding should be reviewed.
4.4.7 Shortage of qualified teachers for some subjects should be addressed including the adequacy of teaching
materials.
IME Post- Primary System
4.4.8 Measures should be taken to address the complexity in establishing new Post Primary IME Secondary Schools.
4.4.9 Extra teacher training places for IME trainee teachers should be provided.
4.4.10 Eligibility criteria for the establishment of IME post-primary schools should be reviewed.
STATISTICS
Development
The information in the following tables is from the organisation Gaelscoileanna. Figures for the school years 2008/9-2011/12 in
the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and in Northern Ireland (NI) are first given separately, by level, and then in a composite table.
Irish-medium Education outside the Gaeltacht 2008/2009-2011/2012

Schools
Pupils
Teachers
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
139
31
27,339
2,766
1,468 + 12 p/a
162
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
3
7,136
607
589 +86 p/t

58
209
37,848
2,277 + 98 p/a
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
138
31
28,581
2,723
1,490 + 105 p/a

169
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
2
7,468
690
639 +102 p/t

55
207
39,462
2,353 + 207 p/a
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
139
33
29,733
2,818
1,527 + 95 p/t
176
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
4
7,888
732
614 +129 p/t

74
212
41,171
2,391 + 224 p/t
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
141
35
31,050
2,904
1,561 + 83 p/t
158
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
5
8,427
752
628 +151 p/t

69
217
43,133
2,416 + 234 p/t
2008-2009
OVERALL TOTAL
2009-2010
OVERALL TOTAL
2010-2011
OVERALL TOTAL
2011-2012
OVERALL TOTAL
From 2008-2009, figures are no longer given for the number of families involved with Irish-medium education. However, in
2008-2009, the following figures pertained.
Primary
Post-primary
Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland
Total
18,558
1,889
20,447
5,159
197
5,356
OVERALL TOTAL
25,803
The next set of tables gives an overview of development for the three years 2008/2009-2010/2011.
Irish-medium Education in Northern Ireland 2008/2009-2011/2012

Schools
Pupils
Teachers
2009-2009
Primary
Post-Primary
TOTAL
31
3
34
2,766
607
3,373
162
58
220
2009-2010
Primary
Post-Primary
TOTAL
31
2
33
2,723
690
3,413
169
55
224
2010-2011
Primary
Post-Primary
TOTAL
33
4
37
2,818
732
3,550
176
74
250
2011-2012
*Primary
*Post-Primary
TOTAL
35
5
40
2,904
752
3,656
158
69
227
*Currently in NI, education through Irish is of three forms: stand alone Irish-medium immersion schools (28 primary, 1
post-primary); Irish-medium immersion units attached to English-medium schools (7 primary); Irish-medium part-immersion
streams, in which some subjects are offered through the medium of Irish, attached to English-medium schools (4 postprimary). One of these streams has not yet received official recognition.
The most recent primary enrolment figures for 2012-2013 reported from Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta are (Gaelscal, 13
February, 2013):
Primary schools (28):
Primary units (7):
2,723
670
Total:3,393

At post-primary level, the figures reported in the 20 February 2013 edition of Gaelscal were:
Post-primary school (1):
541
Post-primary streams (4):
256
Total
797
The most successful of the streams is regarded as a unit since it has a separate existence from the English-medium host school.
While the difficulty of maintaining Irish as the sole language in streams and units is recognised, their contribution to
Irish immersion education in difficult circumstances is also recognised. While some regard the steady if small growth in the
Irish-medium sector as too little and too slow, there are many obstacles still to be overcome in the context of NI. Both in the
Republic and in NI, there remains difficulty in progressing to post-primary expansion. In both jurisdictions, Irish-medium
education is required to identify, maintain and grow its place in overall departmental planning for education as a whole.
From 2008-2009, figures are no longer given for the number of families involved with Irish-medium education. However,
in 2009-2009, the following figures pertained.

Northern Ireland
1,889
Primary
197
Post-primary
TOTAL
5,356
For a grassroots movement which began in 1972 with 11 Primary and 5 Post-primary schools in the Republic, the
development is quite significant: to 176 Primary and 41 Post-primary schools, covering both jurisdictions, catering for over
43,000 students and in excess of 20,500 families, and employing 2,416 teachers full-time and 234 part-time in 20011-2012.
One post-primary school in Galway, Coliste na Coiribe, cannot cope with applications up to 2017 and beyond.
On the issue of the ethnic background of gaelscoil pupils, the vast majority are Irish, as might be expected when most
incomers are either English-speaking or wish to acquire the majority language, English. The following statistics were reported
for ROI in 2011.
Background of Pupils in Irish-medium Education outside the Gaeltacht in the Republic

2009-2010
Irish
EU
Outside EU
98.5%
1%
0.5%
99%
0.2%
0.8%
Primary
98.5%
1%
0.5%
Post-Primary
98.7%
0.8%
0.5%
Primary
Post-Primary
2010-2011
With regard to NI, the Department of Education statistics show the total number of newcomer pupils at school in NI (except
hospital and independent schools) in the school year 2011-2012 as 8,418, up from 1,366 ten years ago in 2001-2002. Irishmedium schools are not distinguished as part of the total. However, Irish-medium schools on an all-island basis, tend to have
a percentage of newcomers among their pupils.
In mid-2009, it was announced that Irish-medium education organisations North and South had jointly produced
information leaflets on the benefits of Irish-medium education, directed principally at parents. The leaflets were published in
Irish and English, and in a range of other languages: French, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Russian.
RESEARCH

The Bain Report of December 2006 noted the need for a more coherent official policy for Irish-medium education. The
(then) Direct Rule Minister for Education set up a Project Board to carry this forward and the Boards report was published in
October 2008, almost two years after Bain.
This comprehensive Review considers two resource issues to underpin the recommendations made, particularly given the
current size of the sector and the issue of economies of scale:
- the use of ICT (Information and Communications Technology);
- co-operation across the island of Ireland and on an east-west basis with Gaelic and Welsh stating:
Opportunities for development and exchange should be developed, on an all Ireland and an east/west basis.
Recommendations cover a range of related issues:
- different models of immersion with regard to delivery;
- funding and collaborative federation structures across the different levels from pre-school onwards;
- physical accommodation;
- training: for governors, for principals (leadership), for teachers, including CPD (continuing professional
development), for ancillary staff;
- resources for curriculum and for teaching;
- research;
- examinations and translation;
- special education needs (SEN);
- informal learning outside school and support in the home.

In this comprehensive report the Project Board met their aims to review developments to date, to identify challenges
and to make recommendations on how to continue development in order to ensure high quality sustainable provision and
outcomes for all children in the sector. They argue for coherent embedded policy for Irish-medium education in the education
system of NI.
A Group was set up within DENI to implement the recommendations.
Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta and Department of Education research

The sector and its support structure, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta, also undertook many of the recommendations, particularly
through a North/South approach. An Chomhairle also initiated a consultation in the sector on articulation of the specific
elements that constitute and define Irish-medium education.
A Strategy Group reported on Literacy and Numeracy in Irish-medium Education in 2009. This was incorporated in the
departmental publication, Count, read: succeed - A Strategy for Improving Outcomes in Literacy and Numeracy, published in March
2011. This strategy sets out an approach that is designed to support teachers and school leaders in raising levels of attainment
in literacy and numeracy. It was in tandem with the final report of the Literacy and Numeracy Taskforce (composed of North/
South experts) set up from February 2008 to June 2011 to oversee progress and make recommendations on the Departments
Strategy for Improving Outcomes in Literacy and Numeracy. In her foreword to the Strategy, the Minister states:
This strategy has been developed with an explicit recognition of the needs of all children, whether they are learning
through the medium of Irish or English
To take account of this, a working group considered the issuesinh Irish-medium educationThis way of working,
with the needs of the Irish-medium sector being considered as an integral part of the policy development process, was
recommended in the Review of Irish-medium Education, and is a more effective, efficient and equitable approach to
policy making in the interests of all pupils.
This approach led to the Irish-medium sector being mentioned throughout the Strategy and in recommendations and targets
specific to the sector.
Interestingly, two contrasting results emerged in 2010 from the NI Department of Education (DENI) on the quality of
education in Irish-medium schools. Seven of the Irish-medium schools were on a list of schools deemed unsatisfactory by the
Inspectorate. An Chomhairle pointed to the cumulative effects of chronic lack of appropriate accommodation, resources and training
over the years. All schools put action plans in place and were supported by DENI in reaching departmental targets. On the other
hand, on the basis of Key Stage 2 assessments, DENI research showed that children in Irish-medium schools were performing better
in mathematics and in English than children from similar socio-economic backgrounds in English-medium schools.
POBAL and research on special needs education (SEN)

Research by POBAL for the Department of Education is reported elsewhere under the section on SEN.
STRUCTURES AND SUPPORT
Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta
In mid-2011, An Chomhairle advertised for a CEO (the incumbent having become Deputy CEO of Foras na Gaeilge). The
advertisement, in stating that the organisation is equal opportunities employer, adds that it particularly welcomes applications
from the Protestant community and from women.
An Chomhairle has continued to expand its advocacy and its support to the sector. Its expert advice role has been recognised
by DENI. It works very closely with official and voluntary bodies in the Irish-medium sector both in NI and in the Republic.
In mid-2012, the body issued a publication for all schools in NI, Le Chile tr Chultr (Together through Culture),
directed at nurturing cross-community relations through raising awareness of the shared culture of Irish.
Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaochta
The funding operations of Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaochta (Trust Fund for Irish-medium Education) since its inception in 2001
have ensured a viable start for many pre-schools and primary schools as they struggled to meet official criteria in order to obtain
recognition from DENI, particularly in the area of suitable accommodation. Their benefactors are many and various.
In 2010, the (then) Sinn Fin Minister for Education granted 2 million to be disbursed through the Trust Fund in order
to improve sub-standard accommodation in four Irish-medium primary schools. These schools were unable to apply for full
funding as their enrolment was below official criteria. This once-off grant illustrates some of the challenges encountered by
Irish-medium education.

Schools operate in communities and the aim of the Irish-medium sector is to enable the development of Irish communities.
To this end, the Trust fund established a funding scheme in 2008, initially in two areas, to enable the school and the school
community to provide its own back-up services: family, pre-school, after-school activities and classes for adults.
SUMMARY ON IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION

CURRENT CONCERNS
Administration and legislation: Educational and Skills Authority

The establishment of a single body, the Education and Skills Authority, was part of the Review of Public Administration. A
CEO Designate appointed and a Bill was prepared, Number 3/08, which reached the stage of Committee Report by the end of
September 2009. In March 2010, according to a news release, the terms of office of some members of a number of educational
bodies were extended during the transitional period until the Authority is established. The Minister in 2010 did not move to
consideration stage of the Bill.
This proposed composite Authority remains an issue for existing educational oversight structures, including Comhairle
na Gaelscolaochta for Irish-medium education. Instead of being an independent stand-alone structure, An Chomhairle would
instead have a seat with others on general educational matters. The final report of the Literacy and Numeracy Taskforce in 2011
commented on two outstanding changes that had been signalled but not implemented: abolition of the 11-plus transfer
examination and the establishment of the Education & Skills Authority. These were considered issues which generate confusion
and uncertainty for teachers and which ultimately distract them from fulfilling their core purpose. The Review of Irish-medium
Education also referred to the Authority proposed in place of the existing five local Educational and Library Boards, in terms
of ensuring that the new body address Irish-medium education in a comprehensive, coherent and strategic manner.
Policy, accommodation and personnel needs

There remains the problem of official refusal for Irish-medium pre-schools on two bases: over-provision of places locally in the
English-medium sector and high enrolment criteria. Statutory funding and enrolment criteria for the sector as a whole is more
than challenging. An adequate and appropriately trained supply of teaching personnel, while improving for primary level, is
a policy issue for the developing sector.
Of the 21 primary schools operating in the school year 2009-2010, only 3 were reported in permanent purpose-built
accommodation. To address the issue of official recognition and hence access to state funding, two questions arise: rolling out
a general official policy which recognises that demand at any level is not being met; accepting the sectors preferred option of
possible attached satellite schools rather than units within English-medium schools at second-level. A general policy which
does not favour the establishment of units holds for the sector North and South.
Resources
The third monitoring report of COMEX (on implementation of the European Charter) states that DENI pointed to the
appointment of an Irish-language co-ordinator who would look at teacher training and also facilitate better quality materials. A 1
million programme on preparing teaching materials was also in train in collaboration with education authorities in the Republic.
Funding
In 2010, the (then) Sinn Fin Minister for Education granted 2 million to be disbursed through Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaochta
(Trust Fund for Irish-medium Education) to improve sub-standard accommodation in four Irish-medium primary schools.
These schools were unable to apply for full funding as their enrolment was below official criteria.
This once-off grant illustrates some of the problems encountered by Irish-medium education.
IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION ON THE ISLAND OF IRELAND

Schools
Pupils
Teachers
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
139
31
27,339
2,766
1,468 + 12 p/a
162
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
3
7,136
607
589 +86 p/t

58
OVERALL TOTAL
209
37,848
2,277 + 98 p/a
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
138
31
28,581
2,723
1,490 + 105 p/a

169
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
2
7,468
690
639 +102 p/t

55
OVERALL TOTAL
207
39,462
2,353 + 207 p/a
2008-2009
2009-2010
2010-2011

PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
139
33
29,733
2,818
1,527 + 95 p/t
176
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
4
7,888
732
614 +129 p/t

74
OVERALL TOTAL
212
41,171
2,391 + 224 p/t
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
141
35
31,050
2,904
1,561 + 83 p/t
158
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
5
8,427
752
628 +151 p/t

69
OVERALL TOTAL
217
43,133
2,416 + 234 p/t
2011-2012
GENERAL SUPPORT SYSTEM

COLLABORATION
North/South collaboration
North/South co-operation at political and policy level is through meetings of the N/S Ministerial Council (NSMC) in the
sectoral format of Education. The agreed aspects for co-operation are:
- education for children with special needs;
- educational under-achievement;
- teacher qualifications;
- school, youth and teacher exchanges.
A North/South Working Group on Educational Underachievement was established with particular focus on literacy and
numeracy, particularly among those from deprived backgrounds with the aim of sharing of best practice. The NMSC meeting
of June 2010 discussed, inter alia, teacher education, particularly for Irish-medium education. In the Assembly, on 10 October
2011, the Minister referred to some other areas of co-operation specific to both sides of the border. They included: a centre
for autism serving families in its catchment area; schools with pupils from both sides of the border (250 pupils) and the need
for possible future co-planning on siting of schools; educational exchanges through the North/South Exchange Consortium;
support for the Irish-medium sector; teachers superannuation to allow movement of teachers across the border. The NSMC
meeting of 15 June 2012, in relation to Irish-medium education, noted action plans on the dissemination of impacts and best
practice examples arising from a jointly funded collaborative programme of 2011/2012 supporting the work of 12 Gaeltacht
and Irish-medium schools. This meeting also noted the active participation of teachers in the Irish-medium sector of both
systems of education in conferences in each jurisdiction.
The findings on lack of resources in the Review of Irish-medium Education in NI (October 2008) led to a seminar on
30 June 2010 which brought together CCEA, the Departments of Education in NI and in the ROI, Foras na Gaeilge and
COGG (Council for Irish-medium education in the South) together with Strlann from Scotland which has been producing
curriculum resources for Gaelic-medium education since 1999.
The discussions of the NSMC have led to other initiatives as described below.

The aim of this Committee is enhancement of teacher education in the Irish-medium sector in both jurisdictions. It includes
the teacher support units within the respective Departments of Education, the NI official body, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta,
and the voluntary agency, Gaelscoileanna. Teacher exchanges and focus groups on a small scale are currently ongoing.

Gaelscoileanna was a founder member, together with the two NI bodies, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta (Council) and Iontaobhas
na Gaelscolaochta (Trust), of the Coiste Seasta or Standing Committee on Irish-medium education in May 2009. This grew out
of the successful collaboration, particularly in border areas, of its forerunner, Gaelscolaocht ireann (Irish-medium Education
Ireland) which had been funded through the NI Peace Fund. The Standing Committee now includes all relevant representative
agencies, official and voluntary, North and South (including the Gaeltacht), for all levels of Irish-medium education. It meets
regularly and conducted a high level conference on ongoing research into aspects of Irish-medium education during the school
year in December 2010.
Joint Policy on Immersion Education

In September 2006, at the instigation of Foras na Gaeilge, a Steering Group on Immersion Education was formed to agree a
joint policy among the participating organisations. This policy was published, in bilingual format, in June 2009 following a
process of discussion and seminar work. The participants included, on the official side, representatives of: the two Departments
of Education, the Education and Library Boards NI, Foras na Gaeilge, Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta NI; from the voluntary
sector: the two preschool organisations, FNT (ROI) and Altram (NI), An tisaonad (Resource Centre, NI), Gaelscoileanna,
Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (Teachers of Irish). The patron body, An Foras Ptrnachta, also participated, but a note in the
document states that the immersion education policy described is not that of An Foras Ptrnachta.
The definition of immersion education is based on available research and is rendered as:
Immersion education is education, wholly or in part, through the medium of the target language. For the purposes of
this policy, the target language is Irish.
The document itself is a series of statements under various headings: Aims and Outcomes, Models, Good Practice, The Way
Ahead (which also gives a mission statement).
An issue of tension lies in the provision of immersion education being total or partial. However, choices may sometimes
have to be made in any given circumstances. The definitions of various types of immersion education are given as follows in
the Review of Irish-medium Education Report (2008) together with the intended aims of such education:
- Immersion Learning through a language that is not the students first language.
- Early Immersion In an international context this means immersion education beginning before the age of
about 8.
- Partial Immersion Learning that is partially through a language that is not the students first language.
- Delayed Immersion In an international context this means immersion education beginning between the ages of
8 to 14.
- Late Immersion In an international context this means immersion education beginning after the age of about 14.
- Bilingual Able to speak (usually fluently) in two languages.
- Biliterate Able to read or write in two languages.
Resources
Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge, the N/S organisation for teachers of Irish, and Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge, the Congress
of Irish organisations (with representatives both North and South and N/S), collaborated in the production of multi-media
resources for the Irish language classroom (GCSE).
Within its Arts Project 2010, with assistance from the NI Arts Council, POBAL, the umbrella organisation, produced a
CD-ROM study package for the play in Irish, Breithinas, on the A-level Irish course. It was distributed free to schools offering
A-level Irish.
CCEA receives official funding to provide resources for Irish in education and Irish-medium education, not least of which
is the 155 page curriculum for the Irish-medium primary sector. The isaonad, which is housed by St. Marys University
College of Education, is funded by Foras na Gaeilge and has produced a great deal in conjunction with the Irish-medium sector.
DENI also provides important documentation and forms in Irish versions for the sector.
Scholarship scheme
A North/South All-Ireland Scholarship Scheme was established in 2008, sponsored by the Limerick businessman, JP McManus,
through a donation of 30 million. This fund is projected to last over a ten year period. It is administered through a Trust
Fund and operates on a similar basis in both jurisdictions, to enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds attend thirdlevel education. In the South, 100 scholarships are awarded annually, each worth 6,750 per annum for the duration of the
undergraduate course chosen by winners. In the North, 25 scholarships are available, value stg5,500 per annum. Recipients
come from among students who are exempted from paying the Leaving Certificate fee in the South and from among students
in the North who receive the Educational Maintenance Allowance. Scholarships are awarded to the candidates achieving the
best results in the final examination of secondary school, taken at the first attempt. Three departments administer the scheme:
the Department of Education & Skills in the Republic; the Department for Employment & Learning and the Department of
Education in Northern Ireland.
An interesting add-on to the scheme involves collaboration since 2009 between the Trustees of the scheme and the
Washington International Program which allows the All Ireland Scholarship holders to apply (as a separate category) for
participation in this annual internship scheme. Several scholarship holdershave opted to participate.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): Additional educational needs
4.4.24 Action should be taken to address the need for the development of special educational needs provision for IME
In September 2009, arising out of research commissioned by the NI Department of Education, POBAL produced a document
on The Special Educational Needs of Bilingual (Irish-English) Children.
Following this, in 2011, COGG (Council for Irish-medium Education in the Republic) published the results of an allIreland research survey in collaboration with the umbrella organisation, POBAL, in Northern Ireland, Riachtanais Speisialta
Oideachais i scoileanna ina bhfuil an Ghaeilge mar mhen (Special Education Needs in Schools in which Irish is Medium of
Instruction) with the aim of identifying the training and support needs of teachers in Irish-medium schools, North and South,
in engaging with pupils having special education needs. The publication pointed out that (at the time) in excess of 50,000
pupils attend Irish-medium education from pre-school through second level in both jurisdictions, including the Gaeltacht.
From available evidence, it is generally accepted that up to 20% of the school population may suffer some degree of learning
difficulty at some point during their school career but that not all will fall under the rubric of having special education needs.
This would mean that over 7,000 pupils in the Irish-medium sector would require support at some level during their school
career. Parents, teachers and support services personnel in the Irish-medium sector were calling for training, diagnostic tools,
standardised tests and graded reading materials among other resources which would be more directly focused on bilingualism,
immersion education and Irish as first language.
Two useful immediate outputs of the all-Ireland research were (i) an audit, and resulting extremely informative list, of
all available tests and resources in use and (ii) the establishment of an intense learning support programme to be used first in
Dublin and later in Belfast. The work was carried out under the direction of an expert committee.
Two main recommendations were made. The first called on the Departments of Education in the two jurisdictions (which
already engage in formal cooperation on a range of issues), either together or separately, to develop an infrastructure to service
the special education needs of the Irish-medium sector. The second asked the two Departments to support, in particular,
the development of an information and communications strategy on the issue of special education needs and Irish-medium
education.
With regard to both early and continuing graded reading resources, the voluntary organisation for Specific Educational
Needs in NI, GESO (Gaeleagras um Shainriachtanais Oideachais), offers some resources on its website while the official CCEA
(Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) was working with NI gaelscoileanna to improve provision. In general,
however, despite the existence of several publishers of materials in Irish (An Gm in the South, An tisaonad in NI), teachers
were dependent on materials generated by themselves for their own pupils. Gathering this valuable resource together was
proposed in the report.
On teacher training as pre-service or in-service, or as specific professional diploma in special education, the required
emphasis on immersion education was more or less lacking and would require new approaches, in particular to allow teachers
in small ruaral schools access such training, if made available.
On professional services in general, as detailed immediately below, the provision had not greatly improved. It was noted
that little exists in the way of comprehensive contemporary documented research on the effectiveness of bilingual education
in the case of pupils diagnosed with special education needs. However, two publications were welcomed. The first was the
extensive literature research on immersion education published in 2007 by the NCCA in the South, (Teanga agus Litearthacht i
mBunscoileanna Gaeilge: Athbhreithni ar an Litrocht Language and Literacy in Irish-medium Primary Schools). References in
the policy document of NEPS (National Education Psychological Service) in the South as part of their service delivery to the
Irish-medium sector were very welcome. These stated (based on the limited research available on special needs and bilingual/
immersion situations) that:
- There may be no advantage in moving a child from a gaelscoil to an English-medium school because of specific
learning difficulties.
- There may be no advantage in changing a child from a gaelscoil to an English-medium school on the grounds of
intellectual ability.
- It need not be assumed that children with language disorders cannot become bilingual.
It is difficult to escape the conclusion that much still remains to be done in this area of Irish-medium education in the
context of pupils with special needs. Nevertheless, NEPS in the Republic has issued its general guidelines etc. in Irish and on
the NI Department of Education (DENI) website, under Resource Pack for Special Education Needs (SEN), there is a document
(in English) on SEN in Irish-medium Education (IME) with a link to it on the NICCEA website.
In December 2011, the NI Minister spoke at an all-island conference on SEN organised by POBAL with funding from
COGG. All-island needs may be served by an all-island collaborative response.
In the NI context, in 2010, support of Irish-medium education was criticised on three grounds, two of which are familiar
poor use of public money in straitened times and for a sector of benefit to only one side of the community. The third
argument maintained that such moneys would be better expended on the special needs sector, then undergoing cuts as were
all sectors. It would seem that the Irish-medium sector and Irish language community are considered happily free from special
needs challenges.
In NI, the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety launched a consultation in September 2010 on a coherent
action plan on speech, language and communication therapy, in which all relevant professionals and parents would collaborate.
Irish speakers responded on the needs of the Irish community. The action plan was devised by a multi-agency Project Team, set
up in 2009 in the aftermath of a Task Force on service provision (2006) which reported in 2008. The final version of the plan,
however, makes no specific reference to Irish.
It is understood that while the level of awareness of bilingual children has risen, and some lectures/modules are devoted
to this in professional training, no additional qualifications in the disciplines are as yet available in the Republic or in NI. This
leaves the level of bilingual service quite patchy, in some areas non-existent, and in general largely dependent on willing Irish
speakers with general professional qualifications.
TERTIARY EDUCATION
THIRD-LEVEL EDUCATION
General Context
In NI, there are currently two departments with responsibility for aspects of education: for schools the Department of
Education (DENI) and the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL). Third-level education comes under DEL. Two
universities and two university colleges of education come under the rubric of university education while six institutions are
termed further and higher education colleges:
University Sector
Further & Higher Education Sector
Queens University, Belfast
Belfast Metropolitan College
The University of Ulster
Northern Regional College
St. Marys University College
North West Regional College
Stranmillis University College
Southern Regional College

South Eastern Regional College
South West College
In NI, further education also encompasses the post-GCSE years to A-level, from age 16 to age 18/19.
The Assembly took a decision in September 2009 not to increase student fees as had been the case in Britain. During the
4-period of the Budget and Programme for Government, increases will be inline with inflation. This move may also succeed in
retaining students who might otherwise have left NI.
Several reports were commissioned and published by DEL in recent years largely on education as a means towards
employment and improving the economy. They included the final version of Success through Skills: Transforming Futures (2011)
and the Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland: Graduating to Success (2012).
Success through Skills: Transforming Futures (2011)

Upgrading skills, ensuring qualifications to reflect those skills, and situating those skills in a new Qualifications and Credit
Framework is the main thrust of this report. However, there is also emphasis on reducing what are perceived to be subject
imbalances, the upshot of which is the proposed future policy concentration on what are termed the STEM cluster of subjects
(science, technology, engineering, mathematics in the broad sense); on managerial and leadership skills; creative arts and
design; languages (for exporting needs).
Higher Education Strategy for Northern Ireland - Graduating to Success (2012)

The strategy seeks to ensure improved access to higher education supported by a flexible, lifelong learning framework across
all providers of higher education in Northern Ireland based on the implementation of sixteen specific managed projects. A
separate strategy on widening access is also (mid-2012) under way.
Several issues of interest emerge from this strategy. It contains many of the same points made in the Hunt Report (2011)
in the Republic ensuring a complementary oversight of the third-level sector in general, including the issues of institutional
autonomy, academic freedom, value for money and the needs of the economy, particularly in the STEM subject areas. On
the practical level, Project 11 of the implementation plan is intended to work with higher education institutions and the Irish
Government to facilitate cross-border co-operation and student mobility in teaching and learning. Predictably, this drew some
comment from certain Unionist quarters on several counts: the Republic apparently being favoured over Great Britain; the
absence of an initiative to attract Protestant school-leavers to higher education in NI instead of elsewhere.
Languages on the curriculum

In the interest of the exporting aspects of the NI economy, the Success through Skills: Transforming Futures report of 2011
included languages as an area for emphasis in the future in tertiary education. However, enrolments in NI by subject area for
2010/11 show just 2,090 students studying languages, or 4% of the total 52,000 (with approximately the same percentage for
creative arts and design).
This situation has its genesis in past policies and their effect further down the system of education together with some
efforts towards redressing these effects. Irish is concerned since it is included with Modern Languages, not in its own right, on
the curriculum for English-medium schools.
With regard to redressing the situation, from 2005 - 2007, a Primary Languages Pilot (Spanish or Irish) ran in schools
in three of the local Education and Library Boards. Under a quarter of the Pilot schools chose Irish (76 of 323 overall), all of
which were in the non-Protestant sector. Despite the take-up of this Pilot, modern languages did not form a statutory part of
the revised Primary Curriculum of 2007. However, in 2008, DENI did provide funding for a Primary Languages Programme
for peripatetic teachers which included teachers of Irish. In the non-statutory guidance for modern languages on the NI
curriculum (CCEA 2007), the results of the Irish-medium schools are cited as evidence of success in language acquisition in
young children. The D/CAL Strategy for Irish reports that in the school year 2011/12, there were 85 English-medium primary
schools offering Irish under this Programme at Foundation and Key Stage 1 levels while 9 schools were offering Irish up to Key
Stage 2.
With regard to languages in general on the school curriculum, the Direct Rule Minister for Education initiated a review in
December 2006 and supported a joint project of the University of Ulster and Queens University on a Languages Strategy for
NI. The project was to consider all aspects of languages: at primary, secondary, further and higher education levels, English as
an additional language, languages for business, the languages of Northern Ireland [Irish and Ulster-Scots], immigrant mother
tongues, sign language, languages for special needs. The researchers broadened the brief to consider languages in society.
Recommendations following consultation were expected by March 2008. However, it was June 2010 before some information
was given by a speaker at the POBAL Conference Developing a comprehensive policy and strategy framework for Irish in the North
of Ireland. As one of the researchers, he commented on the on the broad remit, on the process of meetings and questionnaires.
Nevertheless, as the report and recommendations were at that point with the Department, he could say no more than that
there was strong support for Irish in the study.
At post-primary level, Modern Languages are listed under Areas of Learning in the statutory requirements for curriculum
at Key Stages 3 (age 11-14) and 4 (age 14-16). To ensure a balanced curriculum, schools are required to offer at least one
course related to each area of learning as specified. After successful lobbying, Irish may be offered in fulfilment of the statutory
requirement for languages. From September 2013, schools must provide a minimum number of courses to all pupils (up to 24
are envisaged). Of these one third must be general courses and one third applied courses. Languages could qualify for either,
depending on the course basis.
Education, employment and religion

The Equality Impact Assessment accompanying Budget 2011-2015 admits that the economic inactivity rate for Roman
Catholics is higher than that for Protestants; in other words more Catholics are unemployed. Nevertheless, it is reported
from statistics for 2009-2010, that Catholics constituted almost 60% (59.3%) of students attending higher education in NI
(Queens University; the four campuses of the University of Ulster and the two teacher education University Colleges) and
Protestants over 40% (40.7%). There was no significant difference in 2010/11, (59.2% and 40.8% respectively). Verification
shows, however, that these figures derive from a total that excludes non-NI domiciles, and the categories Not known and
Other (almost 15,580 students in total). Another caveat is the possible level of non-responses to the question on religion
which is not mandatory. Nevertheless, at the other levels of education (nursery, primary, second level) for the same year, a
similar picture emerges: almost 69% of attendees were Catholic.
Independent research was conducted by the faculty of law at Queens University on commission from an Independent
Unionist member of the Assembly in early 2011. The resulting report showed educational underperformance by Protestant
working class boys in particular and that disadvantaged Catholics are twice as likely to attend university as Protestants.
Several other factors are pertinent. It is accepted that Catholic-controlled schools tend to have better academic results.
This may account for the numbers of Catholics proceeding to third level. Education as a path out of unemployment, or as
substitution for lack of jobs, in the case of Catholics, may also be a factor in third level take up. The third level statistics above
do not entirely represent either the Protestant or Catholic cohorts since some attend institutions outside NI. In 2009-2010, the
number of Protestants at third-level institutions in Britain was 1,238 (or 45% of all attendees from NI) while 1,146 (or 41% of
the total) were Catholics. How many of these graduates return to NI is not accurately known. The remaining 14% attending
institutions abroad were in the category Other. Students from the Republic attend institutions in NI but the number of NI
students coming south has decreased.
The possible relevance of these factors to the Irish language lies in ability in Irish being more likely among Catholics and
possibly providing contextual support for courses or activities or societies pertaining to Irish at higher education institutions.
Under the Ethnicity category on enrolments at NI Higher Education Institutions, Irish Travellers are listed as follows:
Irish Traveller Enrolments NI Higher Education Institutions

Year
Number
2006/7
2007/8
2008/9
2009/10
2010/11
15
10
20
10
10
TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING: PRIMARY

It is reported from statistics for 2009-2010 that of the 940 students attending the Catholic St. Marys Teacher Education
College only 5 were Protestant while 280 (30%) Catholics were attending the Protestant Stranmillis College.
NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE QUALIFYING EXAMINATION IN IRISH FOR TEACHERS TRAINED
OUTSIDE THE REPUBLIC (SCG)
As part of the ongoing N/S co-operation between the departments of education, a joint communiqu on the SCG was issued
after a meeting in sectoral format (Education) of the N/S Ministerial Council (NSMC) on 15 June 2012. Apparently, two
university institutions, the University of Ulster and St. Marys University College of Education, are interested in delivering
a course to prepare primary teachers to undergo the assessments in Irish required to teach as a recognised teacher in primary
schools in the Republic. These assessments are currently organised by Marino Institute of Education in Dublin, which has
also prepared courses run by local Teachers Centres. The Institute is in discussions on the joint venture. The SCG had also
been noted as far back as the NSMC meeting of 20 May 2009 when liaison between the two Departments of Education was
ongoing towards facilitating access to preparatory courses towards the qualification.
Media reports reveal that over 450 primary teachers trained in NI have successfully undergone the Marino assessments and
are registered with the Teaching Council in the Republic. The INTO welcomed the initiative as a further step towards teacher
mobility in the two jurisdictions. The joint communiqu also referred to the ongoing contacts between the respective Teaching
Councils towards this end.
TEACHER EDUCATION THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF IRISH
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): THIRD-LEVEL EDUCATION
4.4.17 Expanded support should be considered to ensure that an appropriate number of teachers qualify to meet
the demands of the IME sector and the teaching of Irish in English medium schools.
St. Marys College of Education continues its programme (begun in 1996) on ininitial or primary teacher education through
Irish towards the B.Ed degree. One of the greatest obstacles to the expansion of second-level education in the Irish-medium
sector is the lack of teachers of specific subjects. Collaboration between institutions, St. Marys University College of Education,
Queens University and the University of Ulster, led to a one-year Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for students
wishing to teach in the Irish second-level sector. Successful students receive a specific qualification, Certificate in Bilingual
Education, as well as the PGCE. The official PGCE quotas for the two universities were increased to cater for these students.
INSERVICE
Inservice or continuing professional education continues to be provided to teachers of Irish and through Irish by statutory and
voluntary bodies, North and South.
UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
4.4.18 Irish adult programmes, Irish full time and part time courses in keeping with requirements for language
development and the requirements of the job market should continue to be provided via third-level
education (For example, the Irish Language Department and the Celtic Studies Department in the
University of Ulster and Queens University).
4.4.19 An appropriate response to the demand for third level education through the medium of Irish should
be ensured In recent years, applied courses through Irish in Translation and in Film Production and
Scriptwriting (M.A.) have been offered by Queens University.
Major changes occurred for Irish at the University of Ulster in 2012. Scoil Teanga agus Litrocht na Gaeilge (School of Irish
language and literature) was established as a separate entity. To date it had been part of the School of Languages. In addition,
Irish will no longer be taught at the Coleraine campus when the current cohort of students finish in May 2014. Instead, the
new School will function through the Belfast and Derry campuses, where the B.A. degree will be offered. The move is partly
the outcome of the success of the part-time courses taught at these two campuses over the years.
FURTHER EDUCATION
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
4.4.26 P
rovision should be made for technical and vocational learning through the medium of Irish. Accreditation
of vocational qualifications through the medium of Irish should also be facilitated.
Some courses through Irish are currently organised through Belfast Metropolitan College which receives annual funding for
a Co-ordinator from the Department of Employment and Learning. However, this has resulted apparently in less funding
overall than heretofore. Courses were available in Irish language and in childcare, beauty and construction through Irish.
Accreditation, however, was problematic as was the lack of an overall inclusive long term policy for the sector.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): ADULT LANGUAGE LEARNING
4.4.27 S upport should be provided for the teaching of adults at part-time courses covering all language ability levels.
4.4.28 L
anguage learning courses should be developed to facilitate parents in supporting their childs learning in IME.
4.4.29 A co-ordinated approach to Irish Language courses should be adopted in the adult language learning sector.
Some institutions continue to provide courses in Irish language. However, the majority of such courses are provided by voluntary
organisations, by Irish-medium schools and in Irish cultural centres. These have increased in number since the Lofa initiative
was introduced by the Minister for D/CAL and are listed on the departmental website. The Irish Language Officers in local
authorities also organise such courses and many events, some bilingual, in the towns across those District Councils region.
Belfast Metropolitan College began a weekly night Irish class in January 2012 in the new Titanic Quarter campus in Belfast.
Co-ordination and standardisation of achievement is certainly required. Use of a standardised course for learners, with
assessment, and for tutors also, such as that provided by the Language Centre at National University of Ireland Maynooth,
might be appropriate.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITY
Out of School Usage
4.4.20 While the education system is critical to protect and enhance the development of the Irish language,
informal youth provision outside of the classroom also provides an important contribution.
4.4.21 Irish language awareness courses directed at non-Irish speakers will also contribute to realising the
enhancement protection and development of the language.
4.4.22 The education sector should work in partnership with relevant agencies such as Foras na Gaeilge and youth
clubs to foster the development of Irish language.
4.4.23 The Gaeltacht based summer colleges should continue to be utilised and young people should be encouraged
to visit the Gaeltacht where they can apply and develop their existing Irish language.
Scholarships
4.4.25 A scholarship scheme for those from disadvantaged areas to attend courses in the Gaeltacht should be
developed.
Foras na Gaeilge continues to provide funding for various initiatives (e.g. summer camps) and the Irish language youth
organisations and Irish-medium schools have many and varied activities. However, a more co-ordinated approach towards
the specific needs of NI and of youth might still be required, both in terms of funding and provision on an integrated basis:
from in-school to after-school to extra-curricular provision all-year round, across a range of interests. The recipient of the 2012
Ashbourne Shield from Comhaltas Uladh for the grammar school having the highest standard of spoken Irish, St. Marys in
Magherafelt had an emphasis on out of classroom use of Irish and an impressive list of activities to implement this approach.
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: BROADCASTING

LEGISLATION AND IMPLEMENTATION: CURRENT CONTEXT
As in the case of other domains, broadcasting is a provision of the European Charter, although, in all cases, the UK authorities
opted for the weaker end of the list of options in the Charter. Stronger commitments are found in the Good Friday (Belfast)
Agreement 1998 and in the Joint Declaration of 2003 by the London and Dublin Governments.
The argument by the Irish language community in NI for increased broadcasting through Irish by the public sector
broadcaster, BBC, rests largely on comparison with the position and funding of both the Welsh language and Scottish Gaelic
within the UK. Both of these sister Celtic languages are included in broadcasting legislation (e.g. Broadcasting Act 2003)
and both have dedicated radio and television stations. The counter-arguments appear to be based on reduction of funding to
the BBC in 2010 and 2011, freezing of the licence fee to 2016 when the current 10-year Charter ends, and the proximity of
services from the Republic, both radio and television. Raidi na Gaeltachta is widely available in NI and from Autumn 2012,
TG4 was available on both Freeview (UK) and Saorview (Republic). This is, however, not quite the same as home-produced
material for home audiences. The community Belfast-based Raidi Filte fills some of that gap, if not across NI, while the Irish
Language Broadcast Fund has encouraged much development in the television sector, as described below.
Nevertheless, the BBC does provide some radio and television programmes through Irish in its NI services. However,
the umbrella organisation, POBAL, makes the point that, apparently, a view prevails within the BBC authorities in NI that
programming for Irish creates greater displacement than for Ulster-Scots, which is considered to be largely understandable by
an English speaking audience.
Broadcasting in NI involves the London and Dublin Governments as well as the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
(D/CAL) in NI, to the extent that it has issued a consultation document on a Strategy for Irish which includes the domain of
broadcasting. Co-operation on this issue could then be a three way process as the extracts below indicate.
D/CAL JULY 2012: STRATEGY FOR PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
IRISH LANGUAGE PUBLIC CONSULTATION: BROADCASTING
Part 3
Engagement with the responsible Ministers in Westminster to seek cooperation from their Departments on the
aims and objectives of this Strategy is critical.
Broadcasting
4.7.4 S upport for the Irish Language Broadcasting Fund should continue;
4.7.5 The BBC should be encouraged to continue their current provision for the Irish language and expand this
where possible.
PROPOSALS IN THE ROI 20-YEAR STRATEGY FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE 2010-2030: BROADCASTING
The Strategy makes the following statement:
The Good Friday Agreement provided that the British Government would work with the relevant British and Irish
broadcasting authorities to make TG4 more widely available in Northern Ireland. The Government will continue
to work with the relevant British authorities to ensure that this will be achieved in the context of the switchover to
digital television by 2012.
Broadcasting Act 2009 of the Republic of Ireland

Provisions in the 2009 Broadcasting Act relating to the Irish language are both general and specific in nature. Section 25 (1)
(a) lays a general obligation on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland in the following terms:
The second part of this statement clearly applies to more than the Republic.
Section 114 of the 2009 ROI Broadcasting Act lays obligations on RT:
to provide a comprehensive range of programmes in the Irish and English languages that reflect the cultural diversity
of the whole island of Ireland[bold added]
THE BROADCASTING FUND
Arising out of intergovernmental commitments, the Broadcasting Fund was eventually announced in April 2004 to be
established on the basis of 12 million over three years. However, these arrangements were subsequently changed twice: later in
2004, the responsible department in NI (D/CAL) changed the time span from three to five years; finally, it became four years
but the duration from 2005 instead of 2004 (2005 to 2009), the delay being due to required compliance with EU regulations.
At the outset, the Fund was administered through An Ciste Craoltireachta Gaeilge (Irish Broadcasting Fund), under the (then)
NIFTC (NI Film and Television Commission), now Northern Ireland Screen Commission.
The NI Screen Commission issued Driving Global Growth (an interesting title), a four-year strategy 2010-2014, as followon to the previous three-strategy, Building on Success. This latest strategy describes the Irish Language Broadcast Fund (ILBF)
in the following terms as being:
- enormously successful exceeding its annual production and audience targets each year;
- well received by both BBC NI and TG4 audiences;
- garnering critical acclaim with Celtic Media Festival awards collected for teen drams Seacht and preschool series
Na Dda;
- the ILBF has become a critical pillar of the local production sector.
On the issue of funding, the 2010-2014 strategy states that:
- funding for Irish language media in Northern Ireland remains a fraction of that in Scotland and Wales for
Gaelic and Welsh respectively.
It is hardly surprising that NI Screen would prefer current arrangements to continue, D/CAL providing funding and NI Screen
as the delivery agent, as the Deloitte independent evaluation of 2007 had recommended.
The latest such evaluation is from May 2010 by FGS McClure Watters on behalf of D/CAL and deals with the period from
April 2005 to March 2009. It noted the successful outcomes:
- 338 hours of programming across a variety of genres, almost entirely through Irish;
- 832 Irish speakers employed on projects over the period;
- 120 individuals trained, 85% of whom went to work in the independent production sector in NI;
- engagement with Broadcasters who matched 50% of ILBF funding;
- significant impact on development of the independent Irish language production sector, from 3 companies in the
1980s to 21 in 2009;
- higher profile for the independent sector on BBC, TG4 and RT;
- competition stimulated leading to better quality and higher standards;
- language development;
- company and broadcaster satisfaction.
The authors of the report pointed to the continued need to support the sector as minority language broadcasting is rarely
commercially viable, a view supported by UTV who cannot broadcast Irish language productions for this reason. However,
while the Fund is required to sustain the sector, for a fully sustainable future, commitment from broadcasters is also required
the ILBF should not displace their commitment to support the minority language sector. Looking further afield with
productions to other indigenous and minority language broadcasting situations is also recommended.

Interesting results on impacts came from consultations conducted for the report with broadcasters and wider stakeholders:
- the outputs of the Fund have demonstrated that language does not have political connotations; rather it is about
celebrating a shared culture and heritage. This perceived neutrality was reiterated by broadcasters who reported
that the ILBF provides a platform for broadcasters whereby they can show Irish language content without being
seen to have a political agenda;
- it [the ILBF] has helped to improve cross community understanding of the Irish language.
A sum of 20 million funding (additional to local revenue) for the Irish language was pledged by the UK in what was
described as a side deal during the Hillsborough Agreement on devolution of policing and justice to the Assembly (January
2010). Similarly, a sum of 5 million was pledged for Ulster-Scots. The funding for Irish was divided between 8 million for
capital projects and 12 million for the ILBF. In April 2010, a limited company with charity status was established to disburse
the funding of 8 million to capital projects involving the Irish language, since Foras na Gaeilge cannot provide capital funding.
The company is Ciste Infheistochta na Gaeilge (Investment in Irish Fund). It has a board of seven (largely from the Sinn Fin
party). It was officially launched in December 2010 in Derrys Cultrlann, where it has offices. The remaining 12 million
was intended for the ILBF for a further four years after 2011 (to end 2015) to ensure a continuing 3 million per annum for
broadcast production in Irish.
NI Screen will also oversee the new similar Broadcast Fund established for Ulster-Scots with some 1 million annually
from 2011-2015 understood to be from the 5 million pledged at Hillsborough.
TG4 IN NI
In February 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Television was signed by the UK and Irish Governments to
ensure a smooth switchover for TG4 in NI when analogue services ended in 2012. In welcoming the memorandum at the time,
the (Fianna Fil) Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs referenced once more the Irish Language Act and the Strategy for Irish in
previous agreements. In June 2012 the agreement reached by the London and Dublin Governments in relation to TG4 was
announced as coming into operation by the two Ministers with responsibility for Communications. Both RT and TG4 had
good reception facilities to over half NI residents by 2010. From 24 October 2012, with the demise of analogue television, TG4
was simultaneously available to all viewers across Ireland at no additional cost to the licence fee: in NI on Freeview (UK) and
on Saorview (Republic of Ireland) ensuring a totally all-island dimension to the television service. The Understanding included
joint ownership of masts along the border. In mid-2012 TG4 commissioned research among adult Irish language viewers in NI.
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities

The following Comments were made (February 2012) by the Government of the United Kingdom on the third opinion of
the Advisory Committee on the implementation of the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities by
the United Kingdom with regard to Article 9.
Irish language broadcasting in Northern Ireland (paragraph 138)
The [UK] Government is committed to the widespread availability of TG4 throughout Northern Ireland. A not-forprofit Joint Venture comprising RTE and TG4 is establishing a multiplex to carry TG4 and also RTE1 and RTE2.
Once the multiplex has been established, consideration will be given to including RTE radio services as well. Ofcom
has confirmed that it will award the Joint Venture a broadcasting licence, once the Joint Venture is established. The
United Kingdom Government is part-funding the carriage of TG4 in Northern Ireland. TG4 itself is funded by the
Irish Government and some advertising revenues.
The United Kingdom Government has confirmed it will enter into a contract with the Joint Venture to meet TG4s
costs (which are expected to be a third of the total costs). Officials are currently working on a fundingagreement.
The United Kingdom Government hopes the procurement process for the multiplex can begin very soon. We were
very encouraged to learn of RTEs willingness to begin the procurement process regardless of whether the Joint
Venture has been formed.
In relation to the BBC, one of the BBCs Public Purposes, as set out in its Charter and Agreement, is to represent the
nations, regions and communities of the United Kingdom, including the appropriate provision of minority languages.
How the BBC fulfils its objectives is a matter for the BBC. The BBC is independent of Government and, within
the framework of its Charter and Agreement, there is no provision for Government to intervene in its day-to-day
activities.
COMMERCIAL SECTOR
As shown above in the FGS McClure Watters report, there is continued need to support the Irish language independent
production sector as minority language broadcasting is rarely commercially viable, a view supported by UTV who cannot
broadcast Irish language productions for this reason. However, while the Fund is required to sustain the sector, for a fully
sustainable future, commitment from broadcasters is also required the ILBF should not displace their commitment to
support the minority language sector.
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: RADIO, TELEVISION, FILM AND MULTI-MEDIA
RADIO
4.7.3 The community based Raidi Filte, broadcasting from Belfast should be encouraged and the growth of the
station facilitated;
4.7.6 Expansion of reception of Irish medium broadcasting from TG4 and Raidi na Gaeltachta (R na G) should be
facilitated.
4.7.7 Increased support should be provided to Irish language radio stations.
4.7.8 Support should also be provided for the creation of an Irish language community radio network.
BBC Radio and RnaG

BBC Radio broadcasts popular programmes in Irish on different topics every day from Monday to Friday while RnaG is also
generally accessible in NI. When the proposed online nuacht (news) comes on stream, it will provide the opportunity for
listeners to choose to listen at any time.
Community Radio
In September 2011, the Belfast community radio, Raidi Filte, convened an information session for Irish language community
groups in NI wishing to apply to OFCOM, the UK communications regulator, for a licence to operate a local community
radio. A representative from OFCOM was present to explain OFCOM policy in this regard. In June 2012, the community
development group in Carntogher, South Derry, applied to OFCOM to operate such a radio service in bilingual format. Locals
were trained by Raidi Filte in Belfast. This training aspect of the operations of Raidi Filte was among the factors leading
to the recognition of the station by OFCOM as one of just 5 exemplars out of 200 community stations in NI and in Britain.
However, Raidi Filte were refused permission by OFCOM in early 2012 to broadcast across NI. The station is available
on www.raidiofailte.com. Funded by Foras na Gaeilge, it depends largely on some 40 volunteers. It has produced some
innovative programmes. During Seachtain na Gaeilge (March 2012), the first live programme from the Long Room of Stormont
Parliament Buildings featured the Minister for Culture and the Mayor of Belfast. For the Decade of Commemorations, a series,
Samhlaigh Sin (Imagine That), of seven programmes, were broadcast with the assistance of the Community Relations Council.
The first was in bilingual format on the Ulster Covenant and included the Grand Secretary of the Orange Lodge of Ireland and
historians. Currently, the station is involved in various ventures: as one of over 20 international stations who agree on specific
material for broadcast on www.euranet.eu/gle it ensures the presence of Irish. Raidi Filte is also part of an international
group developing good practice. With employment assistance from the Broadcast Fund, it is developing its archive material for
various purposes on its new website.
TELEVISION
A special feature article on Irish Language TV was published online by IFTN (Irish Film and Television Network) in September
2010. It included three participants who are involved with NI television: the Executive Producer for Irish Language (BBC NI)
and two independent production companies, the MD of Ab Media and the Executive Producer with Imagine Media (Belfast).
The following points were made:
- the variety of material now being produced in Irish across the genres and for different age groups, the majority
original, some dubbed in Irish;
- the high standard of production arising from the need to compete;
- skill levels constantly improving;
- audience figures tending to rise in line with material that is topical and relevant but competition for viewers
arising from digital channels and gaming in respect of certain age groups;
- need to marry Irish language programming and online technology as the BBC was already doing;
- the significance of the funding available for Irish language programmes from the ILBF in NI and the BAI Sound
and Vision scheme (both are open to both jurisdictions);
- the increase in the Irish language speech content required by the ILBF;
- the change in BBC policy to a more focussed funded output since 2008, 1 million being made available
annually.
Nevertheless, leaving language matters aside, criticism was levelled by representatives of the five Celtic languages in the UK
in respect of a report from the BBC Trust in July 2010. This report, based on independent research by Cardiff University on
all BBC services, said that the references to issues affecting the devolved regions had doubled since the King Report of 2008.
The King Report had shown inadequate coverage of such issues. Criticism centred on the England bias on a range of matters
and lack of reference by broadcasters to coverage which in fact referred solely to England.
AUDIOVISUAL AND INTERACTIVE PRODUCTION NI

PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): ONLINE AND NEW MEDIA
4.7.9 National Lottery funding distributed through Arts Council NI should be considered for application to audiovisual productions in Irish.
Online and New Media
4.7.10 The further development of online and new media technologies provides the basis for wider access to the
Irish language including the:

Development of an attractive on-line store for Irish materials, showcasing new titles, authors, reviews,
blogs and other resources, which could also be used in schools and classes for adult learners;
Development of apps to promote and assist language development and use;

Promotion and development of book clubs in Irish as a priority in local community language initiatives,
and provision of appropriate on-line support for book clubs;
Development of initiatives and appropriate training courses to encourage writing in Irish by young
people in a range of media journalism, blogging, creative writing, drama and film scripts; and
Promotion of the Irish language internationally.
The D/CAL Draft Strategy draws in general on those examples already available of interactive and online uses of Irish and
focuses on language learning, usage, and training for providers. While supply is currently limited with regard to applied u7ses
of new technology, BBC NI is one example of a very useful website containing both radio and television programmes that
have been broadcast covering all grades of proficiency in Irish, from students to native speakers, www.bbc.co.uk/irish. Twitter
is another option as is /radioulster online.
Some funding had been available from the Arts Council before the ILBF became fully operational. Since funding for
both the ILBF and the Arts Council ultimately derive from the same departmental source, D/CAL, an arrangement should
be possible whereby creative digital applications be funded in future by the Arts Council, even in cases where these arise as an
add-on, or added value, from productions funded by the ILBF.
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: PUBLISHING

PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY
The Written Word
4.7.1 Through Foras na Gaeilge, printed newspapers, magazines and books should continue to be produced and
supported where effective distribution channels and reasonable sales can be established.
4.7.2 As online and new media technologies and marketing techniques are continually evolving, the most effective
strategy for developing reading and writing in Irish is likely to change significantly in the coming years and
should be constantly reviewed. Effective planning by the relevant authorities will be essential. The reading and
writing of Irish should be supported through CDs, DVDs, audio books print media and other technologies
and new media through:

Development of literary events and activities in public libraries throughout the year (and not only during
Seachtain na Gaeilge) encouraging creative writing, author-readings, launches, reading and listening
clubs, and literary programmes for schools;
The bodies responsible for Irish language cultural events ensuring they have access to competent Irish
speakers to organise and deliver their programmes
Guided reading programmes in schools; and
Prominent display of new materials in Irish in selected designated leading bookstores, with suitable
promotional materials, stands, bookmarks, promotional events, window-displays and author presence
(with collaboration and support of relevant public agencies if necessary).
NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES AND PUBLISHERS

Independent research conducted for Foras na Gaeilge (Publications on website, April 2011) gives some interesting data in
relation to newspaper readership in the past. In the early days of its existence and despite setbacks such as an office fire which
destroyed all equipment, the Belfast-based newspaper L reached a daily circulation, North and South, of some 1,000 copies.
In 2001, when it reverted to a weekly edition, circulation grew to 2,500. Two years later in 2003, the paper again became a
daily. Independently verified figures showed average daily sales of 4,404 for the second half of 2003 and 30,000 downloads
monthly. These figures fell to 1,500 daily sales by 2008 and some 8,000 monthly downloads. The paper folded in 2008 due to
lack of grant-aid and problems with advertising income.
In the case of Foinse, the weekly published in the South, circulation of 6,000 was reported in the beginning, rising to 8,000
around the year 2000, estimated at a reading public of 25,000. Independently verified figures showed a drop to 3,746 by end
2008, a trend which continued. No clear reasons are found for this pattern which has been replicated in Wales. It does not
appear to be related to content or to journalistic standards. Novelty wears off, apparently, although many continue, perhaps,
ar son na cise (for the cause). However noble, this may not actually serve the cause.
The 2011 research for Foras na Gaeilge points to the changed reading habits of the public and online provision of news and
information.
At a seminar conducted by Foras na Gaeilge at the Oireachtas festival in 2011, one commentator found two problems
in journalism through Irish: structural relating to the costs of printing and distribution; educational relating to courses in
journalism. From a policy viewpoint, three possibilities were suggested in relation to the former: the establishment of a central
funded print and distribution facility or reduction in the number of subvented print media or concentration of funding
solely on the provision of online outlets and on challenging material for readers. For the future, multi-disciplinary courses in
journalism through Irish are required to ensure that students are prepared for all media forms: print, radio, television.
No Irish language newspaper originating in NI is now funded by Foras na Gaeilge. However, the Irish News (Belfast), has
a regular column in Irish. In 2012 the Derry Journal began an Irish column on Fridays with English translation (also online).
The following grants are noted:
Foras na Gaeilge: Magazine / Funding
2009
2010
25,641
22,472 (20,000 p.a.)
Organisational
An tUltach (Comhaltas Uladh, 1924)
Foras na Gaeilge Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge: Funding for publishers

An tSnthaid Mhr-DragonFly Press
2010
2011
Books
Funding
Books
Funding
38,350
28,000
Ongoing problems with the launching, marketing and distribution of books in Irish have not yet found a satisfactory solution.
Whether any of the problems noted with changing reading habits or the cultivation of reading in Irish are possible whether on a jurisdictional, national or international basis - without a global approach is an issue that cannot wait too long
on a solution.
AWARDS
Literary and media awards are generally open to writers in Irish everywhere in the world. NI writers are no strangers to such
awards. Limerick County Council Arts Office organises the igse (literally poetry or gathering of poets) Michael Hartnett
Literary & Arts Festival which carries a substantial cash award. This igse is jointly funded by Limerick County Council and
the Arts Council (ROI) and awards are made in alternate years for poetry in Irish and in English in honour of the bilingual
poet, Michael Hartnett from the county town, Newcastle West. In 2002, the award winning poet was Gearid Mac Lochlainn
of Belfast. Among those shortlisted for 2012 was another Belfast poet, Philip Cummings, award winner in other competitions.
Prose writers have also featured and writers for children in Irish language awards.
The literary competitions of Oireachtas na Gaeilge are funded by various groups, among them Foras na Gaeilge, through
Clr na Leabhar Gaeilge, which also funds the annual award for Leabhar na Bliana (Book of the Year). For 2011, Coiste Chlr
na Leabhar Gaeilge recommended 24,000 for the Oireachtas literary competitons and 26,000 for Leabhar na Bliana with a
further 10,000 to a company towards publicising the Book of the Year. The latter includes awards in two categories, adults
(Gradam U Shillabhin) and youth (Gradam Rics Carl). Overall 60,000 was recommended from applications for 84,750.
Among the annual Oireachtas competitions funded are: light fiction (4,000 and 1,000); fiction for 10-11-year-olds
(2,500 and 750); fiction for 13-15-year-olds (2,500 and 750); new authors (2,000 and 750): total awards 14,250.
The aim in supporting such competitions mainly is to encourage reading, writing and standards in Irish.
An interesting list of use of Irish in the English-language press, compiled by another researcher in 2007, is found in the
independent report on print and on line media through Irish conducted for Foras na Gaeilge The list contained 24 newspapers
in Northern Ireland (though not the entire listing of all the newspapers published there). Of these, 19 are mentioned as
publishing articles in Irish at that time (2007). It includes The Irish News (Belfast) which has a regular column in Irish. The
weeklies and the regional newspapers - particularly where there are local institutions through the medium of Irish, in education
or in the community - will carry news of them in Irish generally from a local columnist. Of approximately 80 of these
published in Ireland, North and South, some 65 published articles in Irish, according to the list mentioned above.
An Phoblacht (Sinn Fin Party newspaper) will have regular columns in Irish.
The majority, but not all, of the newspapers listed would carry letters in Irish. Whether all those listed are still functioning
is unknown.
Readers in NI will have access to the national Sundays and dailies from the South, of which the Irish Times continues to
carry three columns weekly in Irish. An interesting development in the crossword of the Irish Times is the tendency of the
new compiler (2011), Mac an Iarla, to require some knowledge of Irish vocabulary from his users. The Irish Independent now
carries the Irish newspaper, Foinse, as an insert every Wednesday. The Irish Examiner will carry articles in Irish and The Irish
Daily Star carries an Irish column at the weekend and has been supportive of Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Week). Several of these
newspapers have issued bilingual posters for schools, some with funding from Foras na Gaeilge.
BOOKSHOPS AND LIBRARIES
The Guardian newspaper ran an article on 1 October 2011 on independent bookshops in NI. Two of the nine stocked mainly
Irish language titles: An Ceathr Pil in the refurbished Belfast Cultrlann and An Cl Ceart in Derrys new Cultrlann. Of
nine bookshops across NI featured (in alphabetical order), the number with specific focus on local interest and history was
striking; seven of nine.

In Armagh in early 2012, a new Irish language bookshop was opened in Armagh, Cult r by the local language development
group Cairde Teoranta who are in receipt of a scheme grant from Foras na Gaeilge (2011-2013). Other Irish products are on sale
as well as books.
The Library Authority in NI was reported in 2012 as providing a range of services through Irish in local libraries: classes,
exhibitions and reading groups. Discussions were ongoing with Foras na Gaeilge to add to these current services through having
more titles in Irish across more genres and a selection of dual language books for parents and children.
STATUS FOR IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS: CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

THEATRE
Foras na Gaeilge, as part of its all-Ireland remit, continues to fund theatre in Irish. For NI, the following grants were disbursed in 2011.

Company
Location
Funding
Belfast
14,634
Belfast
58,000
Children & Youth

Abab (2001)
Other
Aisling Ghar (1997)
Funding by the NI Arts Council is found below, Funding for the Arts in Irish.
Aisling Ghar (1997) describes itself as the only professional theatre company working full-time through the medium of
Irish language. It is based in the Irish language Centre in West Belfast, Cultrlann McAdam Fiaich. The refurbishment of
the Centre in recent years added the Siobhn McKenna Theatre. Some recent productions included a new stage version of the
satire (in novel form), An Bal Bocht (The Poor Mouth) by Flann OBrien (also Brian Nuallin) in 2009. In March 2012,
a translation of Love Matters, written by the well-known playwright Gary Mitchell of Protestant background who deals with
contemporary NI issues, was well received. Both were shown in Belfast and in Dublin. In September 2012, Aisling Ghar
looked at the life and times of the Presbyterian, Robert Shipboy McAdam, in whose memory the Centre is co-named, Seo
Robert the search for Robert McAdam. McAdam was a lexicographer and collector of Irish manuscripts and music. His
collections, made at his own expense, are housed in the Linenhall Library in Belfast. The company provides simultaneous
translation and/or scene notes in English. It also receives some funding through the NI Arts Council.
The popular youth theatre, Abab (2001), works in partnership with schools as well as mounting shows for children.
It could be said that Belfast is better served than Dublin with regard to the infrastructure for theatre in Irish for adults or children.
MUSIC
After some initial misunderstandings, a decision was taken by Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann to hold the annual all-Ireland Fleadh
Cheoil in Derry in 2013 (when the city will also be the first UK City of Culture, as decided in July 2010). This is the first
time the Fleadh will be held in NI. The traditional music body has always been all-island and has a Comhairle Uladh (Ulster
Council) as part of its structure.
There were two other applicant venues in the South but one withdrew (Ennis) in what was considered in favour of Derry.
The Fleadh is not alone of high cultural value but also of economic advantage to the venue where it is held.
The year 2013 also sees the 400th anniversary of the building of Derrys walls, a not uncontentious historic event.
Perhaps the more interesting facet of the entire discussion was the support from all sides of the community in NI, from
politicians of all parties and the Assembly, in favour of the Fleadh when some possible hitches occurred. The same unity
prevailed both when Derry made its bid for City of Culture and when it rejoiced in being successful in that bid.
A 3-day course in Irish was held during Fleadh Uladh.
EXHIBITIONS/MUSEUMS/HERITAGE CENTRES/FESTIVALS
During 2010-2011, the umbrella group, POBAL, organised an exhibition on 200 years of Irish language news entitled Sil
Charad (A Friends Eye) with accompanying illustrated booklet. Previously, Foras na Gaeilge had mounted an exhibition on the
Irish language in Belfast centenary City Hall. POBAL also mounted a touring exhibition on the history of the Irish language
and an Irish Language Act for NI in schools and public centres in Belfast and elsewhere in NI during 2009. As part of its
advocacy on rights for Irish speakers and celebration of the arts, POBAL ran a full days entertainment in St. Georges Market
in Belfast on 9 October 2011, five years after the St. Andrews Agreement. Entitled Cearta agus Craic (Rights and Revelry), and
funded in part by the Arts Council of NI, it drew significant crowds.
In the context of NI, it may not be a simple matter for institutions such as museums and heritage centres to function in
a society not always at ease with itself, a point borne out in 2010 when the (then) DUP Minister for Culture viewed the
prominence given in the Ulster Museum to the Orange Order and to Ulster-Scots as insufficient. This view was shared by the
Orange Order. This is the context in which decisions on the Irish language may have to be taken, in the absence of agreed
official policy. Unionist concerns with regard to acceptance of policy on bilingual public signage are generally expressed in
terms of possible increased community tension and waste of ratepayers money. Armagh City and District Council were
criticised in August 2011 on similar issues, particularly in relation to signs in Irish at the historic Eamhain Mhacha or Navan
Fort, and marketing of the site as a tourist attraction. This led to a picket of Irish speakers outside the Council offices seeking
recognition for Irish in the area.
Fleadh Feirste has become an annual festival in celebration of the diversity of the Ceathr Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Quarter) in
Belfast. Filt also feature in many places in NI, some funded by the Arts Council.
THE ARTS
Context
A new interest is of note North and South in the value to the economy that accrues from artistic endeavour, or from the
creative industries as is currently the more common terminology. At the launch in February 2012 of the upcoming programme
for the new comprehensive arts venue, The Mac, in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast, the First Minister noted that the creative
industries now comprise 5% of the economy of Northern Ireland. The Mac itself, operational since April 2012, has been an
ongoing project since the mid-1990s and cost some 18 million.
A briefing paper was prepared, dated 1 June 2012, by the Research and Information Service of the Assembly, on a
comparison between the draft D/CAL Creative Industries Framework and the Scottish Creative Industries Strategy. It refers,
inter alia, to the proposed NI framework of two structures: Creative Industries Ministerial Advisory Group and Creative
Industries Government Collaboration Group and to the lack of specific explanation of the role in the Collaboration Group of
bodies such as NI Screen and the Arts Council. In Scotland, several reports over the years have pointed to the social, linguistic
and economic value of the creative industries through Scottish Gaelic.
In a reference to Budget 2011-2015, the deputy First Minister remarked in March 2011:
Its very very important that we recognise the massive contribution that the arts make to our society and Im very
pleased that weve been able in the course of the budget to minimise the impact of the recession on what is a very
important sector for us.
Six months earlier, in September 2009, the umbrella organisation, POBAL, had already met with the Arts Council to discuss
the impact of impending cuts. Assurance was given that the Council were aware of the importance of Irish arts. POBAL
convened a gathering of Irish arts practitioners to assess the situation.
The NI Arts Council points out in its Annual Review 2010-2011:
Artists are the lifeblood of the creative industries, which are increasingly major employers (33,000 people) and
generate 582 million annually to Northern Irelands economy.
However, it is also noted that, despite having higher than average educational qualifications and working longer hours than
average, artists across the genres earn no more than an average 7,500 per annum.
Planning for the Arts

The NI Arts Council (ACNI) tends to take Irish and Ulster Scots together in its approach. The basis for strategic planning
for Irish and Ulster-Scots is two-fold. Contextually, it lies in the protection afforded by the commitments of the Good Friday
(Belfast) Agreement and by the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In practical planning
terms, it has been informed initially by the consultations conducted between 2003 and 2005, in which POBAL participated
on behalf of Irish and which culminated in the Language Arts Policy 2007-2012. With the passage of time, POBAL produced
a Strategy for the Arts 2009 which is viewed by ACNI as the basis of future action in the [Irish] sector.
The Policy 2007-2012 document defines Irish language arts thus:
Those art forms that are directly related to the Irish language, with particular emphasis on creative writing in Irish and
Irish-language theatre.
The document also recognises:
Overlap between Language Arts and Traditional Arts, and that practitioners in related art forms may regard themselves
as working in the Language Arts.
It defines Traditional Arts in the following manner:
Associated with Language Arts are traditional arts [sic] such as music, dance and storytelling that have their genesis
in the various cultural influences that have impacted on the arts activity practised by the people living on the island of
Ireland over centuries and are clearly identifiable as being rooted inGaelic Ireland and/or Gaelic Scotland.
But demarcates clearly:
Specific support for Language Arts.
Interestingly, no mention is made of oral traditions in Irish such as libn (rhyming verses/ditties, usually funny, interchanged
between two speakers).
The document also refers to a steering group to plan and oversee developments in the Language Arts between the Arts
Council and the two agencies for Irish and Ulster-Scots which form An Foras Teanga, the N/S Language Body.
Current policy (on the ACNI website) speaks of a deepened commitment to an area which has gained a new importance
in matters of identity, belonging and creativity. To this end, while continuing to fund arts organisations, the Arts Council
now funds sectoral development through POBAL, the Irish language umbrella organisation and an Arts Cultural Development
Officer with the Ulster-Scots Community Network.
POBAL and the Arts Council (ACNI)

The October/November 2011 newsletter of POBAL refers (in Irish) to their continuing development strategy for the arts on an
all-island basis particularly as a mechanism for the delivery of the Irish curriculum in both jurisdictions; in awareness-raising
of the arts in Irish and on the development of a multi-disciplinary action programme (within a limited budget).
These aims arose from the previous consultations and the three-year arts strategy devised by POBAL during 2009 and were
assisted by the addition to staff of the post of Irish Language Arts Co-ordinator, advertised in May 2010 and made possible
through Arts Council funding. Implementation of the strategy began in August 2010.
During the research that led to the arts strategy, respondents were highly supportive of the development of a specific arts
strategy and a literature programme for Irish-medium education. The latter resulted in the production of two CD resources
for A-level Irish (the play and poetry content of the syllabus at that time) with funding from the Arts Council and later to a
conference for school authorities in Newry in May 2011 to explore the development of an Irish arts strategy in education.
Marketing and branding of Irish language arts continues as does support to cultural centres.
Consultation
POBAL continued the consultation aspect of its advocacy work through commissioned research, meetings and questionnaires
North and South in the preparation of the arts strategy the organisation produced in 2009. This, and similar consultation
towards the Framework for a Strategy for the Irish Language, were conducted between 2009 and 2012.
Interestingly, the definition of Irish Language Arts for the 2009 commissioned research is that agreed by the Irish language
community in 2004 and differs somewhat from that of the Arts Council:
The Irish Language Arts are any art forms practised through the medium of the Irish Language. They can be in a contemporary
or traditional form, formal or informal.
Funding for the Arts in Irish

As the main funding agency for the arts in NI, the Arts Council itself is funded from two sources, the Exchequer and the
Lottery. It funds both individual artists and organisations through various schemes, small grants, annual funding, and (in
some cases) recurrent three-year funding. The following information has been extracted from the Councils published lists of
funding. Since these are based on the finance year for awards, they may not always coincide with the actual year when the
award was made. The published lists include awards to individual artists practising their art through Irish, awards to local
branches of Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann (traditional music, song, dance), awards to local small festivals (file). Examples of
awards for writing in Irish include the publishers (of retelling of illustrated myths for children) An tSnthaid Mhr-DragonFly
Press established in 2005, (2012-2013: 10,000); the magazine An tUltach (2010-2011 16,000); Irish Pages, literary journal
established in 2002, may have bilingual or all-Irish issues. The table shows larger established grant awards.
ACNI Funding for the Arts in Irish

Recipient
Aisling Ghar Theatre Company
Year
Award
2010-2011
67,320
2011-2012
67,320
Project funding
Cultrlann McAdam Fiaich (Belfast)
14,595
2012-2013
79,618
2010-2011
161,290
2011-2012
161,290
Project funding
An Gaelras (Cultrlann, Derry)
An Droichead (Belfast)
15,580
2012-2013
177,534
2010-2011
137,000
2011-2012
137,000
2012-2013
143,850
2010-2011
40,000
2011-2012
44,350
Project funding
File an Phobail (Festival, Belfast)
4,760
2012-2013
49,110
2010-2011
123,000
2011-2012
123,000
Project funding
POBAL (umbrella organisation)
25,000
2012-2013
147,000
2010-2011
25,000
2011-2012
25,000
Project funding
1,810
2012-2013
25,905
IRISH IN OTHER DOMAINS OF COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL LIFE

RELIGION
The Churches
Context
In recent years, there have been a lot of inter-church contacts in NI. On 10 May 2009, Roman Catholic Cardinal Brady
(Armagh, Primate of All Ireland) attended a Eucharist service in the Church of Ireland Cathedral of St. Patrick in Armagh.
The service marked the closure of the Church of Irelands General Synod. Next day, he was the preacher at a service of
thanksgiving in Trinity College Dublin chapel. Both occasions were firsts for a Catholic cardinal. A new Irish inter-church
Peace Project, largely funded and managed by the EU Peace Programme, is planned for Spring 2013 between the Church of
Ireland, Methodist, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic churches in collaboration also with the Irish Council of Churches.
An article in The Irish Times (20 October 2009) points out that the 2004 Irish language edition of the Book of Common
Prayer of the Church of Ireland contains a prayer for the Royal Family that is used in Northern Ireland. In the Republic,
the prayer is for the President. The article also mentions that a delegation from the Church of Ireland met with NI Unionist
politicians in early 2009 to discuss another approach to the Irish language, given the negative messages on the language from
some Unionist party members. The submission from the delegation argued that having an interest in the Irish language need
not be at variance with either Protestantism or Unionism, but rather that links could be made through with other Celtic
language communities in the United Kingdom, such as Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, and Manx Irish.
In September 2011, the first Sinn Fin party Ardfheis (Annual Conference) was addressed by a Presbyterian churchman, who used
Irish in beginning and concluding his speech, and bestowed a Celtic blessing on the participants. He referred to the fundraising help
received from the deputy First Minister for the First Derry Presbyterian Church and to the attendance of the First Minister at the funeral
Mass for a Catholic member of the PSNI who was murdered, praising them both for their gestures to churches other than their own.
Nevertheless, most studies still show that sectarianism persists in NI. In June 2010, the Moderator of the Presbyterian
Church spoke of statistics from the PSNI showing a rise in sectarian incidents between in the previous two years: this reached
over 25% in 10 of the 26 Councils (outside Belfast). The opening to consultation of the long-awaited document from the
Office of the First Minister and the deputy First Minister on Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (CSI) in 2010 met with almost
sustained criticism. It was found particularly wanting in that it proposed the ending of several bodies (Community Relations
Council, Equality Commission, Human Rights Commission) as if they were no longer needed while simultaneously basing
proposals on what would still be two separate communities rather than a shared society.
Religion, identity and language still tend to be bound up in sometimes stereotypical fashion in Ireland, particularly in
NI. Some of these issues are explored in new publications: Outside the Glow: Protestants and Irishness in Independent Ireland
(Heather Crawford, 2010) and A Political History of the Two Irelands: From Partition to Peace (Brian Walker, 2012). A Centre
for the Study of Irish Protestantism was established in the National University of Ireland Maynooth. The theme of the Centres
first annual conference in 2011 was Shaping Identities.
In Armagh, the Centre for Christian Celtic Spirituality is another source of inter-church activity. Among these events was
a conference in early June 2012 on the illustrated Lindisfarne Gospels of the 8th century by a speaker from the scriptorium at
Holy Island, Lindisfarne. These Gospels belong to the Golden Age of Celtic Irish culture.
The significance of church contacts and examples of emphasis on aspects of Celtic culture or on even occasional use of
the Irish language by Protestant churches lies in the gradual normalisation of such views and events in the situation of NI.
This, in turn, creates more possibilities for more widespread acceptance of the Irish language in society and in policy as well as
recognition of a shared heritage to be enjoyed by all who wish without fear or favour.
All the churches face common problems North and South, particularly with regard to the secularisation of society. In another
way, however, it is this same secularisation, specifically among the young, which is breaking down social barriers and leading to
a more tolerant liberalism which is open, for example, to Irish in the education system in NI, not altogether from a principled
viewpoint but stemming more from a laissez-faire approach. Another common problem for the churches is in State aid for
education, in particular in the South (where Protestant numbers fell after independence but are now increasing as a result largely
of newcomers from African states), and in transfer changes to second level in the North (where Catholic numbers are increasing).
Religion and language in the 2001 and 2011 censuses

Religion, politics, a two-community society and the prospect of a United Ireland tend to be intertwined in NI as already
discussed in other sections above. Cross tabulations on religion and language will not be available from the 2011 Census
until March 2013. The following table extrapolated from the results shows the relative strength of the different churches from
Census 2011. The census question distinguished two categories: religion as stated and religion or religion brought up in.
NI Census 2011: Religion

Catholic
Presbyterian
Church in
Ireland
Church of
Ireland
Methodist
Other
Christian
Other
religions
No religion
Not stated
40.76%
738,033
19.06%
345,101
13.74%
248,821
3%
104,380
including
Other
Christian
5.76%
0.82%
14,859
10.11%
183,164
6.75%
122,252
The overall figures for stated religion give a difference of just 1.34% between the professed 40.76% of Catholics and the
42.1% total of respondents of the combined four Protestant and other Christian Churches. The numbers for the combined
Protestant and Other Christian Churches is 698,302. This represents a difference of less 39,731 with the total number of
Catholics. The combined figures of those either not stating, or of no religion, at 16.86%, almost 17%, (305,416 respondents)
makes for uneasy reading for the churches and is indicative of a more secular and changing society. Whether this translates into
less societal tension is questionable, however, given the attachment to other symbols of identity. In fact, given that 183,164
respondents state no religion under the category on religion, while 101,169 responded none under the extended category
religion or religion brought up in appears to indicate an increase of some 81,995 respondents.
NI Census 2011: Religion or religion brought up in

Catholic
Protestant/Other
Christian Churches
Other religions
None
45.14%
817,385
48.36%
875,717
0.92%
16,592
5.59%
101,169
The gap between numbers of Catholic background and those of the Protestant tradition is 58,332 or approximately 3%. It was
noted (The Irish Times, 12 December 2012) that this was the first time that those of the Protestant tradition had fallen below
50% of the population. It was also noted that while the Catholic community had increased by 1%, the Protestant community
had decreased by 5%.
As already commented in several sections above, the Catholic community has not only increased and the Protestant
community decreased, but the age profile for Protestants is older given the evidence from the numbers of school, college and
university students where Catholics outstrip Protestants at every level of the system.
Religion and employment

Given the history of NI, religious bias in the matter of appointments is taken very seriously. In July 2011, the Minister for
Culture gave figures for the religious composition of staff in NI offices of the two agencies that comprise the language body,
An Foras Teanga. There is no legal requirement for information on the community background of employees in the South
where both agencies have offices, the Ulster-Scots Agency a second office in County Donegal, the Irish language agency its
headquarters in Dublin.
The figures for NI offices in July 2011 were:

Protestant
Catholic
Foras na Gaeilge
Ulster-Scots Agency
12
As noted above, unemployment tends to be higher among Catholics than among non-Catholics in NI.
Services
This Guild is preparing to celebrate its centenary in 2014 through helping to provide more opportunities for use by those
Church of Ireland members with an interest in the language through a 3-year plan begun in 2011. The plan focuses on use
of Irish in church services, through initiatives in schools and across dioceses. Implementation of this plan is assisted by the
appointment of a full-time Irish language development officer supported by a voluntary committee.
For the first time, An Cumann had a stand at the Church Synod in Armagh in May 2011. The outcomes were very positive.
The Archive of the Month for March 2012 of the Representative Church Body (RCB) Library in Dublin was devoted to the
interesting background of the rendering into modern Irish of Lireach Phdraig in 1915. This version of the ancient prayer,
the Breastplate of Patrick, was provided at the request of the Cumann by the later first President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde.
Around the saints feast day in 2012, services in Irish were held in the cathedrals in Dublin, Cashel, Limerick, Waterford; in
Killorglin (bilingual service) and in Belfast (St. Georges).
East Belfast Mission

The Irish Language Group of the East Belfast Mission also have the services of an Irish Language Officer funded by Foras na
Gaeilge. The Group conducts Irish language classes attended by over 50 people from the local community and plans are afoot
for an Irish-medium Mother-and-Toddlers group and a possible preschool group, depending on local interest. In January
2013, the Officer spoke at a well-attended seminar on Irish, the hidden language, organised by the Shankill Womens group (in
a Protestant area) with assistance from the Cultrlann (situated in a Catholic area).
Education
Protestant Irish-speaking staff of the Ultach Trust (Iontaobhas Ultach, Belfast) conduct very successful awareness-raising courses
on Irish language and culture in Protestant schools in NI.
Publications
The Jesuit publication, Timire an Chro Naofa (Sacred Heart Messenger), is open to authentic material on religious matters
from whichever source. The Presbyterian minister, Ruth Patterson, contributed a stimulating article to the Winter 2007
edition on the ecumenical foundation, Restoration Ministries.
SPORT
Sports associated with Cumann Lthchleas Gael (The Gaelic Athletic Association, GAA) continue to be central to Irish language
and culture activities in NI. In 2009, a tree was planted at Stormont for the 125th commemoration of the founding of the
GAA. The Poc Fada (Long Puck/Shot) competition with sliotar (ball used in hurling) and hurley (stick used in hurling) of the
annual File an Phobail (Community Festival) organised by Belfasts Gaeltacht Quarter has been held since 2010 in the grounds
of Parliament Buildings, at Stormont. It is now titled An Poc ar an Chnoc (The Puck on the Hill) and celebrities compete for
the Edward Carson Trophy in front of his statue. He played hurling himself, apparently, as a student in Trinity College Dublin.
Camogie (womens hurling) and hurling by children also feature on the same day in the same venue, surrounded by Irish dance
music and song.
A cross-community team from schools took part in a tournament in the US in 2009, called the Belfast C Chulainns, after
C Chulainn, legendary figure of the Ulster saga. The boy Stanta was also named Hound of Culann, for being so fleet of foot
that he could catch the ball when hit in a poc fada before it reached the ground. The skill is still an essential part of any hurling
game. Nevertheless, in October 2010, questions were raised in the Assembly on the aims of the GAA, which in the view of the
DUP Members question and the reply of the (then) DUP Culture Minister prevented Unionists from joining an association
which promoted a united Ireland. The Basic Aim (sic) of the organisation is stated thus:
the strengthening of the National Identity (sic) in a 32 County Ireland through the preservation and promotion of
Gaelic Games and pastimes.
The Queen, however, paid an official visit to Croke Park in Dublin during her Irish visit in April 2011, although not all GAA
followers in NI approved. In January 2012, the DUP First Minister attended a GAA match for the first time, stating that it
was in the interests of ending the them and us mentality and showing respect for each others traditions. In 2008, the then
DUP Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure (which includes sports) had done likewise.
The 2011-2015 NI Budget included investment in the redevelopment of existing stadiums for sports, GAA, football and
rugby. Since 2002, the strategic plans of both the GAA and the Ulster Council of the GAA spoke of the expansion of Casement
Park in West Belfast. In February 2012, the NI Executive granted over 60 million to invest in the project. Actual construction
will hardly begin, however, until 2013 since design within budget and the duration of the construction phase have to be
considered.
There are and have been many Irish speakers in the Ulster Council, including presidents. Following the establishment of
a football team of Irish speakers in Dublin, matches were arranged (November 2010) in NI between players from Armagh
and Tyrone who were Irish speakers with the same end purpose in mind. Since 2007, Irish-speaking teams from the Belfast
Gaeltacht Quarter have been allowed to participate in Comrtas Peile na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Football Championship).
An interesting challenge was presented to the Ulster annual conference of the GAA in October 2011 by a Presbyterian
churchman who, in his address, urged the GAA to take on a leadership role in de-politicising the Irish language in NI. He
compared the situation of Wales to NI; in Wales he viewed the Welsh language as no longer being a political issue. The GAA
response (as reported in the media) said the organisation was up for the challenge of ensuring that the Irish language become
a shared language. Support for a Irish Language Act was reiterated.

In July 2013 a new sponsorship programme by the GAA Ulster Board was reported. Entitled Gaeilge sa Chlub, it provides
for adult students of Irish. Financial assistance is provided for GAA members who embark on the Diploma in Irish Language
course at the University of Ulster.
The president-elect of the GAA, Aogn Fearghail, who will take office in early 2015, has been very active on the Ulster
Council of the GAA and is particularly supportive of its outreach cross-community schemes. He is a primary school principal
in Cavan.
POLITICAL PARTIES
The stance on the Irish language of the various political parties in NI has been given above under Assembly Elections 2011
and Irish. References have also been made in several other sections throughout the text as appropriate, e.g. Attitudes, Budget
2011-2015 and the ensuing Draft Strategy published for consultation by D/CAL (July 2012), Public signage.
In Gaelic games and in Irish traditional music, the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) and Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann have
always operated in an all-Ireland context as have many of the Irish language voluntary organisations. The local clubhouses or
other facilities of these organisations will be for community use, forming a community nexus of cultural and linguistic continuity.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): PHYSICAL RESOURCE CENTRES
4.6.20 Dedicated resource centres should be developed where a critical mass of speakers exists. Such centres might
include theatre space, coffee shops and restaurants, bookshops, offices for Irish language organisations,
internet centres, historical materials, meeting and conference rooms, display areas, and research and
development start-up units.

Several such multi-faceted resource centres are already in existence. Belfast appears well served, in comparison with Dublin.
In South Belfast, An Droichead (The Bridge) serves its local community through a variety of services (which won it the Glr na
nGael major award). Between September 2010 and 2011, major refurbishment at a cost of some 1.7 million was carried out
on the Falls Road , West Belfast cultural centre, Cultrlann Mhic dhaimh- Fiaich in time to celebrate 20 years of activity.
Funding came from several sources: two government departments, D/CAL and Social Development; two public agencies,
the NI Arts Council and the NI Tourist Board; and over .5 million from the International Fund for Ireland. The building
now houses a bookshop, theatre, arts space, restaurant, community radio, news online and various organisations including a
production company. It is an economic hub as well as a community resource. It was officially opened on 19 September 2011
by Mary McAleese, a Northern woman, then President of Ireland.
In Derry, the same range of services are provided in Cultrlann U Chanin (An Gaelras) which opened in September
2009 and cost 4 million. The building had to fit in an awkward space but the ensuing design garnered several awards for its
architects. It was given specific recognition by the Architectural Association of Ireland (2010); was shortlisted in the public
buildings category of the international competitions of the World Festival of Architecture and represented Ireland at the
Venice Biennale 2010; was the first building in NI to be shortlisted for the Riba Stirling prize of the Royal Institute of British
Architects (2011) among the list of outstanding buildings. In the popular vote conducted, it came a clear second.
In Newry, the McArdle Family presented a house to the local Conradh na Gaeilge. Newry and Mourne District Council
were willing to put up 100,000 to help convert the building for cultural and heritage aims but the locals had to find the rest
of the funding for Gaelras Mhic Ardghail an Iir from 2010. By early 2012, refurbishment was ongoing and funding had been
secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund to employ a Heritage Development Officer.
In South County Down, Teach na Mara (Sea House, owned by the Newry and Mourne District Council), in the th na
Long (Annalong: literally Ford of Boats) harbour, was opened in early 2012 with funding from the Southern Organisation
for Action in Rural Areas and with practical operating support from the Irish Development Officer with the local Conradh na
Gaeilge branch. Mother and toddler sessions were already in action.
In other parts of NI, local buildings (schools not in use or halls) serve the same purposes for their communities: Armagh,
Carntogher (County Derry), Strabane (County Tyrone) and the bilingual T Chulainn in County Armagh among them. One
of the latest community resource centres was opened in September 2012 through the combined efforts of the Ballysaggart Area
Community Association (which includes local GAA clubs and Irish language activists) to renovate a derelict building with
some public funding on the Lisnahull Road in Dungannon. Titled An Seansiopa (The Old Shop), it will promote the culture of
the area both old and new and serve both young and old. All the placenames in the preceding sentence derive from Irish: baile
(town/townland); sagart (priest); lios (ring-fort/fairy dwellingplace); dn (fort). Most local language development groups, as
described in the next section, will have some locally based centre even if the level of services to the local community may vary
from place to place. Classes in Irish tend to be the beginning, then as the community of speakers increases, services expand to
preschools, schools, and cultural activities, with the assistance of local Irish Development Officers where these are found.
LOCAL GROUPS
While the local clubhouses or other facilities of all-island organisations such as the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) and
Comhaltas Ceoltir ireann (Irish traditional music) and many of the Irish language voluntary organisations will be for
community use, forming a community nexus of cultural and linguistic continuity, it tends often to be the local planning
groups formed through Glr na nGael committees that form the basis of local linguistic projects. This is largely the approach
described in the D/CAL Strategy below. District Council or voluntary organisation Development Officers (where these exist)
also play a crucial role in creating coherent networks from dispersed speakers, actual or potential.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): LOCAL LANGUAGE PLANS/INITIATIVES
4.6.12 Language planning initiatives should be developed to create language communities / networks. These will be
in communities that have achieved a basic critical mass (i.e. where sufficient Irish speakers live / work / use
services) to ensure the sustainability of projects of community and State support for the Irish language, such
as childcare facilities through Irish, IME schools, second level education through Irish, Irish language youth
clubs and other services, including mother and toddler groups, Irish language religious services.
4.6.13 Foras na Gaeilge should provide support for such language planning initiatives. Foras na Gaeilge will also
continue to support Irish language officers within local authorities and it is important that the role of these
officers is developed and built upon; indeed, in those council areas that have yet to appoint Irish language
officers it is important that this is addressed.
4.6.14 The aim of a local language plan should be to draw together local people and public / voluntary groups
to facilitate the use of Irish locally. This should be achieved through increased co-ordination and public
awareness of existing activities. The approach should be to map and identify Irish language vitality in
the local area and supplement this by a language audit process which will identify ongoing strengths and
weaknesses and provide time-series evidence of the impact which language-related policies and reforms
would have on actual language use.
4.6.15 Local language plans will;
create social conditions that will nurture positive attitudes towards Irish and an increase in its general use;
mainstream the use of Irish as a medium of social and institutional communication; and
emphasise the close relationship between language and attitudes which relate to quality of life issues, the
environment and the local economy.
4.6.16 A
key role of local Irish language plans should be to foster learning and language usage opportunities across
schools and between individual schools and recreational, trade, library, community activities and adult learning.
4.6.17 Local language initiatives should include the establishment of onestop community shops to:
provide advice to new parents who wish to raise their children bilingually;
offer guidance on the range of Irish medium educational opportunities which are available;
assist public and voluntary organisations who wish to increase their use of Irish; and
encourage businesses who wish to offer a bilingual service to their customers.
4.6.18 Activities could focus on providing or enhancing social and learning opportunities for children and young
people to use their Irish outside the classroom in a range of cultural, social, leisure and sporting activities.
The D/CAL Strategy provides an action plan, as it were, for local planning initiatives. The group to give impetus to such a plan
and provide the energy to implement it must, however, first exist. Foras na Gaeilge is mentioned in relation to Irish Officers in
local authorities. The funding of Officers for local voluntary initiatives has the same significance, if not more, since a group of
voluntary workers cannot be expected to do more than provide the policy; staff of some kind will always be required to ensure
implementation, continuity and sustainability. Otherwise the investment of time and energy may be diluted if not lost.
Scim Phobail Gaeilge 2011-2013, where Officers are funded by Foras na Gaeilge, followed previous such community
development schemes. The process of application is quite comprehensive and many more applications are received than can
be funded. Applications are made by groups North and South. Of the all-island total of 19 schemes funded for the 20112013 three-year cycle, 12 had been funded in the previous cycle (some marked below with asterisk). However, no guarantee of
continued funding is given beyond the duration of any particular scheme, employment is by the local committee but within
the salary range permitted by Foras na Gaeilge. Posts must be advertised and even if the same Officer from the forerunning
scheme is successful, the salary begins again only at the permitted level. This level is generally the same across all schemes. The
targets of the submitted plan must be met and the language agency works with the local group to ensure success.
Foras na Gaeilge: Scim Phobail Gaeilge 2011-2013 (NI)

County
Scheme
Funding
Antrim
An Droichead Teoranta
202,375
*Antrim
Cumann Cultrtha Mhic Reachtainn
209,031
Antrim
Ionad Ubh Eachach
124,665
Antrim
Cro anna
156,568
Antrim
Glr na Mna
152,500
Armagh
Cairde Teoranta
168,872
*Derry
Coiste Forbartha Charn Tchair (An Carn)
198,803
Down
Boirche ochtar (Conradh na Gaeilge)
118,319
Down
Glr na nGael, Uachtar Tre
143,901
*Tyrone
Gaelphobal Cheantar an tSratha Bin
170,492
Tyrone
Cairde U Nill
152,310
Total
1,797,836
This current list gives some indication of the many local language development groups operating across NI. To these may be
added Pobal an Chaistil (Ballycastle) in North Antrim.
ECONOMIC LIFE
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES AND FUNDING
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): SPECIAL DEVELOPMENT AREAS
4.9.2 Gaeltacht areas should be considered for support as a generator of local economic development. For example,
the Gaeltacht Quarter project for West Belfast, the rural South Derry Gaeltacht in Carn Tchair.
The local economic role of the two cultural centres in Belfast and in Derry have been mentioned above, Physical Resource
Centres. The concept of Gaeltacht or Irish speaking community has received new attention in the period 2007-2012. This has
occurred through the 20-Year Strategy for Irish in the South with the redesignation of Gaeltacht in more than solely territorial
terms as a community with a local development language plan and the addition of a new category of urban network community
based on a critical mass of supportive language structures (e.g. schools). However, this thinking had first been given concrete
expression through the efforts to ensure a Ceathr Gaeltachta gor Gaeltacht Quarter in conjunction with the Queens, Titanic
and Cathedral Quarters in the city of Belfast and later through the community language regeneration project of the former
Irish speaking area in the countryside of South County Derry, Carn Tchair. The Belfast project began around 2002 and has
official approval. However, the exact boundaries of the Gaeltacht Quarter were not delineated by the Development Committee
of Belfast City Council until October 2012. Of six political parties on the Committee five (Sinn Fin, SDLP, Alliance, UUP,
PUP) voted in favour of the area designated while the DUP abstained. A company had been established by representatives of
the local community including business to market the Quarter and the physical infrastructure is well founded.
Along the same lines of ensuring a local physical focus for community linguistic endeavour, in April 2010 a limited
company with charity status was established to disburse official funding of 8 million to capital projects involving the Irish
language, since Foras na Gaeilge cannot provide capital funding. The company is Ciste Infheistochta na Gaeilge (Investment in
Irish Fund). It has a board of seven (largely from the Sinn Fin party). It was officially launched in December 2010 in Derrys
Cultrlann, where it has offices.
This funding is part of the 20 million funding (additional to local revenue) pledged in what was described as a side deal
during the Hillsborough Castle Agreement on devolution of policing and justice to the Assembly (January/February 2010).
The remaining 12 million was intended for the ILBF for a further four years after 2011.
EMPLOYMENT AND ADVERTISING
PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): SERVICES AND SIGNAGE
4.9.1 P
rivate sector companies should be encouraged to develop services through the medium of Irish and use Irish
language signage.
Some private sector companies in NI already provide services and advertising of those services in Irish. Some operate fully
through Irish having usually been established by Irish speakers, e.g. cafes. Others may offer services through Irish to Irish
speakers, e.g. legal or consultancy services. Advertising in Irish by State agencies appears confined to some government
departments of the Executive and dictated by political party policy. These advertisements may appear in Irish or English
language media. The responsible Minister may be called to account by Unionist colleagues in the Assembly on the cost and
efficacy of such advertising. The appearance of Fermanagh District Council in bilingual format on council vans evoked the same
type of response. The agency NI Screen uses Irish in relation to the Irish Language Broadcast Fund (ILBF). Local regional Irish
language development groups, as well as the urban cultrlanna (cultural centres), while funded, may have to operate in ways
closer to the private sector ethos to ensure sustainability. These too offer services and advertise those services through Irish.
Local groups may encourage local businesses to attract Irish speakers through some promotions or advertising through Irish;
a recent example was in the erection of Irish signage in a third of the shops in Coalisland, County Tyrone, encouraged by the
local Irish language group, Cairde U Nill (Friends of ONeill).
An interesting co-operative for young people, Na Croisbheala (The Crossroads), was established in Belfast in 2011 on
the lines of the Basque and Catalan social and socialist centres. The philosophy centres on the connections between language,
culture, economy and socialist politics. All members must be speakers or learners of Irish. The group operates a cafe during the
day and various activities at night for members and potential members.
A new private company, Gaelchrsa, emerged from the training courses (I dTreo na Fostaochta, Towards Employment)
which had been provided since 1999 by the development organisation, Forbairt Feirste. Launched in March 2012, the company
provides training through Irish for young people from age 16 to 20 to enable them to find employment in the Irish sector. The
company is a recognised training provider. The launch in the Belfast Cultrlann was attended by the Minister for Education,
the Mayor of Belfast and a representative from INVEST, the NI regional economic development agency which also supports
businesses.
In November 2010, Forbairt Feirste itself launched a new EU forum, Gaeltique, with the aim of creating a network to
identify common marketing strategies for the unique products of minority language communities across Europe in a globalised
homogenous consumer world.

Several production companies emerged from the ILBF training and programme making. These now operate independently
offering bilingual services.
The recognition that language, economy and employment are linked is evident in most social ventures in NI.
AWARDS
The annual Aisling (Dream) Awards, promoted by the Belfast Media Group in collaboration with a range of business partners,
continue to recognise outstanding endeavour across seven domains. TG4 sponsors the award for Gaeilge (Irish). In November
2011, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) presented the Belfast Person of the Year Award at a gala event in the Europa Hotel, Belfast.
The Aisling initiative also awards educational bursaries from local businesses to young people to enable them fulfil their
dream of attending third level education.
THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

PUBLIC CONSULTATION (D/CAL JULY 2012): THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR
4.6.19 The local voluntary sector should have a strong role to play in the development of local language initiatives
and plans. Community groups, cultural and local sports organisations should also have a role to play. It is
important, therefore, that the sector is accorded a voice and an opportunity to contribute to policy at local
level, and that support be provided to groups that want to engage with the language at national and local
levels in line with the aims and objectives of this Strategy.
CONTEXT
This statement in the D/CAL Strategy for Irish, while echoing that on the voluntary sector in the 20-Year Strategy of the South,
appears slightly stronger. Neither strategy mentions Irish language voluntary organisations as such although in the Northern
Strategy some, at any rate, may be subsumed under the reference to the local voluntary sector. Nevertheless, without the work
over many years in various domains of linguistic activity across NI carried out by these voluntary organisations for Irish, the
base might not have existed for what has been achieved in recent years and what is promised for the future.

Some of the NI voluntary organisations are core-funded by Foras na Gaeilge (until end June 2014). They include Iontaobhas
Ultach, POBAL, Forbairt Feirste, Comhaltas Uladh, Altram. The custom has been for the latter to receive its funding through
FNT, the preschool organisation. Raidi Filte is also core funded as is An tisaonad (educational materials). The New Funding
Mechanism, as originally proposed by the language agency, and its probable effects on these and other organisations, have been
described above, Chapter 3 and Appendix, Funding for Irish language and culture, including NI reaction at voluntary and
political levels. The most cogent argument made by organisations in NI resides in the very real differences between the legal,
political, community and funding contexts within which the voluntary sector operates North and South. On the other hand,
an argument might also be made for forms of collaboration (as currently exist in the domain of immersion education) that
could work towards the aim of equalising the situation across the two jurisdictions, the legal and funding contexts receiving
initial attention.
ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVITY
Advocacy
- Iontaobhas Ultach (Trust), the cross-community organisation is the sole group which has members of the
Unionist tradition on its board and on its staff and works with the Unionist community, particularly in schools.
It has also produced position papers over the years on a range of subjects, including broadcasting. It publishes
on topics of mutual interest to both communities.
- POBAL as an umbrella organisation has conducted consultations that led to strategy papers on a range of areas:
Irish Language Act; Framework for a Strategy for Irish; Law; Arts; Special Education in Immersion Schools. It has
enlisted expert assistance from influential organisations around the world to the cause of legislation for Irish in NI.
Community
- Many groups in NI operate as local community groups enlisting assistance as required from established
organisations. Some have Development Officers funded through Foras na Gaeilge. Several have won the premier
award in the Glr na nGael competition, e.g. An Droichead (The Bridge) Belfast; Gaelphobal an tSratha Bin
(Strabane Irish Community).
Education
- Comhaltas Uladh (of Conradh na Gaeilge) encourages Irish as subject in English-medium education. It operates
a Summer College, a scholarship scheme, and makes an annual award to the school doing most for Irish among
its students. It also publishes the magazine, An tUltach.
- Altram works in the pre-school area, particularly in training and the production of appropriate materials.
Drama and Broadcasting

- Drama: Aisling Ghar and Abab (children)
- Raidi Filte (Belfast)
Development and employment

- Forbairt Feirste works on a variety of fronts to fulfil its aims of locating the Irish language in the socio-economic
life of the local community and vice versa. The list of activities includes: nurturing entrepreneurism, training
towards skilled employment for post-GCSE students, business with Irish schemes, a variety of local initiatives
throughout Belfast city, a European strategy for marketing of minority languages.
All-island organisations
- Glr na nGael (competition) and Conradh na Gaeilge have local groups in NI, some with funding which permits
employing a Development Officer.
- Gael Linn has operated in NI for many years, particularly in English-medium schools.
- Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge (for teachers of Irish) has a branch in NI, Comhar an Tuaiscirt. The organisation
collaborates with Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge in the production of appropriate materials for schools in NI.
- Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge, the Congress of organisations has NI organisations among the members of its
board.
- Gaelscoileanna, the core funded voluntary organisation operates in close co-operation with two arms length
educational agencies, COGG in the South and Comhairle na Gaelscolaochta in the North (both are Councils).
SUMMARY ON THE STATE AND THE VOLUNTARY SECTOR IN NI

Clearly, the importance to the Irish language of the many facets of the Irish language voluntary sector in NI cannot be
overestimated, particularly given the particular political circumstances pertaining. Without a bottom-up movement which
reaches out to both communities, and sustains its own, the climate for positive change could not be nurtured.
CONCLUSIONS
COMHTHACS AGUS CEISTEANNA 2008

AN GHAEILGETEANGA MIONLAIGH N TEANGA MHIONLAIGH?
Is mr an difear idir an d choincheap seo a ndanann simhi simpl amhin idirdheal eatarthu. Is teanga mionlaigh
an Ghaeilge. Is sin le r gur teanga neamhfhorleathan thaobh side in irinn faoi lthair, de thoradh iliomad cins.
Bfhidir a r, i dtarma an daonra, gur mionlach a labhraonn go laethil agus mionlach nos substaintila fs a bhfuil eolas
igin acu uirthi agus a bhaineann leas as an eolas sin de rir a gcumais n de rir na ndeiseanna cu side a lorgaonn siad n
a gcuirtear ar fil dibh.
N teanga mhionlaigh an Ghaeilge, fach. Nl trithe mionlachais ag baint li. Is an teanga nisinta agus d rir
is an chad teanga oifigiil . Is teanga oifigiil de chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh . T ionad aici i ngach rimse den saol agus
tacaocht Stit d rir, bodh sin mr beag, toilteanach n amhalairt. T b fhormhr an phobail li. T stair fhada nisinta
agus idirnisinta aici agus litrocht mar an gcanna. Is cuid dinneach agus dfh na timpeallachta thuaidh agus theas: sloinnte
agus logainmneacha, stair agus treolas, seanchas agus finscalta, creidiint agus traidisiin, fealsnacht agus meon. Go fi
Barla sainiil na hireann, n as eispireas Bharla Shasana a fisceadh ach as eispireas teanga agus cultr na Gaeilge go
promha (agus as sainteanga na hAlban i gcs na hUltaise). Cultr amhin sheachadadh tr dh theanga. An teanga dhchais
agus cultr bunaidh an chine ilsolraithe ag iarraidh teacht sln agus ag borradh anos tr gach callshaoth, ag saibhri roimpi.
Is fric iad gur teanga mionlaigh an Ghaeilge in irinn an lae inniu, thuaidh agus theas, ach nach teangamhionlaigh
. T de thbhacht leis an idirdheal seo anmeon a chothatear n is fidir a choth, oifigiil n pobail n pearsanta, maidir
le pleanil teanga ag leibhal an Stit n maidir le rogha side teanga de rir cide ag leibhal an tsaornaigh. Is do gach
saornach an Ghaeilge, n deis uirthi, agus is sealchas gach saornaigh chomh maith. Fgann san nach polasaithe teanga
do chainteoir irithe amhin sa daonra ba chir a bheith i gceist, polasaithe donmhionlach a bhfuil de chumas acu agus
ddh orthu deiseanna side go laethil a bheith acu, ach polasaithe idirdhealaithe don phobal tr chile, a aithnonn a gcuid
sainriachtanais agsla, polasaithe at oscailte agus ar fil do chch agus an tsaoirse ansin ag an indibhide a rogha fin a
dhanamh. Mar n saoirse go rogha.
AN POBAL TEANGA INNIU
Lirtear, fhigiir na ndaonireamh is dana, i dTbla 2.1, sa tbla a choimronn ptrin cumais agus side sa Phoblacht
(Tbla 2.8), agus sna tbla ar Thuaisceart ireann (Section 8, 2-3), tois reatha an phobail teanga in irinn ilghnitheach an
lae inniu. Cad deir siad linn?
Cumas sa Ghaeilge
N heol dinn na tortha daonirimh sa Phoblacht leibhal iomln cumais an fhreagrra n leibhal an chumais chainte a
bhfuil an cheist daonirimh bunaithe uirthi. Is g d rir leas a bhaint as fianaise fhoins agsla, suirbhanna is eile, dfhonn
measn a dhanamh ar chumas agus ar sid i gcs na teanga. Ar anmbonn sin, bfhidir a ireamh go bhfuil ardchumas
Gaeilge ag idir 6% agus 10% den phobal. Bheadh cainteoir dchais Gaeltachta san ireamh sa phobal seo. Cumas rasnta a
bheadh ag 2530%eile agus cumas ar scla sleamhnaitheach go dt sealchumas neamhghnomhach ag 3050% eile fs. Faoi
lthair, t ifeacht bheag irithe dhiltach ag comhdhanamh ilchultrtha an phobail i gcoitinne ar na figiir seo. Mar sin
fin, ba dhol spise na tortha daonirimh i measc daoine a rugadh lasmuigh den tr seo maidir le sid laethil (Tbla 2.7).
M thgtar an d dhlnse le chile, agus cumas a mheas i dtarma gnomhach agus neamhghnomhach, bfhidir a ireamh
go bhfuil eolas igin ar an nGaeilge ag duine as trir. N bhaineann den bhfric seo gur lucht scoile sciar ard den lucht cumais
seo n go mbfhidir gur lirimeoin at dearfach seachas liri cumais at gnomhach a bhonn sa bhfintuairisci. Is fric
dhoshanta an t-iomln go bhfuil bonn nach beag ann de thoradh polasaithe oifigila agus iarrachta deonacha go dt seo,
bonn ar fidir tgaint air, go hirithe maidir leis an bhfric dhosheachanta eile a lirtear, nach ionann cumas agus sid.
sid
C sideann an Ghaeilge? Dar le Daonireamh 2006, baineann suas le 75% den lucht cumais sid igin as a gcumas chun
labhartha; 27.4%go laethil sa chras oideachais amhin agus 46%lasmuigh den chras oideachais ar scla side laethil
go nos l. Sna grpa iarscoile, t leibhal gnomhach side laethil ar bun ag idir 3% agus 5% agus leibhal laethil go
seachtainiil ag 10%. Sna haoisghrpa le chile, t sa daonra beagnach 100,000 duine (97,089) adeir go bhfuil an Ghaeilge in
sid acu go seachtainiil lasmuigh den chras oideachais agus a chig oiread sin, 581,574 duine, a dhanann sin go hcidiil.
Suas le tr cheathrmilliin duine, 46%den lucht cumais, baineann siad leas igin as an nGaeilge acu lasmuigh den chras
oideachais. N raibh aon bhaile sa Stt a chlraigh freagra iomln diltachmaidir le sid na Gaeilge lasmuigh den chras
oideachais. Is lir,mar sin, an dshln do lucht cinnithe polasamaidir le leathn ar sid na teanga, dmbeol na deiseanna
side at ann, n a bfhidir a spreagadh, thar na haoisghrpa agsla.
Ina dhiaidh sin uile, lironn gach staidar staid leochaileach na teanga sa Ghaeltacht, go hirithe i measc na ngrpa is
tbhachta don todhcha: tuismitheoir agus daoine ga. Is anseo at an dshln ism at roimh an bpobal traidisinta fin
agus roimh lucht polasa. N fidir aghaidh a thabhairt ar an dshln sin, fach, i gcins idirsplecha dlthila, cultrtha,
sochtheangeolaocha agus eacnamaocha an lae inniu, ach amhin i gcomhthacs comhcheangailte pleanla do phobal an
Stit agus do phobal an oilein tr chile. Nmr sainmhnithe a aimsi a bheidh solbtha ach fs daingnithe ar phrionsabail
shoilire ar na coincheapa Gaeltacht agus tumoideachas n an Ghaeilgemarmhen. T giniint cainteoir teaghlaigh ag
gilleadh in aghaidh an lae don ghiniint trd an gcras scolaochta amhin. Is lir an baol. C gur morilt bheo an Ghaeltacht
a bheith fs ina beatha,ms ar igean , bfhi i gcna taighde ar na ciseanna a gcasann cainteoir Gaeltachta ar anmBarla in
cid neamhfhoirmila side.
Ar ndigh, mar chnamh do lucht polasa, nor mhiste beacht breise a dhanamh ar an gceist daonirimh agus an cheist
channa a bheith in sid thuaidh agus theas. Faoi lthair, sna hathruithe is dana a rinneadh sa d dhlnse, lorgatear eolas ar
na cumais ghnomhacha agus neamhghnomhacha sa cheist daonirimh i dTuaisceart ireann fhaid is a dhrtear sa Phoblacht
ar chumas cainte amhin agus ar mhinicocht side i dtarma ama. Tagratear do lucht cumais mar chainteoir c go bhfuil
26%dobh nachmbaineann aon leas as an gcumas acu. Ba chruinne an t-eolas tuairima bheith ar fil ar na hcid side
chomh maith leis an minicocht side. Ar ndigh, bfhearr fs do lucht polasa eolas n amhin ar cid side mar at, ach
mar a dfhadfadh a bheith, ach iad a bheith ar fil do chainteoir. Is ansin at an dshln, sid a dhanamh den chumas.
Faoi lthair, is lonmhaire iad na deiseanna side dibh sid nach gcomhairtear sa daonireamh in aon chor, lucht tuisceana
amhin, lucht na scileanna neamhghnomhacha. T acu raidi, teilifs, nuachtin, iris agus leabhair. Seans go mbeadh ceist
chomh hidirdhealaitheach rchasta don daonireamh. Seans gurb oirina mar cheist don suirbh itiil pobail, it a bfhidir
plean gnomhaochta a thgaint ar na tortha dfhonn freastal ar na leibhil agsla cumais agus side go lognta, ar scthn ar
anmicrileibhal iad dmacasamhla go nisinta, agus na leibhil sin a ard de rir a chile. T a dtbhacht fin ag na scileanna
neamhghnomhacha agus n cir daoine ag an leibhal sin a fhgaint as an bpriseas normlaithe side den Ghaeilge. Ba lir
sna tortha Daonirimh leibhil nos airde sna ceantair n sna bailte a raibh struchtr igin tacaochta teanga ar fil.
Nl aon amhras ach go bhfuil toradh fnta le feiscint trd an Daonireamh ar pholasaithe oideachais an Stit, polasaithe
maidir le sealbh na Gaeilge. Rmhinic, fach, is faoin earnil dheonach a fgadh solthar deiseanna side don chumas a
sealbhaodh sa chras oideachais. Is m an toradh a bhonn ar an bpleanil chomhthite, na hearnla oifigila, deonach agus
pobail ag comhoibri ar bhonn chomhlntach le chile, ar leas gnithe uile chomhthacs sochtheangeolaoch an phobail
lognta.
POLASAITHE AN STIT I LEITH NA GAEILGE
Forbairt
Is lrnach an rl a bhonn ag Stt an lae inniu i saol an tsaornaigh, bodh sin ag an leibhal nisinta n itiil n trd na
gnomhaireachta agsla a chuirtear ar bun. T dualgas ar an Stt d rir i dtaca leis na teangacha a ndantar cumarsid leis an
saornach iontu. T teacht ar an nGaeilge go pointe irithe ag an saornach sa Phoblacht sna rims oideachas, mein, riarachn
poibl, dl. Is tearc iad fs, fach, na hcid poibl a mbaineann ionadaithe poibl leas as an nGaeilge, le heisceachta irithe.
N amhin nach ndantar sid den chumas ach nach mbonn formhr polaiteoir ina n-eiseamlir ar a gcuid polasaithe fin.
Lirigh go leor suirbhanna nach tr Ghaeilge a dhileladh gnomhaireachta poibl le muintir na Gaeltachta fin. Ina theannta
sin, m bh an Ghaeilge mar theanga seirbhse don phobal gann, is beag m bh s ann in aon chor mar theanga oibre sa chras
poibl, i dTithe an Oireachtais n sa chras poibl i gcoitinne. Ina dhiaidh sin uile, c go bhfaightear locht ar an gcpla focal,
bonn a thbhacht fin ag an siombalachas mar athdhearbh comhthacsa agus is fearr ann n as .
Thosaigh an Stt nua le fuinneamh agus chuir ts le polasaithe don Ghaeilge sna rims sealbh, corpas agus stdas ag
ama bh suaite go polaitiil agus gann ar airgead. De rir a chile, fach, dirigh amhrasach ar a fhs fin, go dt na seachtid,
uain ar tharlamar a bheadh athinstitiidi irithe ar an gcras tacaochta teanga agus ar aghaidh ansin isteach samhlaois nua
le hacht Acht na dTeangacha Oifigila 2003 agus stdas oifigiil don teanga i lthair na hEorpa 2004. Sna rims oideachas
agus pleanil corpais is lire an iarmhairt ar iarrachta an Stit. I gcoitinne, t de thoradh ar an iomlnmeon dearfach a bheith
ag 70-75% den phobal (suirbhanna), cumas mhaomh ag 41.9% den phobal (Daonireamh 2006), agus sid cuosach
rialta den chumas sin ar bun ag 10-12% agus ag 3-4% go
laethil. N beag sin c gurbh fhidir a cheapadh ar uairibh gurb an Ghaeilge an acmhainn is teirce sid sa tr. T norml
ag dul ar aghaidh, fach. T an Ghaeilge ina cuid chinnte den chlr polaitiil anois agus an fheasacht phoibl i bhfad nos airde
nmar a bhodh, bodh sin de thoradh na teilifse n na reachtaochta n iarrachta deonacha n luas an idirchultrachais.
Chabhraigh gnomhartha oifigila n mbarr anuas leis an norml seo chomh maith le hifeacht na hearnla deona chun
an bh phoibl a mhscailt chun gnmh: Treo 2000 ar an nGaeilge i gcoitinne agus Coimisin ar an nGaeltacht; Fram
na Gaeilge; Riteas an Rialtais 2006; Coiste Rialtais 2007 de thoradh an taighde is dana ar an nGaeltacht;maoini don
Straitis 20 bliain don teanga a bheith luaite sa Phlean Forbartha Nisinta 2007-2013 agus, ar ndigh, Foras trasteorann don
Ghaeilge. Ba an sampla ab fhearr den norml seo, agus an eiseamlir ab ifeachta, an bealach a ndearna an Taoiseach nua
(Bealtaine 2008), Brian Cowen, sid phoibl denGhaeilge ag gach cid thbhachtach r thinig s in oifig. Ar an taobh eile,
t cimeanna bagartha fgraithe san oideachas (ciorcln 44/2007 dheas agus athstruchtr an chrais thuaidh) nach lir
fs iomln a n-ifeachta.
I dTuaisceart ireann, feictear dh dhearcadh chontrrthacha. Ar thaobh amhin, t athruithe mra chun feabhais le
sonr i gcs na Gaeilge ag an leibhal oifigiil agus ard sa mhaoini ar a cs at anois thar 20millin sa bhliain. Ar an taobh
eile, don chainteoir n don ghnomha, is pianmhar malltriallach an bthar chun cinn, ln de chasta agus de bhacanna gan
choinne gominic.N leor de chomhthacs reachtil a bhfuil fheidhmi faoi lthair de choimitmint Chairt Chomhairle na
hEorpa. T g leis an Acht don Ghaeilge a gheall an d rialtas (Westminster agus Baile tha Cliath) sa Comhaont a rinneadh
ag Cill Rmhinn 2006 agus le dearbh bunchearta teanga sa Bhille Ceart at ullmh. N cabhair go ndantar an Ghaeilge
a nascadh le Ultais ar thaobh amhin agus le cainteoir teangacha inimirceach ar an taobh eile. N cntach ach oiread an
dearcadh neamhfhabhril don Ghaeilge a nochtann polaiteoir irithe ar bhonn easaontais at polaitiil seachas cultrtha.
Bheadh deireadh lithreach leis an argint gur arm cultrtha an Ghaeilge ag pirtithe irithe d nglacfadh pirtithe eile chucu
fin an saibhreas cultrtha a bhfuil an ceart canna acu air.Mar ar deireadh, is ar bhonn a seasaimh mar theanga dhchasach a
chaithfear dileil leis an nGaeilge, ar a tarma fin, idir stairiil agus comhaimseartha.
An phleanil teanga
Aithntear an phleanil teanga mar chuid bharantil den phleanil a dhanann stit ar son folline a gcuid saornach. Is
aidhmlimar phleanil aitheantas cu a thabhairt do theangacha an stit agus na saornach agus noirm side teanga a leathn
dibh sid a dteastaonn uathu leas a bhaint as na deiseanna forbartha a sholthratear tr mhen reachtaocta agus struchtir
tacaochta agus maoinithe. Is lir, fach, gur fusa pleanil sna rims oideachais agus corpais. N fidir le gnomhartha rialtais
iontu fin sid teanga a chinnti mar ghlas ilchumarside idir dhaoine a mbonn ilspreagtha dtiomint, cultrtha/
id-eolaoch n praiticiil/ionstramach n meascn. Is mr an ifeacht ar dhearcadh agus ar rogha teanga duine iompar a
chomhleacaithe agusmeon namen.
Bonn plean straitiseach nisinta teanga bunaithe ar eolas taighde agus i gcomhar le pleananna eile stit seachas
comhthreormhar leo.Mar straitis, seans go gcuimseofar inti tionscadail chomhthite a mbeidh fo-aidhmeanna cinnte leo. Ach
n hionann tionscadal n sraith tionscadal agus forphlean comhthite. Nl easpa tionscadal ar an nGaeilge ach t forphlean
den chinel a shamhlatear anois sa Riteas Rialtais a rinneadh m na Nollag 2006. Gan chomhthth, cailltear ifeacht agus
dchas.
Pleanil agus bainistocht teanga ar bhonn comhthite

In ainneoin a bhfuil de struchtir agus de thionscnaimh curtha ar bun thar na blianta ar son na Gaeilge, t de chuma air
go bhfeidhmonn cuidmhaith dobh scartha agus beag beann ar a chile. T g d rir le formheicnocht igin ar bhonn
comhordaithe ach fs solbtha dfhonn an tairbhe is m is fidir a bhaint as a bhfuil ar sil ag an Stt agus ag an earnil
dheonach. T an toil pholaitiil agus an toil phoibl ag druidimnos cngara d chile. Feicfear anmbainfear an sprioc amach
tr Fhram na Gaeilge (a bhfuil ionadaithe air Thuaisceart ireann) agus trd an Straitis 20 Bliain. Nor mhiste tos le
liostil, le inichadh ar a bhfuil ar bun, idir iarrachta, gnomhair agus acmhainn.
Id-eolaocht
Is spisiil na hathruithe bime a shonratear in id-eolaocht teanga an Stit dheasmar a fheictear sin i ritis n i dtuarasclacha
poibl 1922 i leith: shimplocht dearcaidh an mhalartaithe teanga go dt athbheochan laistigh de dhtheangachas nr
mnodh go dt riteas na seascaid gur lir go mbeadh an Barla ina phromhtheanga chumarside lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht
go ceann tamaill fhada fs anuas go dt an riteas oifigiil is dana (Nollaig 2006) gur dtheangachas feidhmeach an aidhm.
Is coincheap seo ar chabhraigh lena fhorbairt an tuiscint ar an dbhascna a rinneadh sna seachtid.
Is fidir na hathruithe seo a leanint chomh maith sna beala a gcuirtear sos ar an aidhm nisinta i gcrsa reachtaochta,
dhoilire foclaochta gur dchas seachas raltacht at inti go dt riteas at nos soilire ach teoranta ar uairibh anuas go dt an
tarma traidisiin de rir mar a bh raltacht an Tuaiscirt ag br ar an meon polaitiil go dt an saol dtheangach agus rogha
an dtheangachais fheidhmigh d rir a mbtear ag tagairt d anois. Is sin, staid a shroichint a mbeidh oiread daoine is is fidir
ar a gcompord sa Ghaeilge n sa Bharla inti agus oibleagid ar an Stt freastal ar a rogha teangacha.
I dTuaisceart ireann, tthar ag brath fs sa saol polaitiil ar reachtaocht lasmuigh, Cairt Chomhairle na hEorpa, agus
moill curtha athuair ag an Rialtas intre dul i ngleic le reachtaocht tacaochta don teanga dhchasach.
PLEANIL DON SEALBH TEANGAAN GHAEILGE SAN OIDEACHAS
An Ghaeilgemar bhar curaclaim

Is gn lrnach den phleanil teanga an Ghaeilge sa chras oideachais maidir le coth meoin, forbairt cumais agus dshraith
d rir a leagan don sid ach cid cu a bheith ar fil. In ainneoin athruithe irithe ptrin, t an catadn dalta a dhanann
staidar ar an nGaeilge go leibhal na hArdteistimireachta (aois 17/18) ag fanacht teann agus a dtortha scrduithe le moladh.
Nor mhiste, fach, taighde fadtarmach ar thortha mar bhonn le polasa. T an-ghanntanas taighde ar an nGaeilge sa rimse
oideachais. In ainneoin tionscnaimh irithe tacaochta do mhineadh agus dfhoghlaim na teanga, is lide a n-ifeacht nach
cuid iad dfhorpholasa seachas freagairt dfhadhbanna n dileamh na huaire.
Sa phl go lir a tharla ar ionad agus ar churaclaimna Gaeilge ag an leibhal Ardteistimireachta n mar riachtanas iontrla
do Cholist (Ollscoileanna) Ollscoil na hireann, is ar igean a luadh an bhunfhadhb: easpa fse n riteas soilirmaidir le
haidhmeanna pholasa teangacha an Stit agus na hilbheala ar fidir na haidhmeanna sin a bhaint amach thar na scileanna
agsla teanga agus tr chointeanid solthair n bhforthumoideachas ar aghaidh. N mr idirdheal agus mni a sholthar
ar chiseanna cultrtha agus praiticila na Gaeilge san oideachas agus an dtheangachais fin, go hirithe do dhalta agus a
dtuismitheoir.
I dTuaisceart ireann, nl ionad lrnach ar an gcuraclamag an nGaeilgemar at ag anmBreatnais sa Bhreatain Bhig. Ba gh
troid ar a son riamh, trd an Ord Leas an Oideachais (Education Reform Order) 1989 agus trd an bpriseas comhairlichin
ar an Athbhreithnu Curaclaim a thosaigh 2002 agus ar chabhraigh stdas nua na Gaeilge san Eoraip ar deireadh leis. Is i
scoileanna Caitliceacha n comhlnanaithe is m at s ar fil agus ag an dara leibhal den chuid is m. Is sna gaelscoileanna
amhin at ionad statideach aici. I ngach cs eile, fgtar an rogha faoin scoil, agus sin mar chuid den dualgas an dara teanga
a thairiscint as liosta nuatheangacha ag an dara leibhal. Is ar an earnil gaeloideachais ism at an bhimsna struchtir nua
tacaochta, polasa nach ciallmhar ar fad go fill mar nl an earnil ln-Ghaeilge in ann solthar d cuid riachtanais fin fs
agus, p scal , n miste pleanil i dtarma solthar don Ghaeilge at ilghnitheach go leor chun freastal ar phobal leathan.
Oideachasminteoir
Faightear locht ar chaighden Gaeilge roinnt bunmhinteoir agus tthar ag lorg Coliste Oilina ar leith go hirithe do
scoileanna Gaeltachta agus ln-Ghaeilge. Dar le taighde, nl dalta na gnthbhunscoile i gcoitinne ag sroichint caighdein at
ssil sa Ghaeilge. Nl oideachas cu ar fil don bhunmhinteoir a bheidh agmineadh trmhen na Gaeilge (ach amhin sa
Tuaisceart) n don mhinteoir dara leibhal i gceachtar den d dhlnse. N riteach ar an bhfadhb , fach, aon ghluaiseacht i
dtreo sainsholthar do ghrpa irithe. Tuilleann gach dalta togha naminteoireachta.
An Ghaelscolaocht
Is i rimse na gaelscolaochta at an fhorbairt oideachais is m le feiscint thuaidh agus theas. Is sa Tuaisceart, fach, is fearr
an cras stturraithe tacaochta. Is ann dfhadhbanna polasa ag an leibhal Stit dheas agus dathstruchtr thuaidh. Ach
leanann an fhorbairt.
An Ghaelscolaocht sa Phoblacht (PB) agus i dTuaisceart ireann (T) 20032004

Bunleibhal
Dara Leibhal
Iomln
Scoileanna
Dalta
Scoileanna
Dalta
Scoileanna
Dalta
PB
121
22,558
31
5,460
152
28,018
28
2,061
481
31
2,542
149
24,619
34
5,941
183
30,560
Iomln

Bunleibhal
Dara Leibhal
Iomln
Scoileanna
Dalta
Scoileanna
Dalta
Scoileanna
Dalta
PB
126
22,915
33
6,132
159
29,047
31
2,405
585
34
2,990
157
25,320
36
6,717
193
32,037
Iomln

Don scoilbhliain 20062007, tuairisconn an eagraocht Gaelscoileanna go bhfuil clraithe li, i gcomhthacs uile-ireann:
Bunscoileanna 163
Scoileanna dara leibhal 38
Dalta 33,000
Nl ireamh ar ifeacht uileghabhlach na gluaiseachta seo.
Oideachas Gaeltachta
D bhfeidhmeofa in am cuid igin fi de na hilmholta a rinneadh le fiche bliain anuas i dtaca le staid mheascaithe scoileanna
Gaeltachta n d mba thuisceana ar an gcomhthacs teanga roinnt de na cinnt oideachais a rinne an Roinn Oideachais fin,
n bheadh tortha reatha taighde chomh duairc is at. N ionann sin is a r nach bhfuil a cuid fadhbanna fin ag an earnil
gaeloideachais. Seans, fach, go bhfirfeadh na ritigh channa cuid irithe de na comhfhadhbanna fhaid is a choimedfa in
aigne an sainchomhthacs sochachultrtha at ag an d shainearnil. T g fs le polasa comhthite maidir leis an nGaeilge sa
chras oideachais agus oideachas tr mhen na Gaeilge, bodh sinmar chad nmar dhara teanga, agusmuinn, as an teangamar
theanga, lrnachmar ghn.
An Ghaeilge ag an tr leibhal agus Ollscoil ln-Ghaeilge

T dlthbhaint ag an d choincheap le chile, an Ghaeilge mar ghort staidir acadil agus corp eolais theagasc tr mhen na
Gaeilge. Gan cruinntuiscint ar a bhfuil i gceist le barr feabhais a bhaint amach sa d rimse agus sin suite i dtuiscint ar a bhfuil
i gceist, n ba chir a bheith i gceist, le hoideachas ollscoile, n bheifear ag freastal ar bhunriachtanais na teanga. Faoi lthair,
is m dearnil breisoideachais at i gcoitinne, le roinnt eisceachta, san earnil oideachais tr leibhal tr Ghaeilge. Thar aon
n eile, nl fs n forphlean Stit ann don earnil gan trcht ar shainfhoinsemaoinithe. Faoimar is for faoin oideachas fin, is
cointeanid at i gceist le crsa na Gaeilge sa chras: lne leannach n nGaeilge mar bhar go dt an Ghaeilge mar mhen; n
nGaeltacht go dt an iar-Ghaeltacht; n naonra go dt an saoloideachas; institiid go dt an saol lasmuigh dobh; rimse
an oideachais go dt na rims cultrtha, sisialta/pobail, eacnamaoch.
ilonn a leithid de thuiscint a chmhaith de phleanil chomhthite, a bhfuil a phromfhreagracht sa Roinn Oideachais. Is rl
tacaochta amhin ba chir a bheith ag gnomhair eile n beifear ag ligint don phromhghnomhaire a shainrl a aisghairm.
AN PHLEANIL STDAIS
Cuimsonn an phleanil stdais raon leathan den ghnomhaocht dhaonna: craoltireacht, na mein, an fhoilsitheoireacht, na
healaona, na healaona traidisinta, oidhreacht, cid n ionaid ceilirtha na ngnithe agsla. T a sainionad fin ag cultr
na Gaeilge i ngach gn den saol cultir agus ealane, idir shaintraidisinta agus comhaimseartha, chomh maith le lucht leanna
tiomnaithe dibh. Nl de theorainn le rochtain uiloch orthu ach easpa poiblochta n margaochta n creidiint irithe gur
srchainteoir amhin a bhainfidh leas agus forthaitneamh astu. Nor mhistemar sin cur chuige nos cuimsith agus nula
bfhidir chun cur leis an rannphirtocht nos leithne at ag tarlint de thoradh suimnamen.
Mar an gcanna, nl aon ghn den ghnthshaol eagraithe nach bhfuil ionad ag an nGaeilge inti, fi ms ar leibhal seal sin
n teoranta do ghrpa irithe laistigh deagraochta. Is ann i gcna don nasc idir an teanga agus an tsocha, fi ms tana ar
uairibh an nasc canna. Ar an gcuid is l de, t tuiscint ann dionad na Gaeilge i gcomhthacsanna eagraithe den saol sisialta,
fi ms ag uain irithe a tharlaonn sin n de thoradh iarrachta ag baill irithe. T sin le sonr i gcrsa reiligiin, polaitochta,
spirt, agus in eagraochta nisinta.
Is an rud is suaithins, bfhidir, sa d dhlnse, gur de thoradh brghrpa deonacha is m a tharla polasa agus maoini
oifigiil le blianta beaga anuas dan-chuid d n-irtear mar ghnithe den phleanil stdais agus an streachailt sin fs ar bun
i dTuaisceart ireann. Leanann na dshlin: easpa litheoir d scrobhtar; easpa pobail fachana don drmaocht. Ach is
fadhbanna an phobail teanga scaipthe iad seachas fadhbanna ealane n teanga per se. Riteodh plean comhthite itiil laistigh
de phlean nisinta cuidmhaith dobh.
EARNIL NA HEACNAMAOCHTA
Fi san earnil fhuarchiseach seo, t ionad ag an nGaeilge, tr thionscail a bhaineann leis an teanga n mar sholthar don
phobal teanga. Spisiil go leor, t coslachta nach beag idir an cur chuige Gaeltachta agus an cur chuige i dTuaisceart ireann
san earnil seo: cruth postanna agus deiseanna fostaochta tr mhen na Gaeilge do chainteoir, athnuachan agus forbairt
pobail. Comhththatear crsa teanga, oibre agus ealaona ar son an phobail itiil. Ar ndigh, is fusa an cur chuige seo laistigh
de phobail dhlth nisinach an Tuaiscirt.
AN EARNIL DHEONACH
Braitheann an phleanil n an bhainistocht teanga ar dh chinse: iad sd ag an mbarr agus ag an mbun a bheith araon ag
gabhil don ghn. T an-chuid ag brath d rir ar chinel an choibhnis agus ar na modhanna comhoibrithe idir taobh an Stit
agus taobh an deonachais, agus ar a sainrlanna comhlntacha.
Dfhonn pleanil chomhthite a chur chun cinn, ar leas cch, t g le grpa comhordaithe at ifeachtach neamheaglach
neamhleithleasach. T buns a leithide sa bhFram dheas. Nl thuaidh fs. N cir, ar ndigh, struchtr a chur ar bun ar
son struchtr a chur ar bun. Ba gh ramhmhachnamh ar chomhdhanamh agus ar ghort oibre aon struchtir. Chuige seo, nor
mhiste ramhinichadh, i gcs na Gaeilge, ar a bhfuil dacmhainn ag feidhmi cheana fin sa tr ar fad, Gaeltacht agus eile:
eagraochta agus forais, tionscadail agus foireann chomh maith lena gcuid aidhmeanna agus feidhmi praiticiil na gcuspir
acu. ilonn cur chuigemar seo beacht roimh r ar chritir na hifeachtlachta a mbainf leas astu don mheastireacht ar
fheidhmi. Is critir ar bhonn oibiachtil seachas de thoradh fintuairisce a bheadh i gceist. Ba chir go gcrochnfa le larscil
cuibheasach soilir a lireodh c bhfuil an phleanil, c bhfuil an maoini agus cad chuige, c bhfuil an feidhmi, c ar a son
a bhfuiltear ag feidhmi agus c hit sa tr a bhfuiltear ag feidhmi n c gceaptar a leithid sin go lir a bheith ar bun. N
hionann i gcna tuairiman ghnomha agus tuairim an t a bhfuiltear ag gnomh ar a shon. Lireodh s chomh maith an
comhthreomharachas n an comhoibri chomhmaith leis na sumheanna ina bhfuil lucht pleanla ag iarraidh feidhmi sa
ghort agus cn bhearna is cis leis sin. Chuimseodh an t-inichadh sin an earnil oifigiil agus an earnil dheonach. Mura
ndanfadh, norbh fhi tabhairt faoi. D ndanfa i gceart , le cabhair sheachtrach neamhsplech ar na gnomhair fin,
chrochnfa n hamhin le heolas cruinn ach le creat ceart dfhonn tionscadal na teanga a chur ar bhonn follin. Faoi lthair, in
ainneoin na dea-oibre, is m de bhainisti garchime is fidir a tharl, n freagairt don dea-smaoineamh aonair is dana. T
comhthacs nos substaintila de dhth chun an leas ceart a bhaint as a bhfuil ar sil ar son na Gaeilge agus omh nisinta a
sholthar d. Seans go dtarldh athruithe d bharr. Is ansin at an baol a ghabhann le cruinneolas. Ach glactar leis gur ar son na
Gaeilge seachas ar son aon eagraochta ar leith a bhtear ag saothr. C ndantarmeasn riosca faoi lthair ar son na Gaeilge?
Is chun leasa ceachtar taobh agus chun leasa an phobail teanga go dtgfa comhstruchtir pholasa agus fheidhmithe don
d dhlnse, ach comhrlanna a bheith an-bheachtaithe n ts. T ionad tbhachtach ag an bpleanil agus ag struchtir san
athrimni teanga. Is i dteannta na dograise agus an idalachais is fearr iad, fach.
ACHOIMRE
AN GHAEILGE AR DHROIM TOINNE!
CONTEXT AND ISSUES 2014

GENERAL
The general context in which language and official policy for language operates underwent rapid change between 2007 and
2014. In both the Republic and in NI, once powerful political parties ceded place to others. Politically, the issue of normalisation
of relationships between North and South reached the agenda. Matters of the economy, fiscal policy and austerity measures
took over the political and public discourse, more in the Republic than in NI. Terminology such as value for money, efficiency,
effectiveness dominated. All publicly funded agencies or organisations became targets for cost cutting measures and worse. For
many reasons, public confidence in structures of authority, including the Roman Catholic Church, appeared to wane. On the
other hand, a new and more confident attitude emerged towards cultural affairs in general.
A new question on national identity was asked in the 2011 census in NI. Arising out of the combined results across the
various options supplied, the following picture emerged:
British
Irish
NI Irish
English
Scottish
Welsh
Other
48.41%
28.35%
29.44%
1.00%
0.52%
0.10%
3.42%
Overall, these results were taken to indicate that the concept of a united Ireland is not immediately urgent for the population
of NI as a whole. The precise meaning of the appellation NI Irish to those who chose it provoked some debate.
At official level, publication of the final version of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 in the Republic
and the Draft Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language in NI (July 2012) appeared to
presage a more structured and co-ordinated approach to language planning. The possible outcomes remain difficult to predict,
however, given that both depend highly on political will and direction.
The tenacity of Irish language organisations and structures which had emerged from the bottom up was evidenced in
several commemorations which took place towards the end of the period under review, during 2011-2013.
An Timire (Jesuit magazine): 100 years in existence in 2011
Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League): 120 years established in 2013
Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge (Congress of Organisations): 70 years in 2013
Comhar (magazine): 70 years in 2012
Gael Linn (organisation): 60 years in 2013
RT Raidi na Gaeltachta (begun by committed group in the Gaeltacht; later mainstreamed as part of national
broadcast system): 40 years in 2012
Raidi na Life (community radio, Dublin): 20 years in 2013
IDEOLOGY AND POLICY
The statement on Vision in the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 indicates the current Government position
on the language:
The objective of Government policy in relation to Irish is to increase on an incremental basis the use and knowledge
of Irish as a community language. Specifically, the Government aim is to ensure that as many citizens as possible are
bilingual in both Irish and English.
While the 20-Year Strategy constitutes, on the one hand, a statement of the official position, other actions in relation to Irish are
indicative of political intent. The two do not in all cases appear entirely compatible. The gravity of the changes made to the
Official Languages Act including the initial threat to the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga are hardly cancelled out by whatever
structural progress has occurred with regard to the official framework for the eventual operation of the 20-Year Strategy. The
account given by An Coimisinir to the relevant Oireachtas Committee on his various reports seemed more indicative of an
uncaring than of an enabling State, as evidenced by his resignation announced in December 2013.
In the case of Northern Ireland, the consultation document issued in July 2012 by the Minister for Culture, Arts and
Leisure, Strategy for Protecting and Enhancing the Development of the Irish Language, is quite comprehensive and fairly inclusive
with regard to the needs and demands of the Irish community. Whether it will reach all communities is, however, being
questioned. Feedback from the consultation and subsequent decision by a fairly divided Assembly will show how much of
a consensus will emerge from what are conflicting ideologies. Despite much discussion around the concepts of integration,
cohesion and sharing, NI is still not a non-divided society. That a Strategy for Ulster-Scots was also on public consultation
may prove of benefit when political decisions come to be made. An Act for Irish in NI is still an aspiration years after it was
first mooted in spite of sterling preparations at grassroots and voluntary level. In the NI Strategy document, the Vision is in
three parts. However, it cannot yet be taken as official Executive policy and is more aspirational at this point of its evolution.
VISION
2.1 In its Programme for Government 2011-15, published on March 12 2012, the Executive [of the NI Assembly]
recognised the importance of local people setting priorities for the future and seizing the opportunity offered by
devolution to deliver a shared and better future for all our people.
2.3 This Strategy recognises the Irish language as a valuable part of our shared cultural heritage. The creation of a
climate of tolerance and dialogue is necessary to enable our cultural heritage and cultural diversity in general to
be a source and a factor, not of division, but of enrichment for our society. The Strategy will therefore seek to
promote wider understanding of the background to the language across all sections of our community.
2.5 The Irish language should be respected as part of our shared diverse cultural wealth, to be enjoyed by all who
choose to use it.
ASPECTS OF LEGISLATIVE, POLICY AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION 2007 ONWARD

In the Republic, probably the most salient factors to note during the period are firstly, the attempt to provide some inclusive
over-arching approach, through what was termed a Strategy rather than a Plan, towards reaching a critical mass of daily
speakers by 2030 of a kind that would ensure the future of Irish. Secondly, there is, however, an underlying implicit if unstated
belief that this critical mass, if reached, would most likely comprise networks of speakers even in Gaeltacht areas, rather than
communities in the traditionally accepted sense of that term.
The third point to be noted is what appeared to current speakers and to the Irish lobby to be the lack of urgency in
embarking on the task of implementation of the Strategy in a co-ordinated fashion using all existing resources. Instead, in
2011-2012, a period of inaction interspersed with various announcements on changes to the Strategy ensued, accompanied
by delays which caused uncertainty (e.g. the future of An tdars, appointment of CEO to that agency, decision on board
members). In addition, proposed funding decisions by Foras na Gaeilge in relation to the Voluntary Sector appeared to curtail
the independence and breadth of activity on the ground of organisations whose work at that level would be crucial to the
success of the official Strategy.
Lack of momentum and even of information as well as lack of follow-up appeared to many to arise from political
disagreement on the way forward rather than from the evident lack of financial resources. Enthusiasm waned on all sides. It will
not be easily retrieved given the atmosphere engendered by continuing uncertainty and ambivalence. Absence of commitment
to the language, or understanding of its rle in society, on the part of the Government as a whole was feared by the Irish
lobby, despite the evident zeal of some. This was further reinforced by three legislative changes to the Official Languages
Act 2003 which were considered to have weakened its import and reduced the status of the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga.
More significant still was the delay of the Department responsible in seeking or confirming language schemes so vital to the
functioning of the Act and to the authority of the Office of An Coimisinir Teanga, as was put before the relevant Oireachtas
Committee by An Coimisinir as he sought to [create] a new space for the language in the public administration system of the
countryas one element of the States language policy which complements the language in education, in the arts, in Gaeltacht
life and in Irish life generally. That An Coimisinir resigned was seen as a telling indictment of State inaction.
Fourthly, while a degree of legislative legitimacy was given to the concept of local language planning through the Gaeltacht
Act 2012, it was almost simultaneously negated by the bestowing of chief responsibility for this onto local voluntary groups,
whether in the Gaeltacht, in Gaeltacht towns or in places outside the Gaeltacht. The same Act appeared to place the obligation
for language maintenance squarely on speakers and community with no more than an authoritative inspection rle with
regard to their efforts by the Department and an assistive rle for the State agencies, An tdars and Foras na Gaeilge, three
entities whose task is, in fact, inter alia, language maintenance and development. It is not clear whether these bodies will also
participate in the language planning courses proposed for the voluntary planning groups in the Gaeltacht Areas.
Fifthly, while the Strategy was top-down and the local plans bottom-up, an active rle for State agencies (including
Education), directed by the State, in providing services to citizens is lacking in the criteria accompanying the Priseas Pleanla
Teanga (Language Planning Process).
Finally, in place of collaborative planning and effort by State and community, a new more dictatorial official policy appears
to have been fostered by the cost cutting demands of the new fiscal reality, a policy that may - to its cost - be ignoring not only the
insights of those more intimately engaged with language in society but the benefits of equal collaborative democratic structures.
With regard to actual implementation of the Strategy, the following has been accomplished. However, to many it seems
that the losses in language planning terms still outweigh the possible profits.
- A quite elaborate internal structure (committees, staff) has been put in place at official level to ensure delivery
of the Strategy. Unfortunately, their deliberations have not been made available to the various actors on the
ground so that the results to date have shown little obvious articulation in the eyes of the Irish-language
community.
- The areas of Legislation and Education, as described above and below, have included not only pluses and
minuses, but unhelpful ambiguities (Education).
Unfortunately, to Irish speakers these proposals and subsequent decisions appear more a weakening than a strengthening of
political resolve on behalf of the future of the Irish language if not a gradual erosion of elements of the existing support structure for
the language under the guise of necessary cost cutting measures. The view is that short-term expediency, particularly if underpinned
by no clear vision or commitment, may have irreparable future long-term consequences. Hope and trust are traits that bring nations
through difficult times. On the evidence of surveys and responses to recent referenda, these are on the wane among citizens in
general. The same appears to be true of Irish speakers with regard to officialdom and the Irish language, an unwelcome development
in what had been a much more positive stage in fairly recent times. A clear and unambiguous statement of State and Government
commitment to the language and to action on its behalf by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) would be welcomed within a framework
which clarifies the official thinking behind the various apparently unconnected policy decisions of recent times in the area of
language. Irish speakers and Irish language interests have declared not only their wish to participate fully with State interests in
implementation of the current Strategy on the ground, but their understanding of current straitened circumstances.
Matters were not improved by what was termed the dispute between the funder, Foras na Gaeilge (which reports to, inter
alia, the North South Ministerial Council) and 19 core-funded organisations of the Irish language voluntary sector which began
around 2008 and did not reach resolution (of a kind) until January 2014. The problem stemmed from what was described
in the introduction to the 2009 Annual Report of the state agency as the rationalisation of the core funded sector although
rationalisation of the funding of the sector would be a more acceptable descriptor to the sector affected. The matter has had
rippling effects: public and political discussion became more frequent and at times polarised; scrutiny of costs and of results
from whichever quarter became more intense; positions had to be taken and clearly explained. In the end, the real questions
concern not money, not the power of money, not value for money, nor even the existence or the lack of partnership, but more
tellingly they concern the issue of the worth to the nation and to the two political entities on the island of Ireland of the entire
language revitalisation project and the possible loss through short-sighted approaches having unintended consequences of
the huge investment of time and effort that has been expended on the ongoing success of that language project. In the current
market-driven context, ways of safeguarding the investment should perhaps take precedence over other considerations. Such
an approach might more clearly illuminate both the policy and financial problems of both the State and the Voluntary Sector.
It is a moot question whether the solution eventually dictated in early 2014 of maintaining funding to six lead organisations
and letting the rest fall by the wayside will indeed produce the benefits to speakers and to the language so insistently declared.
Effective criteria appear to be lacking to measure either future success or to ensure valid comparison between past and future.
Existing legal and administrative provisions on behalf of Irish in NI, such as they are, at both central and local government
levels, have largely been conceded as a result of the Good Friday Agreement and the Charter of the Council of Europe. The
eventual publication for consultation of a Draft Strategy for Irish was welcome. However, implementation is a matter for
the NI Assembly in the future. At all administrative levels, support for policies for Irish is still highly dependent on the
political composition of the administrative entity concerned. This may well reflect the continuing lack of active acceptance and
implementation of what is described as community cohesion, sharing and integration (CSI), without which community-wide
language policies cannot flourish.
SPEAKERS: ABILITY IN AND USE OF IRISH

ABILITY
In the State
With regard to ability in the Irish language in the general population, Census 2011 results showed increases and decreases. Keeping
in mind, the census definition of self-reported speakers, the number of speakers has increased by 117,647 to a total of 1,774,437
since 2006 although the population percentage of speakers has decreased slightly by 0.5% to 41.4% (40.6% if those not stating
are included). Factors may include an increase in total population, immigrant numbers and an increasing school population.
In the Gaeltacht
Figures for the Gaeltacht show a percentage drop in speakers since 2006 of 1.3% although the actual number of speakers has
increased by 1,973, or just under 2,000, to 66,238 or 69.5% of the Gaeltacht population.
In Northern Ireland
The question on Irish is worded differently in the NI Census. The 2011 Census showed 64,847 persons professing knowledge
of the four linguistic skills, a drop of 10,278 on 2001 figures. However, 184,898 persons reported as having some knowledge
of Irish, an increase of 17,408. The overall percentage was 10.6% approximately. The official press release cited 11% as having
some ability in Irish in 2011 (compared with 10% in 2001).
USE
In the State and in the Gaeltacht

However, use of linguistic competence is an important criterion of vitality, daily use outside education in particular. This
remains disappointingly low although potential for improvement is evident if the appropriate policies were identified and
applied. While the percentage of daily users in the State appears low at 4.35%, the actual number of 77,185 persons is not
insignificant. Similarly, a third (30.4%) of those with ability use Irish daily in the Gaeltacht, 20,125 persons. If the weekly users
across the State, 110,642 persons, could be brought to daily use through very local planning, some 180,000 would be included,
not too far from the 250,000 daily users sought by 2030 in the Strategy.
Crux
However, speakers in relative isolation within a largely English-speaking environment constitute at best a network rather than
a supportive self-reinforcing and self-reproducing community. Despite the reported strength of favourable societal attitudes
towards Irish across the State, intergenerational transmission of the language, even by the dedicated, even in the Gaeltacht, is
largely a matter of conscious parental choice rather than a natural progression. It is also a continuing uphill struggle to maintain
Irish language sources of socialisation for children.
It has long been recognised that progression of the language to the next generation does not automatically occur in the case
of the offspring of parents outside the Gaeltacht who consciously chose to bring up their family through Irish. No more than
a small percentage of their offspring may do so and that often as the sole parent with Irish. This situation is now rapidly being
reached even in the Gaeltacht heartland.
Over 20 years ago, almost a generation ago, the sociolinguist Joshua Fishman noted, (Reversing Language Shift, 1991):
The time may have come to realisethat future RLS policy may require separate approaches and standards of
evaluation for different segments of Irish society.
From the policy viewpoint, it would appear that, at least in the case of the continuing convergence of Gaeltacht and the rest of
the State, it may already be too late for separate approaches since remedial policies were not implemented in the interim in
the Gaeltacht, despite no lack of reports.
The reasons for the linguistic choices made by community and individuals do not derive solely from societal support and
acceptance but also from the level and intensity of State and political support and backing. Ambiguity in this latter area may
have highly negative repercussions.
IRISH IN EDUCATION 2007 ONWARD

An assessment of developments in relation to the Irish language and the education system during the period 2007-2014
might well reach the conclusion that, on the whole, the debit column almost cancels out the credit column. In his address
on 23November 2012 (to the Annual Conference of Gaelscoileanna and Eagraocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta), the SecretaryGeneral of the DES listed some positive developments in respect of the Departments key areas for action:
Supply
- at primary level, increasing the supply of Irish-medium schooling and availing of the process of divesting of
schools, a process currently ongoing (contingent on parental demand);
- at second level, halving to 400 the threshold for gaelcholist from the 800 required in ordinary cases and
exploring other options such as units and streams;
Curricula
- revising Irish curricula at both primary and post-primary levels;
- providing an optional short course in advanced Irish for the Irish-medium sector;
Assessment
- compulsory in place of current optional oral component for the new Junior Certificate;
- DES fully committed to implementation of ambitious actions including availability of Irish-medium education
to all students whose parents wish to make that choice;
Teacher Education
- substantial change (level of Irish requirement at entry; content and duration of courses; Gaeltacht courses).

To those enumerated by the Secretary-General might be added:

-
recognition of Irish and Irish-medium education for purposes of the National Strategy on Literacy and
preparation of appropriate diagnostic test materials;
delineation of a core curriculum at second level junior cycle to include Irish;
Irish abroad
-
growth in interest and in number of courses, informal and at third-level institutions world-wide;
Third Level and Matriculation

- proposal from IUA (Irish Universities Association) to have examination towards matriculation requirement
in Irish and in Mathematics taken in fifth year of second level education (preferable to removing current Irish
requirement).
Gaeltacht schools
- A later address cited research on Gaeltacht schools to be completed by mid-2014 to assist communities in
their language plans under the Gaeltacht Act 2012.

However, among the other more negative aspects might be included:

-
proposals for change to school enrolment policy which could detrimentally affect Gaelscoileanna;
axing of third level scholarships for Irish-medium and Gaeltacht students;
- axing of grant towards Gaeltacht courses for trainee primary teachers;

- integration of COGG with NCCA;
- axing of allowances for teaching through Irish and in island schools;
- closure of small schools to the detriment of the language community;
- subsequent proposed amalgamations without due regard to pupils linguistic background or competencies;
- reduced funding for courses through Irish at third level and for Irish courses abroad;
- continuing rise in exemptions from the study of Irish;

- possible revision of proposed raising of entry requirement in Irish for teacher education but without any
significant remedial policy for the teachers already in the system;
- little progress on implementation of radical change sought in education in the Gaeltacht, although a study is
underway in relation to proposed language planning areas;
- revoking or changing of legislation and creation of new legislation in education without sufficient cognisance of
the needs or (previous) obligations relating to Irish;
- lack of defined overall policy for Irish in education or for languages in education;
- disappointing overview of the teaching and learning of Irish at every level (Chief Inspectors Report, 2013).
While the IUA proposal on satisfying the NUI matriculation requirement for Irish through examination in fifth year
appears positive if the alternative is axing of the Irish requirement for matriculation, nevertheless it once again raises the as yet
unanswered question of the retention of Irish as a core subject up to Leaving Certificate level, a political issue for the Fine Gael
party but included in the 20-Year Strategy which is supported by Government.
Overall, it is the continuing air of uncertainty that surrounds policy for Irish in education that has proved unsettling.
Vision and integration of policy are not immediately apparent. Nevertheless, the Irish-medium sector, outside the Gaeltacht in
particular, continues to develop. The following information is provided by the various voluntary organisations for the school
year 2011-2012. The Irish-medium schools include the Republic and Northern Ireland.
1. Naonra : Total 2011-2012 in the 26 Counties of ROI

Total
Naonra
Sessions
Children
Staff
Gaeltacht
-----
82
1,000
137
Outside Gaeltacht
182
249
4,339
424
331
5,339
561
Overall Total
Over 5,000 children are currently in the Irish-medium preschool sector in the Republic.
There are currently (2012-2013) 46 Irish-medium preschools operating across NI as listed by the agency, Comairle na
Gaelscolaochta.
2. Irish-medium schools 2011-2012

2011-2012
Schools
Pupils
Teachers
PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
141
35
31,050
2,904
1,561 + 83 p/t
158
POST-PRIMARY
Republic
Northern Ireland
36
5 (at that date)
8,427
752
628 +151 p/t

69
OVERALL TOTAL
217
43,133
2,416 + 234 p/t
The organisation Gaelscoileanna additionally reports that currently (late 2012) with regard to schools and pupils in the
ROI outside the Gaeltacht:
- 4.4% of primary schools are gaelscoileanna;
- pupils in these schools comprise 5.9% of the primary school population;
- 4.9% of post-primary schools are gaelcholist or have Irish-medium units;
- pupils in these schools comprise 2.2% of the post-primary school population.
3. Gaeltacht Schools 2011-2012

Number of Pupils
Primary
7,302
Post-primary
3,145
Total
10,447
Unfortunately, despite recommendations in every major report and policy document, education in the Gaeltacht has not
undergone the radical changes identified as necessary although research is underway on this issue.
In NI, over 100 schools (of a total of 831) receive instruction in Irish under the Primary Language Programme. Of 216
schools at second level, 67 offer Irish to GCSE level and in the region of 50 to A level. In 2012, Irish with 51.6% grades of
A* - A was second on the list of subjects with best performance, placed between Further Mathematics and Mathematics and
ahead of German, French, Spanish.
While examination results are of a high standard, the offer of instruction in Irish requires to be extended if census results
are to improve or if Irish is to be an accepted part of education for all. The Extended Schools Programme includes Irish for
both students and parents. Collaboration at both official and organisation level is high between educational interests North
and South.
IRISH IN DOMAINS OF STATUS PLANNING

BROADCASTING
Legislatively, the Broadcasting Act 2009 covers a broad spectrum of activity. The Act also increased the portion of the television
licence fee allocated to the Broadcast Funding Scheme, administered by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI, established
by the 2009 Act), from 5% to 7%.
The Irish language did not escape the general financial problems of RT. From 43 new Irish-language programmes broadcast
in 2011 (29 of which were made internally), apparently no more than 28 were intended for 2012 (16 internally). It was hoped
that 12 programmes would be supplied by the independent sector, 6 each with assistance from the BAI Broadcast Fund and the
Irish Broadcast Fund in Northern Ireland. As a consequence, staff (8) in Ranng na gClr Gaeilge (Irish Programming Section)
were redeployed to other areas for the second half of 2012. Assurances were given that the Ranng (Unit) was not being shut
down, that one staff member would remain to ensure programming and contacts.
Towards the end of 2011, a consultant was appointed to report on Irish language provision, including operating structures
and cost, across the various television and radio stations of RT, with particular emphasis on possible rationalisation of the
news services of Raidi na Gaeltachta, TG4 and Nuacht . The commissioned report towards an internal policy on Irish was
published for consultation in 2012, An Bealach ar Aghaidh (The Way Forward), A Proposed Strategy for RTs Irish Language
Output. Following this report, a cross-departmental Head of Irish is to be recruited by RT.
In the matter of radio, as a result of various new criteria, the application from Raidi R-R was successful in mid-2012 to
broadcast on the digital platform through Irish to youth. In mid-August 2012, in acknowledging the role of media in capturing
a youth following for the Irish language, the Minister for State for the Gaeltacht announced a grant of 27,000 to Raidi R-R
for the purposes of developing studio facilities for digital audio broadcasting.
The service provided through the website www.cogar.ie maintained by Comhdhil Nisinta na Gaeilge began in 2005 and
has evolved over the years to what is described as a comprehensive information service (including job vacancies, industry news,
training courses) and networking resource for Irish language broadcasters on English medium radio stations, many of whom
present bilingual programmes. This website also provides comprehensive listing of Irish language programming nationally
across 54 radio stations, including RT Raidi na Gaeltachta. Digital applications have increased access for listeners no matter
where their location, even outside Ireland.
With regard to NI, Section 114 of the 2009 ROI Broadcasting Act lays obligations on RT to provide a comprehensive range
of programmes in the Irish and English languages that reflect the cultural diversity of the whole island of Ireland[bold added].
In February 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Television was signed by the UK and Irish Governments to ensure
a smooth switchover for TG4 in NI when analogue services ended in 2012. From October 2012, with the demise of analogue
television, TG4 was simultaneously available to all viewers across Ireland at no additional cost to the licence fee: in NI on Freeview
(UK) and on Saorview (Republic of Ireland) ensuring a totally all-island dimension to the television service. The Understanding
included joint ownership of masts along the border.
Raidi Filte in Belfast, although refused a license to operate across NI, continues to develop and has expanded into
training for other community groups.
The Irish language is in receipt of support from An Ciste Craoltireachta Gaeilge (Irish Broadcast Fund) and the Arts Council.
IRISH IN THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA
Given that youth is central to language revitalisation and that the electronic media are largely the preferred media of youth,
any developments in this domain are to be welcomed. Certainly, the Irish language is no stranger in cyberspace or in the social
media and expertise through Irish exists to ensure this continues. Use of the resulting services is, however, more difficult to
quantify. There is no doubt but that technology and the Irish language are easy companions and that the use of Irish in newer
technologies has greatly increased and become more normalised in the five years since 2007. A more unwelcome aspect of
cyberspace is the intrusion of spam specifically translated (often not very well) and directed at Irish speakers/users in Ireland.
A publication from UNESCO on linguistic diversity in the field shows an increase with regard to pages in languages other
than English from 25% in 2008 to 55% in 2007 with a corresponding increase in diversity of language users. Nevertheless,
despite all this undoubted activity, results of a study by the European research network, META-NET, were viewed as alarming
by the researchers. They found that most European languages are unlikely to survive in the digital age on the four criteria used.
Irish was judged weak in three (automatic translation, text analysis, availability of language resources) and slightly above that
in the fourth, speech processing. This rather gloomy analysis of many of our languages not yet future-proof was published on
European Languages Day, 26 September.
IRISH IN PUBLISHING
There can be no doubt about the volume, range and, in general, attractiveness of publishing in Irish, especially for children.
However the problems of extending the number of readers remains. Related to this are the problems reported with the
distribution agency, IS, and the lack of sustained marketing. Perhaps IS should in future become a joint central distribution
and marketing agency for publishing in Irish, with the required additional staff.
Regular reviewing is still absent but occasional reviewing has increased slightly in print, although television and radio
reviews are scant and decreasing. Nevertheless, new writers continue to emerge, the range of novels for adult readers has
increased, and innovative methods have been found of encouraging writing as a door to reading among the young.
Material in newspapers became more varied if still over-reliant on the education market. In the English press, Irish
continues to have a place, The Irish Times and others continue to show commitment. Magazines too are, in general, stimulating
and attractive most of the time.
There has been no lack of research and soul-searching seminars. If the way forward is to be technology-based, it will
probably have to go hand in hand with the traditional, if more expensive, methods to ensure the existing volume of older
readers is maintained. The decision of Foras na Gaeilge to cease funding the weekly newspaper, Gaelscal, by February 2013
left a gap. Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge, now Clr na Gaeilge in its transition from Department to Foras na Gaeilge, appears to have
changing times ahead of it. However, the most recent decision of the language agency to discontinue financial support for a
range of print magazines and online websites bodes ill for development.
Publishing in Irish, whether through new or old methods, will continue to require public subvention, sustained marketing
and effective distribution facilities. While the provision of funding is important, the continued voluntary input of dedicated
individuals and committee members cannot be forgotten.
IRISH IN THE THEATRE

In retrospect, provision for drama in Irish could be said to have improved slightly during the period 2007 onward. Several
companies both in the Connemara Gaeltacht and in Belfast are involved in a vibrant theatre for children based largely on
physicality and little text to ensure understanding across a range of language competencies. There are certainly more theatre
groups functioning through Irish and others open to operating through Irish at least occasionally. More practitioners are
interested in working in a more bilingual space and some are competent to do so. New ways of presenting theatre and language
have arisen from the challenges of working with youth. A whole new creative scene is now current particularly for younger
audiences. But much drama in Irish will still be of uneven standard and be confined to the smaller theatre spaces available. It
could be said that Belfast is better served than Dublin with regard to the infrastructure for theatre in Irish for adults or children.
Television series in Irish, North and South, made with access to funding through the BAI and NI Screen schemes has
helped to professionalise that particular aspect of drama as did the scheme of production development officers which was
funded by TG4 and dars na Gaeltachta.
The number of professional companies is quite small. Belfast has a dedicated theatre and the structure of a company that
operates on a fairly permanent basis, something lacking in Dublin. Even the national Irish-language theatre, An Taibhdhearc,
frequently works through other companies. The Abbey Theatre rarely mounts plays in Irish as the material is not available, in
its view. While funding is always an issue for the Arts, it is doubly so in the case of Irish since audiences will be smaller and
budgets for publicising events fairly minimal. Continuity of theatre performance is required to maintain a regular audience.
THE ARTS
The McCarthy report in July 2009 had proposed not only the possibility of ending the (then) Department of Arts, Sport and
Tourism under whose remit the arts came but also of abolishing both Culture Ireland and the Film Board. During 2009, in
the face of proposed severe cutbacks, both the Arts Council and the National Campaign for the Arts made a strong case for the
arts as not only reputation builder for a battered State but as a source of constancy for the nation in embattled times. Reduced
funding has had its effects, however.
The Arts Council in the Republic puts forward its policy of funding all genres on the basis of artistic merit and not on
language as a criterion. On the available evidence, one separate heading in the annual report and also a separate funding form
exist under Litrocht sa Ghaeilge (Literature in Irish). In addition, Irish writers may receive bursaries or participate in visits to
schools or act as writer-in-residence in third level institutions or bring literature into prisons. They figure among those in Aos
Dna. Literary and cultural festivals may be supported including Oireachtas na Gaeilge. The agency is active in youth literature
through LeabharPower. Publishers may receive assistance. The 2009 annual report refers to the Aon Chathair, Aon Leabhar
(One City, One Book) initiative with Galway City Council as part of its strategy for Irish-language literature. In April 2010,
the traditional oral arts, in Irish and in English, were discussed at a seminar in Galway. However, Irish language drama groups
feel that the Council leaves support in this area to other bodies, e.g. Foras na Gaeilge. Collaboration with dars na Gaeltachta
through Ealan na Gaeltachta appears to be the most successful and well-funded of the Arts Councils support of arts in Irish.
Partnership with TG4 in the Splanc (Spark) series of documentaries on the arts, in Irish or in bilingual format, now (2012) in
its seventh broadcast season, has also proved a successful venture on a jointly funded budget of 120,000. In the Republic, the
longstanding collaboration with local authorities may also benefit the arts in Irish through local Arts Officers and Arts Plans.
It was reported in February 2012, for example, that Cork County Council was disbursing 150,000 on a range of arts events
across the county, including in the Gaeltacht. The Arts Council collaborates on some areas with the Arts Council of Northern
Ireland in relation to arts in Irish.
In NI the Arts Council (ACNI) tends to take Irish and Ulster Scots together in its approach. The basis for strategic
planning for Irish and Ulster-Scots is two-fold. Contextually, it lies in the protection afforded by the commitments of the Good
Friday (Belfast) Agreement and by the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In practical
planning terms, it has been informed initially by the consultations conducted between 2003 and 2005, in which POBAL
participated on behalf of Irish and which culminated in the Language Arts Policy 2007-2012. With the passage of time, POBAL
produced a Strategy for the Arts 2009 which is viewed by ACNI as the basis of future action in the [Irish] sector. Both policy
and funding for Irish arts are clearly outlined on the website of the Arts Council of NI.
IRISH IN CULTURAL LIFE

A great deal of public discussion was devoted to the role and future of the cultural institutions in the Republic in the period
2008 to 2012. In many respects this has at its core the issue of whether these institutions are State institutions, or belong
primarily to the nation, to the people. The related issue then concerns who is primarily responsible for making what may be
grave long-term decisions on their future. Attempts to centralise culture was viewed as anti-democratic.
While funding cutbacks have affected many aspects of the contribution of the cultural institutions to the cultural life of
the nation, and while the impact of recent government decisions on governance may become apparent only in the future, the
turmoil and recent public discussion around cultural issues have served to re-awaken a sense of the importance of what is often
taken for granted, even if some see this only in the more utilitarian sense of making use of culture for other ends.
IRISH IN COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL LIFE

LOCAL GROUPS AND CENTRES
Irish in community and social life may appear to have been put on a more systematically planned basis through the 20-Year
Strategy and the Gaeltacht Act 2012. It remains to be seen whether the future results of such locally planned interventions
in certain areas will lead to a more widespread national effort from the bottom up, whether within or outwith the Gaeltacht,
on the model already in use by Glr na nGael and by groups who were successful in their bid for funding through the Foras
na Gaeilge Scheme. Meanwhile Irish continues to have a place, however tenuous, in most community and social endeavours.
Gestures towards the language, however, are no substitute for recognised embedding of Irish in all aspects of social life.
Intergenerational transmission of the language is heavily dependent on its presence in community life.
In NI, eleven local Irish language community groups in various locations benefit from funding through the Community
Scheme of Foras na Gaeilge together with one in Belfast (East Belfast Mission). The number of language resource centres
continues to increase.
CHURCHES
Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise (Irish Guild of the Church of Ireland) is preparing to celebrate its centenary in 2014 by helping
to provide more opportunities for use by those members of the Anglican Communion who have an interest in the language
through a 3-year plan begun in 2011. A Development Officer has also been appointed. The results are seen North and South.

With regard to the question on Religion or religion brought up in, the NI Census 2011 results show a gap between numbers of
Catholic background (817,385; 45.14%) and those of the Protestant tradition (875,717; 48.36%) is 58,332 or approximately
3%. It has been noted that the Catholic community has not only increased and the Protestant community decreased, but that
the age profile for Protestants is older given the evidence from the numbers of school, college and university students where
Catholics outstrip Protestants at every level of the system. The Irish Language Group of the East Belfast Mission also have
the services of an Irish Language Officer funded by Foras na Gaeilge. The Group conducts Irish language classes attended by
over 50 people from the local community and plans are afoot for an Irish-medium Mother-and-Toddlers group and a possible
preschool group, depending on local interest. Protestant Irish-speaking staff of the Ultach Trust (Iontaobhas Ultach, Belfast)
conduct very successful awareness-raising courses on Irish language and culture in Protestant schools in NI. Unfortunately, the
Trust, among other organisations north and south, lost its funding from Foras na Gaeilge in the recent rationalisation process.
In any event, NI-based organisations, such as the Trust and POBAL, were put outside the process since only organisations with
an all-island remit were to be considered.
SPORT
A goalkeeping coaching DVD in Irish was produced in 2010 with assistance from Foras na Gaeilge. It may be downloaded
from the GAA website.
Up to some 20 years ago, Dublin had what was probably the sole Irish-medium GAA club outside the Gaeltacht, in
the second-level school Coliste Mhuire. In late 2010, plans began to establish Na Gaeil ga (Young Gaels) in the capital.
Eventually, about 60 members signed up and up to 20 come to training sessions. The management include some former
members of the Coliste Mhuire team. In 2011, the club was the first Dublin-based club to take part in Comrtas Peile na
Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Football Competition).
IRISH IN ECONOMIC LIFE

Irish continues to strengthen its still weak position in the business and marketing world. Use of Irish is no longer unusual but
tending to be a deliberate choice often made on marketing criteria in a crowded market. Irish tends to be associated with the
current movements towards artisan home-produced products on the one hand and with the buy local or buy Irish (goods)
on the other. This could be both a strength and a weakness into the future. For the moment at least, however, there is no doubt
but that a certain, if minor, degree of normalisation is taking place in this domain of economic life both in the Republic and
in areas of NI. It could possibly be characterised as emphases on the local as source of difference and of identity, even of a
sense of some control at micro-level over events in a domain where Ireland is currently endeavouring to regain some control
at macro-level.
THE STATE AND THE IRISH VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Despite four years of uncertainty with regard to funding, and of a changing relationship between the Irish language voluntary
sector and the State, there can be no doubt with regard to the vital rle being played by the voluntary sector in maintaining
the language at the core of all aspects of social and community life, as evidenced in the various fields of endeavour: education,
youth, media, publishing, social media, family transmission, the various arts, sport, advocacy, business.
Clearly, the importance to the Irish language of the many facets of the Irish language voluntary sector in NI cannot be
overestimated, particularly given the particular political circumstances pertaining. Without a bottom-up movement which
reaches out to both communities, and sustains its own, the climate for positive change could not be nurtured. That the all-island
language agency, Foras na Gaeilge, apparently caused the possible demise of some organisations through its rationalisation
policy appears inexplicable, particularly in the context of NI.
ACHOIMRE
AN GHAEILGE FS AR SNMH!

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Copyright text: Helen and Mirtn Murch

DO CHCH D BHFUIL THOS LEIS AN GCUCHIRI AGUS LEIS AN EASPA FSE

The banking sector

More Facts About Irish

Language and Coalition 2011 (Fine Gael/Labour Party)

No language is without its heroes

1. THE IRISH LANGUAGE

Affinities and name

More Facts About Irish

ABILITY AND SURVEYS

Survey conducted by Comhar na Minteoir Gaeilge and other language

Census 2011: Consequences of migration patterns

SUMMARY ON ABILITY: CENSUSES 1851-2006

CENSUS 2011: USE OF IRISH

USE OF IRISH 1991-2002

More Facts About Irish

CENSUS 2006: USE OF IRISH

USE OF IRISH IN THE GAELTACHT 2011

ABILITY AND USE IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE STATE 2011

ATTITUDES: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND 

THE IRISH LANGUAGE AND THE IRISH PEOPLE 

From Scim to Clr120

Meitheal Forbartha na Gaeltachta

More Facts About Irish

The Planning and Development Act 2000

New definition of the Gaeltacht128

SUMMARY ON COMPETENCE AND USE

More Facts About Irish

Court rulings on the translation of legislation and associated documents 

Changes to the Office of An Coimisinir

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

Inaugural Report 2004

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THE LEGISLATURE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

SUMMARY ON LEGISLATIVE AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION (TO 2007)

Departmental arrangements having implications for Irish language affairs

More Facts About Irish

Current status (end 2012)

Reaction to the June 2011 changes

SUMMARY ON LEGISLATIVE AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION (2007 ONWARD)

LEGAL SYSTEM, POLICE AND DEFENCE

LEGAL SYSTEM: COMPETENCE AND SERVICE IN IRISH

Training and translation

PLANNING FOR A BILINGUAL PUBLIC SERVICE

Strategic policy requirement 

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IRISH LANGUAGE OFFICERS, SCHEMES AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE

STATE LANGUAGE PLANNING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

AN DAINGEAN AND RELATED ISSUES

Research funding for placenames

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OFFICIAL STATUS OF IRISH IN THE EU: PRACTICAL OUTCOMES

The Strategy and practical outcomes for the Irish State 

Application of the derogation

Ireland and Europe

Dictionary of the Irish Language (1913 1976)

SCHOOL OF CELTIC STUDIES

SUMMARY ON DICTIONARY PROVISION

Lr-Aonad Aistrichin (Central Translation Unit) and related matters

More Facts About Irish

FUNDING FOR IRISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE 

Context and background 

The banking sector

Language and Coalition 2011 (Fine Gael/Labour Party)

ABILITY AND SURVEYS

Census 2011: Consequences of migration patterns

CENSUS 2011: USE OF IRISH

ABILITY AND USE IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN THE STATE 2011

ATTITUDES: REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

THE IRISH LANGUAGE AND THE IRISH PEOPLE

From Scim to Clr120

New definition of the Gaeltacht128

SUMMARY ON COMPETENCE AND USE

Court rulings on the translation of legislation and associated documents

Changes to the Office of An Coimisinir

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT

THE LEGISLATURE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Departmental arrangements having implications for Irish language affairs

Current status (end 2012)

Reaction to the June 2011 changes

SUMMARY ON LEGISLATIVE AND STRUCTURAL PROVISION (2007 ONWARD)

LEGAL SYSTEM, POLICE AND DEFENCE

LEGAL SYSTEM: COMPETENCE AND SERVICE IN IRISH

Training and translation

PLANNING FOR A BILINGUAL PUBLIC SERVICE

Strategic policy requirement

IRISH LANGUAGE OFFICERS, SCHEMES AND THE PUBLIC SERVICE

STATE LANGUAGE PLANNING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM

AN DAINGEAN AND RELATED ISSUES

OFFICIAL STATUS OF IRISH IN THE EU: PRACTICAL OUTCOMES

The Strategy and practical outcomes for the Irish State

Application of the derogation

Dictionary of the Irish Language (1913 1976)

Lr-Aonad Aistrichin (Central Translation Unit) and related matters

FUNDING FOR IRISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Context and background

THE IRISH LANGUAGE VOLUNTARY SECTOR

Background and context: The Department

Practical arrangements: Resources

CONTEXT AND CHANGE

Lobbying and third consultation

The legal position

Practical arrangements: Resources

SUMMARY ON THE STATES EVOLVING PROVISIONS FOR IRISH

Review by FNG; Report by the Sector

GENERAL CONTEXT 2007-2012

Vocational Education sector

Research publications on Irish

ACQUISITION PLANNING THROUGH EDUCATION

Department of Education and Science (DES) [now Education and Skills]

POLICY CHANGES IN DIFFERENT AREAS 2007-2012

New national policy on literacy and numeracy

Junior Certificate (JC) 2007 onwards

Some issues of context

NEW NATIONAL POLICY ON LITERACY AND NUMERACY

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)

OPTIONAL IRISH FOR LEAVING CERTIFICATE (LC)

Conduct of state examinations

Leaving Certificate (LC)

IRISH AND CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS RESULTS

Literacy and teaching English in gaelscoileanna360

POLICY AND STATISTICS AT 2012

NAONRA PRESCHOOL PROVISION

Three areas of activity

North/South Committee on teacher education in the Irish-medium sector

Effects of Gaelscoileanna: Domestic and European

RESEARCH SUPPORT SYSTEM

Campaign Supporting COGG (August, 2009)

SUMMARY ON RESEARCH RESULTS

SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION

Primary and Post-primary

SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR IRISH-MEDIUM EDUCATION

TEACHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)

POINTS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY TO TEACHER EDUCATION

Recommendations of the Review Panel

IRISH AS ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE AT THIRD LEVEL

Syllabus for Irish at third level

Some issues of context

Coliste na hireann (sic)

HIGHER EDUCATION AUTHORITY (HEA)

ACTIVITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE