‘He is fluent in Irish. It would be a shame to lose it.’ The boy who can’t access a secondary Gaelscoil

‘He is fluent in Irish. It would be a shame to lose it.’ The boy who can’t access a secondary GaelscoilSarah Cremin did not attend a Gaelscoil, but she loved Irish at school – and when her son was accepted at an Irish-medium primary school in Ranelagh, she was delighted that he would receive his education through Irish.

The problem is replicated nationwide as there are not enough secondary school places for children currently attending Irish-medium primary schools. Eight per cent of all primary students attend Irish-medium schools in the State, but Irish-medium secondary schools only account for 3.5 per cent of second-level students.

“There are people in his class whose parents are not Irish and who would not speak Irish. It is such a shame that there’s no Gaelcholáiste for them to go to,” she added.“We have all these Gaelscoileanna and we have all these kids, and why is that not being followed through upon? It seems like such a no-brainer really. Kids learn languages so easily – and then to not have the possibility of continuing is such a shame.

“The number of pupils in Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí has fallen from 48,518 pupils in Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí outside the Gaeltacht in the 2019/2020 academic year to 46,933 pupils in the 2023/2024 academic year,” he said. Mr Ó hEaghra said the Department of Education’s preference is to extend existing schools to meet additional demographic demand. This, he said, benefits English-medium schools, while Irish-medium provision is not sufficiently catered for.

Ms Melvin also asked that the Joint Committee urge Ms Foley, to set “an ambitious and measurable target” for at least 20 per cent of pupils to attend Irish-medium education within 20 years. The new policy could be developed “in parallel”, she said, “but there should be no delay or excuse for not establishing Gaelscoileanna or Gaelcholáistí in the meantime”.

Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)

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