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Conradh na Gaeilge warmly welcomes the 5 new Gaelscoileanna announced by Minister McHugh

Conradh na Gaeilge also welcome the principle that if there is a new school to be established in a school district without Irish medium primary education, it should be a Gaelscoil

Conradh na Gaeilge warmly welcomes the announcement of five new Gaelscoileanna by the Minister for Education and Skills this morning, 3 September 2019. Along with this, Conradh na Gaeilge are also very satisfied with the principle that a new Gaelscoil should be established in any area without Irish medium primary education, when there is to be a new school in the area.

Niall Comer, President of Conradh na Gaeilge says:

I would like to congratulate the Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh, for listening to the Coimisinéir Teanga and the Gaelscoil4All campaign and for recognising the urgent need for a better provision of Irish medium education for children around the country, with his decision to establish five new Gaelscoileanna between 2020 and 2021. It is certainly a forward step this morning that the Department of Skills and Education have accepted the principle that if there is a new school to be set up in a school district without Irish medium primary education, it should be a Gaelscoil.”

Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge says:

 “We would now like to see the Department taking the next step to ensure that all new schools are gaelscoileanna, to satisfy the public demand for Irish medium education from parents all over the country (according to ESRI research that demand is 23%). We are 100% sure that if the Department organised an awareness campaign for parents outlining the benefits of Irish medium education that the number of parents seeking this type of education would rise remarkably. Some of those advantages include: better results than the national average, better cognitive reasoning, easier to learn a third language and much more. We’re asking the Minister for Education and Skills to take the next step forward from today’s announcement and to organise such a campaign and to provide more provision of Irish medium schools.”

The Gaelscoil4All campaign, that Conradh na Gaeilge, Gaeloideachas and the Foras Pátrúnachta are working on together, will continue towards making sure that there is a better provision of Irish medium education in the competition that will be soon be announced by the Department of Education and Skills for establishment of new schools. As well as that, they will continue pursuing a policy for the teaching of Irish in the education system that will include the provision of Irish medium education in an integrated policy.

 

 

Conradh na Gaeilge

6 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.
Phone: +353 (0) 1 475 7401, Fax: +353 (0) 1 475 7844, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.