63% believe services should always be available from the state through Irish in the Gaeltacht
The need for a Senior Minister for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht, and for investment in a plan to expand the use of Irish, has been highlighted and endorsed by public consensus as per independent research conducted by Millward Brown for Conradh na Gaeilge earlier this year.
The majority of people in the south (63%) believe that “that services should always be available from the state through Irish in the Gaeltacht for Irish speaking communities,” according to an independent Millward Brown survey commissioned by Conradh na Gaeilge at the beginning of 2016, with only 10% against providing Irish-language services to Gaeltacht communities. Just over 6 in 10 (62%) also agree that there are not enough opportunities for young people to use their Irish beyond the formal education system.
This research supports the commitments being sought by the Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht community for a Senior Minister for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht and for investment in a plan to expand and promote the use of Irish. These commitments were agreed by over 80 Irish-language community and Gaeltacht groups as part of a general election campaign to include the rights of Irish speakers in any future programme for government in the south.
Conradh na Gaeilge believes that the latest research gives the teams negotiating on behalf of the various political parties a public mandate to ensure both investment in the plan to promote the Irish language, and an Irish-speaking Senior Minister for the language and the Gaeltacht, are guaranteed in the ongoing talks.
Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill, President of Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“The latest research demonstrates the Irish public’s support for the rights of Irish speakers and their calls for guarantees to ensure state services are made available through Irish.”
Peadar Mac Fhlannchadha, Advocacy Manager with Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“The Gaeltacht is the beating heart of the Irish language, but the communities in these Irish-speaking areas need practical support, and should be properly represented at government level by a fluent Irish-speaking Senior Minister for the language and the Gaeltacht. A Joint Oireachtas Committee working on behalf of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht also needs to be formed, and we urgently need to invest in the authorities and in the community groups that create both employment and opportunities to use the language.”
To this end, Conradh na Gaeilge and over 80 community groups are calling for the next Dáil to invest in the language and Gaeltacht plan, and to appoint a Senior Irish-language and Gaeltacht Minister.
