Four Parties & over 70 candidates Support Commitments for Irish-Language in the north
Conradh na Gaeilge informs public about election candidates’ stance on Irish-language through #GaelVóta - Candidates & Parties Can Still Pledge Support
Information on every political party and each election candidate officially supporting the three main Irish-language commitments has been published on Conradh na Gaeilge’s website at www.cnag.ie/gaelvota as part of the #GaelVóta campaign, but candidates and parties still have time to pledge their support for the commitments before the #AE16 election in the north (5 May 2016). Sinn Féin, SDLP, People Before Profit and Cross-Community Labour Alternative officially pledged their support for the commitments as entire parties.
Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill, Uachtarán of Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“Conradh na Gaeilge is asking local voters – those that are fluent Irish speakers, those that are learning Irish, or indeed those that support the language in any way – to put these commitments to all the candidates standing for election in their own constituency.”
Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, Advocacy Manager, Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“Each individual candidate that officially supports the commitments has also been referenced in the #GaelVóta campaign, and any party or candidate can contact Conradh na Gaeilge at cearta@cnag.ie if they wish to pledge their support for the commitments, and the relevant changes will be made at www.cnag.ie/gaelvota.”
#GaelVóta is based on three main Irish-language commitments – stemming from an investment plan and representative measures agreed by over 80 Irish-language and Gaeltacht community groups – and the commitments are as follows:
- An additional investment of £2.6 million in an Irish-language plan to expand the use of Irish and to create new jobs
- A Minister for Communities that is supportive of the Irish language and able to promote the wishes of Irish speakers
- A Minister for Education who supports Irish in the education system and who ensures the continued development of the Irish-medium education sector
Conradh na Gaeilge worked with local community groups throughout the north to organise action forums across the north of Ireland as part of the #GaelVóta campaign, and all candidates were contacted on at least two occasions regarding the Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments, as per the contact details that were publicly available. The responses of candidates and parties are available at www.cnag.ie/gaelvota
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin,
Advocacy Manager, Conradh na Gaeilge
00 44 28 90 315647 | 00 44 75 45293841 | ciaran@cnag.ie
Julian de Spáinn
General Secretary, Conradh na Gaeilge
00 353 (0)1 4757401 | 00353 (0)86 8142757 | julian@cnag.ie
Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh
Communications, Language Protection and Representation Executive, Conradh na Gaeilge
00 44 28 90 315647 | 00 44 77 16690237 | padraig@cnag.ie
Irish-Language & Gaeltacht Commitments:
Over 80 Irish-language community and Gaeltacht groups, along with relevant authorities and their funding authorities, have agreed an all-island investment plan that could create over 1,160 jobs and provide a huge variety of opportunities for the public to use the Irish language, and the groups are calling on all political parties to include the specific commitments in their election manifestos: http://bit.ly/1JKDS6H
The community and all-island organisations are also looking for representative commitments to ensure that the investment plan is acted upon, including the appointment of Senior Ministers north and south to act on behalf of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht and to ensure that the plan is well managed and implemented in full: http://bit.ly/1PXrvUd
The 3 Main Commitments for the Irish language in the north are:
- An additional investment of £2.6 million in an Irish-language plan to expand the use of Irish and to create new jobs
- A Minister for Communities that is supportive of the Irish language and able to promote the wishes of Irish speakers
- A Minister for Education who supports Irish in the education system and who ensures the continued development of the Irish-medium education sector
Did you know?
· According to the 2011 census, 10.6% of the population have some level of proficiency in the Irish language
· More than 17,000 people have signed up to the Líofa project to learn Irish
· 54% of people in the north believe that services should be available through Irish for those who wish to use them (Céard é an Scéal? Conradh na Gaeilge, 2015)
· Interest in Irish and the use of the language is continuously growing, especially amongst young people. For example, over 1 million people have recently listened to the famous celebrity Ed Sheeran singing in Irish.
· There are more than 5,000 children currently in the Irish-medium education system, with thousands of others learning Irish as a second language in other schools
· The investment plan proposed above will cater for this growing and developing community through:
o Providing an comprehensive programme of usage and learning
o Funding for Irish language centres in towns across the island
o Providing Gaeltacht scholarships for young people and families
*N.B. The additional funding that is needed for the investment plan is €5 million less than the funding made available for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht in 2008
· The investment plan and the additional political structures that we are looking for will help achieve the vision for the Irish language as envisaged by the rebellion generation and will properly commemorate 1916.
Further information on the commitments being sought by Conradh na Gaeilge and the Irish-language and Gaeltacht community is available by emailing cearta@cnag.ie or via the Twitter hashtag #GaelVóta.
Conradh na Gaeilge is the democratic forum for the Irish-speaking community, and its main aim is to promote the use of Irish as the standard language in Ireland. The organisation works on behalf of the Irish language and the people who use it throughout the island of Ireland and around the world. There are almost 180 branches of Conradh na Gaeilge and it is also possible to register as an individual member. Since the establishment of Conradh na Gaeilge on the 31st July of 1893, its members have been active in promoting the Irish language in every aspect of life in Ireland – from legal matters and education issues, to developments in the media and Irish language services. Conraitheoirí are at the forefront of campaigns to secure and strengthen the rights of the Irish-language community, and all members of Conradh na Gaeilge work hard to develop the use of Irish in their own areas. Conradh na Gaeilge runs Irish-language courses in Dublin, Ennis, Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Newry, Tipperary, and elsewhere across Ireland. More information: www.cnag.ie/courses