Mark Browne a chara,
I write to you in relation to the most recent cuts to the education budget and the initial allocations which have been made to Irish language services across the north; more specifically, I would like to stress the devastating impact that these proposed cuts will have on children and parents who avail of vital Irish language early-year services, as well as the service providers themselves, and would ask that you urgently reconsider these cuts in light of the information provided below.
Firstly, as I’m sure you are well aware, the Department of Education has a statutory duty to ‘encourage and facilitate the development of Irish medium education’; the proposed cuts would render the provision of many vital Irish language services undeliverable. The immersion pedagogies employed in IM pre-school settings develop pupils’ understanding and expression in a language which for most is not a language of the home and as such they lay the vital foundations for Irish medium primary schools; these cuts would undoubtedly impact on the ability of parents to select Irish medium education as their preferred choice. Thus, the Department would be in breach of its duty.
What is more, these cuts will have an increased and disproportionate impact on children and families going through the Irish-medium education system, as well as on those services which do vital work in the English-medium primary schools; service provision through the medium of Irish is already incredibly limited. Any reduction or dilution to these services will be detrimental for families, as well as for the status of the language in these communities as more often than not, no alternative provision through the medium of Irish exists. Irish-medium education is a form of immersion education where pupils are immersed in and educated in a language which for most children is not a language of the home. Many of the early year service providers are over-subscribed, demonstrating the increasing demand yet limited supply of pre-school provision through the medium of Irish. These cuts, therefore, will potentially remove all and any existing opportunities for many to access Irish medium education. 25 years on since “resolute action” for the language was guaranteed through the Good Friday Agreement, the prospect of losing many of our early-years Irish language services is untenable.
I am also concerned about the future of services which do groundbreaking work in introducing the Irish language to children in English-medium primary schools and want to cite, for example, the pioneering Léargas scheme in Derry, which is currently under existential threat of closure as a direct impact of these cuts in a matter of weeks. These are real-time effects of cuts to budgets which are already stretched to capacity.
It too is worth noting the devastating impact that these cuts will have on the organisations themselves, most notably the numerous jobs which are at risk of being lost. The knowledge and passion required to undertake such roles are hard to come by and as such, recruiting qualified specialists, with the appropriate language skills, can prove very challenging; if these centres were to lose the expertise that they have spent a number of years acquiring, it would essentially put them back to square one and would take them a very long time to rebuild this infrastructure. These challenges were acknowledged in DE’s own report ‘Research on the Educational Outcomes of Pre-School Irish Medium Education.’
I too am concerned about the cost implications for parents who avail of these vital services; many providers will have no choice but to introduce or increase fees for these services. The vast majority of Irish language service providers are located in economically and socially deprived areas and to place increased financial barriers in the way of accessing these services would undoubtedly reflect unfavourably in the uptake of these services, essentially removing access for many, as well as having a devastating impact on the overall status and development of the language in these areas.
Is mise le meas,
[your name]
Mark Browne a chara,
Scríobhaim chugat maidir leis na ciorruithe is déanaí ar bhuiseád an oideachais agus na leithdháiltí tosaigh a rinneadh ar sheirbhísí Gaeilge fud fad an tuaiscirt; ach go háirithe, is mian liom béim a chur ar an tionchar uafásach a bheas ag na ciorruithe seo ar pháistí agus ar thuismitheoirí a bhaineann úsáid as seirbhísí tábhachtacha luathbhlianta Gaeilge, mar aon leis na soláthróirí seirbhísí iad féin, agus iarraim ort athmhachnamh a dhéanamh ar na ciorruithe atá beartaithe i bhfianaise an méid atá thíos.
I dtús báire, mar is eol duit cheana féin, tá dualgas reachtúil ar An Roinn Oideachais ‘forbairt na Gaelscolaíochta a spreagadh agus a ghríosú’; chiallódh na ciorruithe atá beartaithe go mbeadh sé dodhéanta na seirbhísí ríthábhachtacha Gaeilge seo a sholáthar. Déanann na hoideolaíochtaí tumoideachais ar fad a chuirtear i bhfeidhm i suíomhanna réamhscolaíochta forbairt ar thuiscint ar agus léiriú na ndaltaí sa teanga, nach bhfuil mar theanga tí don mhórchuid; leagann siad na bunchlocha don Ghaelscolaíocht. Níl lá amhrais ach go mbeadh tionchar ag na ciorruithe seo ar achmhainn na dtuismitheoirí an Gaeloideachas a roghnú mar chéad rogha. Chuige sin, bheadh an Roinn ag déanamh sáraithe ar a ndualgas reachtúil.
Chomh maith leis seo, beidh tionchar níos measa agus níos díréirí ag na ciorruithe seo ar pháistí agus teaghlaigh atá ag dul fríd córas an Ghaeloideachais, mar aon leis na seirbhísí sin a dhéanann obair thábhachtach i mbunscoileanna Béarla; tá soláthar seirbhísí trí mheán na Gaeilge thar a bheith teoranta cheana féin. Bheadh laghdú nó lagú ar bith ar na seirbhísí seo díobhálach do theaghlaigh agus do stádas na Gaeilge sna pobail seo, mar níos minice ná a mhalairt, ní bhíonn aon soláthar eile trí Ghaeilge ar fáil. Is ionann Gaeloideachas agus leagan tumoideachais, áit a bhfaigheann siad oideachais i dteanga nach teanga an tí é don chuid is mó de na páistí. Tá ró-éileamh ar na seirbhísí luathbhlianta, rud a léiríonn an méadú atá tagtha ar an éileamh ach an easpa soláthar i seirbhísí reamhscolaíochta trí mheán na Gaeilge. Mar sin, bainfidh na ciorruithe seo na deiseanna reatha agus an rochtain atá ag neart daoine ar Ghaeloideachas. Agus muid 25 bliain ar aghaidh ó Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta agus ón choimitmint a gheall “gníomh diongbháilte” don teanga, tá sé dochosanta go bhfuil an baol ann go gcaillfear seirbhísí luathbhlianta Gaeilge.
Tá imní orm faoin todhchaí atá i ndán do sheirbhísí a dhéanann obair chlaochlaitheach ag cur na Gaeilge chun cinn i scoileanna Béarla, an scéim ceannródaíoch Léargas i nDoire mar shampla, atá faoi bhagairt druidim mar thoradh díreach ar na ciorruithe seo. Seo impleachtaí fíor ama ar chiorruithe ar bhuiséid atá faoi bhrú suntasach cheana féin.
Is fiú an tionchar uafásach a bheas ag na ciorruithe seo ar na heagraíochtaí féin a aithint, go mór mór na poist atá i mbaol caillte. Tá sé deacair teacht ar dhaoine a bhfuil an t-eolas agus an paisean acu le tabhairt faoi róil mar seo agus chuige sin, tá sé thar a bheith dúshlánach speisialtóirí cáilithe, leis na scileanna teanga cuí, a earcú; dá gcaillfeadh na hionaid seo an saineolas atá forbartha acu le roinnt mhaith blianta anuas, chuirfeadh seo iad ar ais ar leac na mbonn arís agus ghlacfadh sé tamall fada orthu an t-infreastruchtúr seo a atógáil. Aithníodh na dúshláin seo i dtuairisc na Roinne féin, ‘Research on the Educational Outcomes of Pre-School Irish Medium Education.’
Tá mé fosta buartha faoi na himpleachtaí costais do thuismitheoirí a bhaineann úsáid as na seirbhísí tábhachtacha seo; ní bheidh an dara rogha ag soláthróirí ach taillí a thabhairt isteach nó a ardú do na seirbhísí seo. Tá an chuid is mó de sholáthróirí seirbhísí Gaeilge lonnaithe i gceantair atá faoi mhíbhuntáiste eacnamaíochta agus sóisialta; má chuirtear leis na constaicí airgeadais atá rompu chun rochtain a bheith acu ar na seirbhísí seo, níl lá amhrais ach go mbeadh tionchar mífhabhrach aige seo ar líon na ndaoine a bhaineann úsáid as na seirbhísí seo agus ar stádas agus forbairt na teanga sna ceantair trí chéile.
Is mise le meas,
[your name]
