Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I know they are not here sometimes.

The Minister's education policies have not only damaged the sector but also the Irish language. The importance of the cuts to the island allowance and the language allowance cannot be overstated. I have spoken about this matter here before. For example, Arranmore secondary school applied for a teacher but could not get somebody who would be able to teach the subject in Irish, and that was with the allowance in place. Taking those allowances away from small island communities will have a devastating effect on the ability of those schools to attract teachers from the mainland. I ask the Minister to consider that point.

The Gaeltacht allowance is there because teachers who teach in Gaeltacht schools do not have the resources. I know this myself because my wife is a teacher and my three sisters are primary school teachers. There are simply not enough resources to be able to teach children in the current environment. This is about having additional assistance to recognise the extra work and effort that those teachers put in in Gaeltacht schools. For many years, the Department did not have its act together in providing those type of resources. That is having a direct effect on the Irish language itself.

I will cite another example about which I have been in communication with the Minister. The catchment area of Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola has the strongest Gaeltacht in the entire State. It includes areas such as Magheroarty and Fana Bhuí where the poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh comes from. It is absolutely rooted in the Irish language. Some 84% or 85% of people there speak Irish daily, yet at the secondary school students cannot do their leaving certificate in Irish. They can only do it through Gaeilge up to the third year.

The pupils who want to do their leaving certificate through Irish are crying out for the Minister to give additional resources to their school to allow them do so.

We have heard a great deal about Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge. It states:

Cuirfear oideachas lán-Ghaeilge ar ardchaighdeán ar fáil do dhaltaí scoile arb é mian a dtuismitheoirí/gcaomhnóirí é. Leanfar leis an tacaíocht do ghaelscoileanna ag leibhéal na bunscoile agus déanfar forbairt ar sholáthar lán-Ghaeilge ag leibhéal na hiarbhunscoile chun freastal ar éileamh de réir mar is gá.

This means that the Government has signed up to the 20-year strategy to provide resources for Irish language education and to increase resources for post-primary education where the demand exists. The Minister knows that the demand is there from the pupils in Pobailscoil Chlioch Cheannfhaola who want to receive their education through Irish. They speak Irish every day and their mothers and fathers speak Irish to them every day. They want to be able to do their leaving certificate through Irish and the State is denying them that opportunity. I appeal to the Minister to re-examine that issue. Let us help regenerate the Irish language. The island allowance, which does not amount to much, and the Gaeltacht allowance are important to that community not only for education but in the context of the Irish language.

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