Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Unfortunately, I have no Irish. I would like to be able to speak Irish and probably should have done more when I was younger to allow me to do so. Despite that, I feel strongly about how important Irish is in protecting our culture and identity.

There is significant growing demand across Dublin Bay South for access to secondary school education through the medium of Irish. This creates a serious issue. There are a number of primary Gaelscoileanna in the area, such as Gaelscoil Lios na nÓg, Scoil Bhríde in Ranelagh, Scoil Mológa in Harold's Cross and Bunscoil Synge Street, which is a new school. Students who wish to continue their education through Irish have no access to a Gaelcholáiste locally. They must either travel significant distances to get that education through Irish or switch to the English medium. Parents in the community have done Trojan work in highlighting the urgent need for a Gaelcholáiste. The time has come to listen to parents and common sense and establish a Gaelcholáiste in Dublin 6 and Dublin 6W.

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