Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Níl a fhios agam an mbeadh sé iomlán compordach dá labharfainn go hiomlán trí Ghaeilge. Baineann an rún seo le scoláireachtaí Gaeltachta. Go dtí seo, bhí deis ag páistí meánscolaíochta ar fud na Gaeltachta buntáiste a bhaint as na scoláireachtaí a bhí ar fáil ó 1916. Bhí scoláirí a bhí ag freastal ar scoileanna Gaeltachta agus ag fáil a gcuid oideachais trí mheán na Gaeilge in ann cur isteach ar scoláireachtaí a thug deis dóibh dul ar aghaidh go dtí oideachas tríú leibhéal. I gcásanna áirithe, bhí páistí ag iarraidh dul ar aghaidh go dtí an ollscoil. Gan an scéim seo, ní bheadh an deis sin acu de bhrí nach raibh an t-airgead ag a dteaghlaigh. Ar an drochuair, rinne an Rialtas cinneadh deireadh a chur leis na scoláireachtaí Gaeltachta, mar a bhí, agus iad a dhíriú ar meánscoileanna DEIS amháin. Cuireann sé sin isteach ar an scoil atá luaite sa rún agam. Ritheann sé go huile is go hiomlán in éadan an méid atá ráite sa straitéis 20 bliain don Ghaeilge. As the Minister of State might not understand the Donegal dialect of Irish, I will repeat in English the point I have made about the scoláireachtaí Gaeltachta, or Irish language scholarships, that were available to students in Gaeltacht areas who were attending second level education. The scheme in question gave such students an opportunity to obtain assistance that allowed them to go to university and promote the Irish language in third and fourth level education. The Minister for Education and Skills announced earlier this year that the qualification criteria for that scheme were to be changed. As a result, these scholarships are now confined to students from DEIS secondary schools.

Pobal Scoil Gaoth Dobhair is the only full-time Irish-language second-level school in any Gaeltacht area in the country. The full curriculum is delivered to the approximately 400 pupils who attend the school through the medium of Irish. The school's leaving certificate results are second to none. The school is located in an area of high unemployment where many people are eligible for medical cards. Each of the seven or eight primary schools that send their pupils to Pobal Scoil Gaoth Dobhair is a DEIS school. Therefore, all of the kids who attend the secondary school in question come from DEIS schools. In that context, I do not understand why the Government has decided to withdraw DEIS status from Pobal Scoil Gaoth Dobhair. When one examines the poverty and deprivation statistics for the area, it appears to meet all the criteria. The only criterion it might not meet is that relating to educational outcomes. Its pupils should not be penalised as a result of the quality of teaching and their willingness to learn.

If the DEIS status of Pobal Scoil Gaoth Dobhair were to be reinstated, its pupils would qualify for the new scholarship arrangement. Although that is one possible solution, it is not the best one. The best solution would be to revert to the old method, which was established by Pádraig Pearse in 1916, whereby Gaeltacht scholarships were awarded to students from the Irish language-speaking parts of this country. A person from a Gaeltacht area who is fulfilling his or her second level education through the medium of Irish should get a financial benefit if he or she gets a certain amount of points in the leaving certificate. The former approach, whereby a scholarship was provided to enable a pupil to go on to third level education if his or her family could not afford to send him or her to do so, had stood the test of time until it was changed by the Minister, Deputy Quinn, in recent months. That decision will have drastic consequences for Pobal Scoil Gaoth Dobhair - between seven and ten Gaeltacht scholarships are awarded to the school every year - and other secondary schools in Gaeltacht areas. As a result of the change I have mentioned, not one pupil in the school will be entitled to a scholarship next September. If previous trends had continued, up to ten students would have been able to avail of this scheme.