Gaelscéal : Irish Language Nursery refused by Sinn Féin minister

Tuairisc le Colm Ó Broin :

Gaelscéal: Naíscoil na Daróige diúltaithe ag John O’Dowd

Tá tuairisc i nGaelscéal na seachtaine seo go bhfuil iarratas le haghaidh naíscoil lán-aimseartha i nDoire diúltaithe ag an Aire Oideachais, John O’Dowd.

Tá naíscoil páirt-aimseartha lonnaithe i nGaelscoil na Daróige i mBaile Mhic Robhartaigh faoi láthair ach níl sé ar chomhchéim le naíscoileanna Béarla sa cheantar dar le príomhoide na Gaelscoile, Oisín Mac Eochaidh.

Bíonn Naíscoil Mhaol Íosa ar oscailt go dtí 12.00in ach bíonn na naíscoileanna eile ar oscailt go dtí 2.00in. Deir sé chomh maith go bhfaigheann na páistí sna naíscoileanna Béarla béile te saor in áisce (má tá siad i dteideal ceann a fháil), rud nach bhfuil ar fáil sa naíscoil Ghaeilge, agus gur fiú gach páiste ar an naíscoil Béarla thart ar £1,000 breise don bhuiséad ná a mhacasamháil sa naíscoil pháirt-aimseartha.

Níor ghlac an tAire O’Dowd leis an iarratas áfach. Dúirt sé gur féidir leis an soláthar réamhscolaíochta sa cheantar freastal a dhéanamh ar an éileamh atá ann. Mhaígh an Roinn chomh maith go bhfuil beagnach leath na spáis sna naíscoileanna Gaeilge sa cheantar follamh.

Cháin Mark H Durkan ón SDLP an cinneadh.

“Ó bunaíodh é, tá áit bainte amach ag Gaelscoil na Daróige i gcroílár an phobail i mBaile Mhic Robhartaigh agus tá an-díomá orm go bhfuil John O’Dowd ó Shinn Féin ag diúltú naíolann sa scoil a  fhorbairt.”

I measc na n-alt eile atá againn an tseachtain seo ná tuairisc ó Ghaelscoil Chloch na Coillte le Conchubar Ó Liatháin, comparáid idir an méid oibre áitiúil a dhéanann teachtaí dála in Éirinn agus feisirí parlaiminte sa chuid eile den Eoraip agus alt ó Eoghan Ó Néill a deir gur cheart duais Nobel Barack Obama a bhronnadh ar Bradley Manning.

 Irish Language Nursery refused by Sinn Féin minister

Colm Ó Broin

This week’s Gaelscéal reports that Education Minister John O’Dowd has rejected an application for a full-time Irish language pre-school in Ballymagroarty in Derry.

A part-time pre-school is located in the grounds of Gaelscoil na Daróige primary school but it doesn’t have the same status as English language pre-schools in the area, according to principal Oisín Mac Eochaidh. Naíscoil Mhaol Íosa is open until 12pm but other pre-schools can stay open for a further two hours. He also says that children in the full-time pre-schools can get a free hot meal a day if they are entitled to one, and that full-time pre-schools get about £1,000 extra in funding per child than their part-time equivalent.

John O’Dowd has rejected the application however.

“I am fully committed to encouraging and facilitating the development of Irish-medium education, including in the pre-school sector.  Parents can choose to educate their children through the medium of Irish and I am confident that the Irish-medium pre-school provision in the area can meet their needs.”

The Department also stated that almost half the spaces in Irish language pre-schools in the area have not been filled.

Mark H Durkan of the SDLP has condemned the decision.

“Since its establishment, Gaelscoil na Daróige has become an integral part of the Ballymagroarty community and this decision by Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd to refuse to develop a nursery unit at the school is extremely disappointing.”

Among the other stories this week is a report by Concubhar Ó Liatháin on the Irish language primary school in Clonakilty, Co Cork, a feature on the amount of local ‘parish pump’ work done by TDs in Ireland compared to parliamentarians in other parts of Europe and an article by Eoghan Ó Néill which argues that Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize should be given to Bradley Manning.

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