The minority government of Fine Gael and whoever happens to be knocking around the Dáil bar at the time has launched its new four-year strategy for schools and colleges, grandly titled the “Action Plan for Education, 2016-2019“. You have to love the dynamic buzzword in the title, not to mention throughout the seventy-page document. Go-gadget go! So where in the plan, you might wonder, are the detailed in-depth proposals for Irish language education to address the growing clamour from parents and communities for gaelscoileanna in their neighbourhoods? Why on page twenty-five, where we have this lengthy promise:
“Objective 1.6.
Action: Strengthen Irish language learning in Gaeltacht areas.
Timelines: [Blank]”
Oh dear…
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
You missed these:
Publish Strategy: Q4 2016
Implement Strategy on a phased basis, as resources permit: Q3 2017
“as resources permit” – heh – well of course, the money to pay for Apple tax cuts must come from somewhere.
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By law they were required to issue this in both languages simultaneously but boy is it difficult to locate on their site – I found it after trying various different methods – after maybe 5 minutes. Locating the English language version took seconds! Of course the press release is in English only but that is hardly surprising since less than 2% of the staff of the Department that looks after the Education in the Irish Nation is incapable of doing business in the National Language.
If you want to see the Irish Version of the report it may be found here:
http://bit.ly/2ciymLS
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Thanks, Eoin.
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