Debate contribution: Irish-medium Education (Workforce Plan) Bill: Consideration Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Pat Sheehan on 21 September 2026.

MLA: Mr Pat Sheehan
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 21 September 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Irish-medium Education (Workforce Plan) Bill: Consideration Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5743328

Text

I beg to move amendment No 1:
At the outset, I thank the Bill Office for its support throughout the process. In particular, I thank Stephen Orme — I hope that I have not embarrassed you, Stephen — for his support and expertise in getting us to this stage. I also thank the Chair and members of the Education Committee for their scrutiny of the Bill. Most importantly, I thank all those from across the Irish-medium sector who gave evidence to the Committee. School leaders, teachers, sectoral organisations, early years representatives and young people gave up their time to provide Members with valuable insight into the reality of the workforce challenges facing Irish-medium education in the short, medium and long term. The Committee report reflects much of what we heard. It records consistent evidence of significant workforce shortages across the sector, including difficulties with recruiting teachers, school leaders, classroom assistants, early years practitioners and staff who support children with special educational needs. I do not intend to rehearse all the arguments that we heard at Second Stage. Today's debate is primarily about the amendments before us, so I will deal with those directly. Amendment No 1 is in my name. At first glance, it looks like a substantial amendment, because it replaces clause 1 in its entirety. In reality, much of it is technical. It tightens the language, improves the structure and incorporates a number of helpful drafting suggestions that emerged during scrutiny. I thank Department of Education officials for their constructive engagement with me ahead of today's debate. We have taken on board a number of their suggestions where we believe that they improve the clarity and the operation of the Bill. There were, however, areas where we were not prepared to dilute the policy intent of the legislation, the first of which relates to consultation. I remain firmly of the view that Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta should be explicitly named as a statutory consultee. It has a unique role in advising and supporting the Irish-medium sector and should be guaranteed a place in the preparation and review of the workforce plan. I have also retained the requirement for direct consultation with representatives of schools, teachers, pupils and parents. The second area is time frames. The Department proposed the removal of specific deadlines from the Bill; I have deliberately retained them. The first workforce plan must be issued within 12 months and be revised and reissued at least once every five years, and the Department must report on its implementation and effectiveness within 18 months of the plan being laid. Those deadlines are important for accountability and to prevent unnecessary delay. The purpose of the Bill is to move from discretion to duty and from short-term firefighting to long-term planning. If we simply hand that discretion back to the Department, we risk undermining the reason for legislating in the first place. Amendment No 2 is also in my name. It concerns informal learning opportunities in the Irish-medium youth sector. Through our engagement, it became clear that the workforce pressures associated with Irish-medium education go beyond the formal school environment. I recognise that the Bill has a deliberately narrow scope. However, the Irish-medium youth sector plays an important role in providing informal learning opportunities and supporting young people's continued use and development of the Irish language. Amendment No 2 therefore ensures that those who provide informal learning opportunities in the Irish-medium youth sector are among those whom the Department must consult when preparing or revising the workforce plan. It is a modest but important amendment and gives that sector a voice in the process without seeking to unnecessarily broaden the scope of the Bill.
Amendment No 3 has been brought by the Chair on behalf of the Education Committee and would add the Education Authority (EA) as a named statutory consultee. I make it clear that I fully support the substance of that amendment. There is, however, a sequencing issue, because, as amendment No 1 replaces clause 1 in its entirety, I have been advised that amendment No 3 cannot be taken forward in its current form if amendment No 1 is made. That is purely a technical issue and not a disagreement with the Committee. I support the amendment and hope that its substance can be brought forward and agreed at Further Consideration Stage. There is good reason for explicitly including the Education Authority. The Committee heard evidence that effective delivery of Irish-medium education depends on specialist capacity in the EA, yet the number of EA staff dedicated to supporting the sector has been reduced despite continued growth. The EA has a significant role in the delivery of education and in supporting our schools. There should be no ambiguity about its involvement in planning for the future workforce needs of Irish-medium education. Before I finish, I will make one wider point. The Committee process gave all of us an opportunity to listen to the evidence and test the arguments for and against the Bill. I was disappointed that some members appeared to reach their position before that process had concluded and, on occasions, chose not to engage with or question witnesses who came before us. I genuinely ask those members to reflect on the evidence before voting today. The Bill is not about elevating Irish-medium education above any other sector; it is about levelling the playing field. The Committee report itself states:
"the combination of sustained ... growth, specialist workforce requirements and limited system capacity creates distinct challenges"
for Irish-medium education. That is the issue that we are trying to address. We heard about shortages of teachers and classroom assistants. We heard about the difficulties in recruiting subject specialists. We heard about the pressures on SEN provision and the additional workload created when teachers have to create and translate resources themselves. Professor Noel Purdy's research put that additional burden in stark terms. It found that Irish-medium teachers work an average of more than 47 hours a week — almost 15 hours beyond their directed time. Those are not theoretical problems; they are affecting teachers, schools and pupils now. Members do not have to agree with me on every aspect of Irish-medium education to recognise that, where there is clear evidence of a workforce problem, the Department should have a proper long-term plan to address it. That is ultimately what the Bill seeks to achieve. Amendment Nos 1 and 2 strengthen the legislation while retaining its central purpose: a clear statutory duty, meaningful consultation, measurable targets, firm deadlines and accountability to the Assembly. I therefore commend amendment Nos 1 and 2 to the Assembly. I also support the clear intention behind amendment No 3 and look forward to ensuring that it is given effect at Further Consideration Stage.

1,127 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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