Member's statement: Gaelscoileanna: Derry
Member's statement by Mr Pádraig Delargy on .
- MLA
- Mr Pádraig Delargy
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 13 February 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Gaelscoileanna: Derry
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4206106
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to begin today by thanking the Education Minister for his speech yesterday and by taking this opportunity to engage with that. It was a very positive speech, and, for me, the key word that stood out was "opportunity". Each one of us in the Assembly has the opportunity to make a real change for Irish-medium education. That means working as an Education Committee, and it also means working with the Education Minister. I have three Gaelscoileanna
in my area that are all fantastic. They each have their unique attributes and unique ethos, but one of the things that they have in common is that they all punch well above their weight in sport, in music and in academia. That is one of the many reasons why so many parents have bought into them: parents have seen what they have done for their children, for their community and for our entire city. One of the other things that they have in common is the fact that all three Gaelscoileanna in Derry continue to educate their children in Portakabins. That was not acceptable in 1980, it was not acceptable in 2000, and it certainly is not acceptable in 2024. There is an ethical reason why we need to do this, but there is also a financial reason. All of the parties in here came together last week and agreed that, financially, we have been hamstrung by the Tory Government in London and need to come together to oppose that. Financially, we also need to make a decision to properly fund education to make sure that our Gaelscoileanna and many other schools across the North are not crippled by soaring maintenance costs. It is within our gift to ensure that all our schools reach their full potential. It is within our gift to make that happen. One of the things that was very clear yesterday is that the Education Minister has a desire to do that, and I welcome that very much.
We have to work collectively to ensure that every child has not just a fair start but the best start in life. I want that for children in Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir, Gaelscoil na Daróige and Bunscoil Cholmcille. I want that for children in every school across the North, because we can see what they deserve. Our children, families and communities deserve that best start.
395 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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