Debate contribution: Irish Language Strategy
Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 18 March 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Irish Language Strategy
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4860545
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Is mionteanga í an Ghaeilge. Tá dhá rud de dhíth uirthi: cearta agus acmhainní. Tá pobal na Gaeilge ag fás. Tá líon na ndaoine óga atá ar Gaelscoileanna ag fás. Tá líon na ndaoine fásta atá ag foghlaim na Gaeilge ag fás. Tá maoiniú agus tacaíocht cheart de dhíth ar an phobal sin. Tá an maoiniú agus an tacaíocht sin tuillte aige. I mo cheantar féin, tá seirbhísí i mbaol. Tá múinteoirí faoi bhrú, agus tá scoil ann, Gaelscoil an Lonnáin, atá gan foirgneamh ceart go fóill. Tá sé iontach tábhachtach go gcuireann Stormont stráitéis na Gaeilge i bhfeidhm, stráitéis lena gcuirfear acmhainní cearta ar fáil don teanga. Táthar ag baint moill aisti ar feadh i bhfad rófhada. Deir na páirtithe móra go minic nach bhfuil go leor airgid ann. Ach is bréag é sin. Thug sibh na milliúin do Invest NI ar na mallaibh – cé go bhfuil scéal ann faoi airgead le Invest NI bheith á úsáid le heitleáin de chuid Iosrael a dheisiú. Cuir stad leis na leithscéalta. Cuir stad leis an phlámás. Cuir i bhfeidhm, agus maoinigh, stráitéis na Gaeilge anois.
For too long, the Irish-medium education sector has been too reliant on goodwill and unsustainable, ad hoc funding. Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta recently completed an audit of the progress on the review of Irish-medium education. It found that, since 2008, zero progress has been made on a quarter of the recommendations that were made in the review of Irish-medium education. Absolutely no progress has been made in 17 years on accommodation issues, support for children with special educational needs, informal learning through Irish and Irish language support for children at home. Areas of particular concern include staff training in the Irish-medium sector. Education workers report that DE and the EA do not understand the challenges that are associated with immersive education in a target language. Institutional inertia, as many have described it, is failing the needs of Irish-medium education and its learners. A well-resourced Irish-medium education strategy should also be a priority for the Education Minister. I urge him to get on with it.
348 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.19 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.89).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.94).
- Subject area: Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.13 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.51 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.07 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.16 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.89 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.19 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.94 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.05 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:10 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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