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(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann nua Gaeltachta. Is féidir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo.)
MORE THAN 60% of people are in favour of more third-level courses being made available through Irish, the results of a new survey commissioned by Conradh na Gaeilge and carried out by Ireland Thinks have revealed.
According to the results, 61% of people in the Republic of Ireland are in favour of more third-level courses in Irish, an increase from 54% who indicated they were in favour when the same question was asked in the survey in 2022.
Of the sample of 1,648 who were polled, 15% said they were against more third-level courses through Irish, a decrease from 26% who expressed opposition in 2022. There was a slight increase in the number of people who said they had no opinion or did not know, from 19% in 2022 to 26% in 2o25.
The survey results are a reflection of the “extremely strong support among the public for better access to Irish at third level”, according to Pádraig Mac Brádaigh, vice-president of the Irish Students’ Union (AMU) and a member of the business committee of Conradh na Gaeilge.
“This shows a clear demand for the next generation to have the appropriate opportunities to study through the medium of Irish,” he said.
Mac Brádaigh said that “the government must ensure that a much wider range of third-level courses through Irish are developed in the coming years”.
“There is a need for clear, measurable targets and a national model similar to the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol in Wales, which works directly with universities to support and expand courses in the language,” he said.
The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol was set by the Welsh government in 2011 and it creates and promotes training and study opportunities through the medium of the Welsh language by working with further education colleges, schools and universities.
“We are seeking commitments to increase the number of third-level courses through Irish from less than 1% to 5% within 20 years.”
Mac Bradaigh said that it was essential to use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which sets standards for proficiency in different languages, from early childhood education to third level to ensure a targeted supply of Irish-speaking people for the public sector to meet the recruitment target of 20%.
“Furthermore, there is a need to implement the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in the education system from early childhood education to 3rd level to ensure a direct supply of competent Irish speakers for the public sector to achieve the 20% recruitment target.”
The Government has committed that 20% of new recruits to the public service will be able to converse and provide services through Irish by 2030.
The demand for more Irish language courses in the third level area was among the priorities mentioned when over 25,000 people took to the main streets of Dublin to demonstrate for language and Gaeltacht rights.
The range of Irish language courses at third level has increased in recent years with opportunities for students to study subjects such as law through Irish, communications through Irish and international commerce through Irish. However, courses such as engineering and medicine are not available through Irish though the language is offered as an optional extra subject for a number of courses such as law and communications. TCD offers Irish as an optional extra subject for its computer science degree course.
Tá tacaíocht á fháil ag Beartas Gaeltachta The Journal ón Scéim Tuairiscithe ar Dhaonlathas Áitiúil
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