gaelcholaisteblog

ANSEO/HERE

Tá DVD leath uair  againn den ócáid ar fad agus ta súil againn go mbeidh sé le fáil tríd na Scoile a bhí ag glacadh páirt.

Agallamh le Fergal Uí Riain ag pléigh an feachtas ar Radio na Gaeltachta.

An interview with Fergal on Radio na Gaeltachta about the campaign

While launching the Dept of Education’s initiative to provide laptops to classrooms, Minister Batt O’Keefe referred to the current healthy state of the Department of Education’s budget. The overall capital budget of €614m means that the €22m spent on this scheme will only be 2% of that budget. Not only that, but his Department has made savings of 14% (= €85m plus) this past year.

Remember that our Gaelcholáiste will cost about €1.5-2m at most. That’s eh… 0.24% of the total budget or 1.7% of the savings made this year.

Ah no, that’s way too much.

Deireann Brian Cowen gur “Seoid Luachmhar í an Ghaeilge” Ach ceard is fiú í sin?

Chonaic muid inné nach bhfuil an t-easpa airgid an fáth nach bhfuil aitheantas faighte againn don Gaelcholáiste ón Roinn. Tá an t-eileamh ann, an pátrún ann, an foirgneamh ann, anois tá an t-airgead ann. Cén fath nach bhfuil an scoil ann fós?

Yesterday we saw that the lack of money was not the reason that we haven’t yet received recognition for the new Gaelcholáiste from the Department of Education. The demand is there, the building is there, now the money is there, why isn’t the school there yet?

Tuileadh eolais/More information
“Calls to approve capital projects”
“Minister urged to use unspent €396m on school projects”

Bhí an-spóirt ag chuile dhuine ag an Blitz Peile a bhí againn i bpairceanna Naomh Eoghan, i mBóthar Broadford. Bhí muid an-sásta an caidreamh a raibh ag fás idir na himreoirí óna scoileanna difriúla ach ag imirt ar na foirne céanna inár gcomórtas a fheiceáíl. Tá súil againn go gheobhaidh siad an seans an caidreamh seo a mhéadú san nGaelcholáíste.

We all had great fun at our Football Blitz in Naomh Eoghan’s Broadford Road pitches. We were particularly happy to see the growing friendship between players from different schools who were on the same team in our competition. We hope that they will get the chance to increase this friendship in the Gaelcholáiste. (Go here for the remainder of the post in English)

Bhí slua maith páistí, tuismitheoirí agus muinteorí ann, ag baint taitneamh as an gcéad lá grianmhar don bhlian beagnach, agus chur sé sin go mór leis an t-atmaisféar don ócaíd.

Cé go raibh sé orainn limistéar a chuir ar an méad páistí a raibh in ann glacadh páirt (níos lú ná leath na ranganna) bhí níos mó ná 70 páistí ann ag an lá. Is cinnte go dtaispeánann sé seo an méid éileamh atá ann do Gaelcholáiste nua.

Ba mhaith linn ár mbuíochas a rá arís leis na príomhoidí, na muinteoirí, na tuismitheóirí, an coiste agus na caillíní agus na buachaillí go léir as ucht tacaíocht.

Candidates from most parties contesting the Dublin South bi-election were joined by county councillors, children and parents to express their support for our campaign outside the school in Sydenham Road.

Ní Coláiste nua go cabhair

The candidates were treated to a colourful and good natured display from the children from our local primary level Gaelscoileanna wearing our “an bhfuil cead againn dul go dtí an Gaelcholáiste?” t-shirts which ask for them to be allowed continue their education through Irish at second level.

Senator Alex White (Labour)

Senator Maria Corrigan (Fianna Fáil)

At the event we pointed out that there had been a huge increase in the number of students attending Gaelscoileanna in the area:

The students from the various Gaelscoileanna were very enthusiatic about the opportunity to come together in a new Gaelcholáiste after Rang a Sé

Since 2001 there has been a massive increase in the number of children attending Gaelscoileanna in South Dublin. While 93 students graduated from 6^th class in 2001, there were 183 leaving the same schools in 2009. There will be a projected 203 pupils leaving 6th class from the six Gaelscoileanna in this area in 2011. That represents a 226% increase since 2001. There has been no corresponding increase in the provision of second level places teaching through Irish. Where exactly will the additional students go after ‘Rang a Se’?

Elizabeth Davidson (Green)

Shaun Tracey (Sinn Féin)

We have shown that there is enough demand to fill a 350 pupil secondary school in South Dublin twice over. We have a suitable building available here which will cost at most €3million to refurbish to the appropriate standards. This is relatively very little in comparison to the €20million or so which a standard 350 pupil-school built on a green field site would cost. This refurbishment need not be done all at once, but can easily take place on a rolling basis where the cost could be spread over some three to five years as the student body expands: that puts a price tag of €575,000 per year over five years for the entire school.

We drew on the thoughts of Dr Finbarr Bradley to point out that linguistic diversity and innovation, which is seen as the only way out of our current economic difficulties, go hand in hand:

According to Dr Bradley in a recent publication by Iontaobhas Gaelscoilaíochta:

“This is why Irish-medium education is so crucial. In an innovation age, the Irish language is central to the development process, both north and south. It does this through its contribution to wholeness, integrity, civic responsibility, aesthetic sensibility and ecological concern.”

Councillor Aidan Culhane (Labour)

Councillors Pat Hand (Fine Gael) and Tony Fox (Fianna Fáil)

Up until now there has been a barrier placed in the way of the development Irish language education in this area. This barrier prevents the further development of the Irish speaking community in this area and it denies many of the children of Gaelscoileanna the right to carry on their Irish language education into second level. This barrier also stands in the way to the growth of modern, technical education…we ask that this barrier be removed by the sanctioning of the school by the use of a little imagination and forethought from the Department of Education which could sanction the opening of this school at relatively little cost to the taxpayer.

In attendance were parents and children from GS Thaobh na Coille, GS Chnoc Liamhna, Scoil Naithí and Lios na nÓg, Senators Alex White (Labour candidiate for Dublin South) and Maria Corrigan (Fianna Fáil), Dublin South Candidates Elizabeth Davidson (Green) and Shaun Tracey (Sinn Féin), Councillors Aidan Culhane (Labour), Pat Hand (Fine Gael), Tony Fox (Fianna Fáil) and Sinn Féin’s candidate for DLR County Council Oonagh O’Reilly.

Oonagh O'Reilly (Sinn Féin)

Thanks to all for the support

Ní coláiste nua go cabhair!

Ní féidir an t-Aire aitheantais don Gaelcholáiste a diultú ar cúis airgeadais

Sliochta as Óráid Buséid Brian Lenihan/Extracts from Brian Lenihan’s Budget speech 2008:

Education

Investment in Education is essential for our future prosperity. I have provided for an increase of €308 million in the total expenditure provision for Education in 2009. €230 million of this increase is for current expenditure, to provide for the additional costs across the system as a result of increasing student numbers due to demographic factors…

School Building

This year we are investing €810 million in capital projects for Education. Next year I am providing €889 million: an increase of €79 million.

Continued strong investment in our primary and post-primary school infrastructure remains a key priority for the Government. This year, we have delivered 12,000 new primary school places, a record number in any one year. Next year, 581 million, or two-thirds of the total education capital budget, will be devoted to the school building programme.

This substantial investment will provide additional school places, in response to the increased population. It will allow for the modernisation of the existing school infrastructure….

The Minister for Education and Science will be providing further details in due course.

In our letter to the Minister of education we drew his attention to the following costs ratio:

The school building, at Sydenham Road, Dundrum, County Dublin, is centrally located to most of the schools participating in our campaign for the new school. It would accommodate the 350 students identified in our surveys as likely to attend the school. The cost of refurbishment of the school and its equipment to modern standards is estimated to be under €3million and therefore is considerably less than the costs of other new schools recently established on green field sites elsewhere in the county. To the best of our knowledge schools have recently been established in the north of the county at a cost in the region of €20-€25. For a 1,000 pupil school this represents a capital investment of €20,000 to €25,000 for each student place. With the cost of refurbishing Sydenham Rd. estimated at under €3M for 340 pupils this represents a capital investment of less than €9,000 for each student place.

Please help us now by calling on the Minister to meet with us without delay and to grant the Gaelcholáiste the departmental recognition required to enable the new school open in 2009.

SÍNIGH ÁR ACHAINÍ -ANSEO/SIGN OUR PETITION HERE or
Scríobh chuig an Aire/Write Directly to the Minister ANSEO-HERE
Nó téigh i dteagmháil le bhur polaiteoirí áitiúla/Or Contact you local Representative ANSEO-HERE

Teastaíonn aitheantas ón Aire uainn no caillfear an seans seo chun breis áiseanna oideachais trí Ghaeilge a chur ar fáil/ We need the go ahead from the Minster and the Department now or this opportunity to provide adequate, additional, second level education through Irish will be lost.