The Committee has identified a number of potential sites for the new Gaelcholáiste and we are actively seeking the support of our patron, local and European politicians as well as the Department of Education in securing a suitable location for the school. However, we have nothing definite to report yet.

The school cannot be established without the approval of the Department of Education and the first step towards this approval is the provisional recognition which has not been granted. We understand that certain current policy positions, many of these not widely known are obstructing our progress to provisional recognition. These are:

The Department seeks to channel the majority, if not all, of its development budget into new and developing areas: namely outside Dublin City.

The Department sees Irish language education as a choice rather than a right. Its budgetary decisions will prioritize English language education

The Department is seeking to consolidate its current infrastructure of schools. It will therefore seek to amalgamate existing schools rather than provide new schools.

Many of these policy decisions have been made informally and without reference to the commitments made by our political leadership. They do not appear to take into account the clear and stated objectives of the current government’s support for the status of the Irish language. They have not been subjected to public debate and scrutiny. They may well be contrary to the expectations and wishes of the parents of schoolchildren not only in South Dublin, but throughout the country.

It is now abundantly clear that the main obstacle to the establishment of the Gaelcholáiste is the attitude of the Department to Irish language education.

We need to make our opposition to this attitude clear to the Minister and the Department if we are to get provisional recognition for the Gaelcholáiste.

We have set up an email petition to be found at: petitionwhich we ask you to sign so as to make it clear to the Department that Irish language education for your child in your locality is a right, not a choice.

This campaign will not succeed without your support. Please don’t leave it to somebody else.