NORTH OF IRELAND: IRISH LANGUAGE - CROSS IRELAND COOPERATION NEEDED

Education Minister in the Northern Ireland government, Caitriona Ruane, has said that should be greater cooperation in Irish language education across Ireland and also that linguistic similarities between Scottish Gaelic and Irish can provide mutual benefits.

The comments come in a report prepared for Minister Ruane which highlights:

«The issues faced in Scotland and Wales are often similar to those faced here, and much could be gained through pooling of information and resources.”

»In particular, the linguistic similarities between Scottish and Irish Gaelic could provide fertile ground for mutual benefits, for example in sharing pedagogy and learning resources.«

»The beneficial outcomes of all-Ireland cooperation can flow in both directions, and they are likely to be limited only by the ingenuity of the sectors in the various areas.”

«In many instances the small size of the Irish-medium sector mean that economies of scale cannot be harnessed.”

»Taking account of all the demands for Irish-medium resources, including human resources, across the island of Ireland would go a long way to addressing this difficulty."

Catriona Ruane is a strong advocate of the development of Irish medium education however as we have reported in earlier items on Celtic News a major stumbling block at present is continuing opposition by the DUP element in the power sharting government to the introduction of an Irish Language Act.

J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League 11/10/08