Gaeloideachas is deeply concerned that a major new survey of parents, launched today by the Department of Education and Youth, will not provide any accurate measure of the demand for Irish-medium education.

The Department of Education and Youth is asking parents with children under the age of 12 to complete a questionnaire on their preferred type of school, with questions covering three main aspects: whether they would prefer their school to be a denominational or multi-denominational school, a mixed or all-boys or all-girls school, and whether they would prefer that their school provided education through Irish or English.

However, it is clear from the FAQs published alongside the survey that it is primarily aimed at reconfiguring existing schools, and Gaeloideachas is concerned that the opportunity to assess the real demand for immersion education will be missed due to the nature of the questions asked.

At a meeting with Minister McEntee and officials from the Department of Education and Youth on the 10^th of September, Gaeloideachas and other experts on immersion education and language planning called for the question on Irish-medium education to be revised and posed in an open and positive manner.

The wording suggested by the experts was ‘If an Irish-medium school (gaelscoil) were available in your area, would you choose it for your child?’, a question that allows a parent to express a desire for more choice that wouldn’t require the language ethos of the current schools to change.

The suggestion was not acted on, however, and in the survey released today, the question is ‘Would you prefer your primary school to provide education primarily through the English language or through the Irish language?’. It is followed by a question asking the name of the parent’s preferred school. This suggests that the survey results are to support implementing change in an existing school, rather than encouraging a vision for a new school to provide broader choice.

While it is stated that “the survey preferences on providing education primarily through the English language or through the Irish language will inform potential future local consultation around opportunities to increase the provision of education through Irish”, there is no commitment to act on results indicating a demand for Irish-medium education.

Gaeloideachas is well aware of all the complexities involved in changing the language of a school. Only a handful of schools have successfully converted to Irish-medium education over the years. The Department of Education and Youth has no process to facilitate such a change, and the State’s processes for establishing new schools are flawed and inadequate when it comes to the provision of Irish-medium education.

Gaeloideachas’ vision is for an exemplary immersion education system, from naíonra to primary school to post-primary school, to be available to everyone. A local gaelscoil should be an easy choice for parents for their children, regardless of where they live, what languages they speak at home ​​or what their children’s educational needs might be.

For parents and school communities who are to undertake this survey, Gaeloideachas asks that you approach it with an open heart and mind towards the Irish language. Respondents should not be concerned that supporting the availability of Irish-medium education in their local area will be a vote against their current school community. Instead, they can support opportunities for future generations to acquire Irish by choosing ‘education through the medium of Irish’. Gaeloideachas, meanwhile, will continue to demand better from the State regarding children’s language rights.