Tá áthas orm labhairt maidir le Seachtain na Gaeilge. Mar a dúirt mé anuraidh, táim fós gnóthach ag foghlaim agus ag súil le feabhas a chur ar mo chuid Gaeilge féin. Ó ráitis na bliana seo caite, tá go leor plé déanta faoin nGaeilge, go háirithe le feachtas uachtaránachta Catherine Connolly. Léirigh an tUachtarán Connolly go bhfuil grá ag a lán daoine sa tír seo don teanga. Cosúil le go leor daoine eile, d'fhoghlaim an tUachtarán an teanga mar dhuine fásta. Spreag a feachtas go leor daoine chun an teanga a fhoghlaim arís. I am delighted to speak on Seachtain na Gaeilge. As I said last year, I am still busy learning and hoping to improve. Since last year's statements, there has been a lot of discussion about Irish, particularly since Catherine Connolly's presidential election campaign. President Connolly herself demonstrated the love of Irish that people have. She learned it as an adult, as so many people do now. Her campaign has really encouraged many people to learn Irish. Tá áthas orm plé a fheiceáil faoi na seancheisteanna atá roimh an nGaeltacht le blianta anuas. Tá níos mó daoine ag foghlaim na teanga. Feicimid níos mó éilimh ar Ghaelscoileanna agus ar Ghaelcholáistí. Tá cúrsaí Gaeilge do dhaoine fásta ar an leibhéal is airde riamh. Mar sin féin, ní mór an soláthar oideachais reatha ag an tríú leibhéal. Níl ach líon an-bheag, 0.68%, de chúrsaí tríú leibhéal ar fáil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Tá sprioc de 5% ag teastáil ó Chonradh na Gaeilge. Is líon an-bheag cúrsaí é sin. Go hidéalach, ba chóir go mbeadh múinteoirí i nGaelscoileanna agus i nGaelcholáistí in ann céimeanna múinteoireachta a chríochnú i nGaeilge. Ar ndóigh, ba chóir go mbeadh go leor cúrsaí eile ar fáil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Tá spriocanna ann go mbeidh 20% de dhaoine a bheidh ag dul isteach sa Státseirbhís inniúil sa Ghaeilge faoi 2030. Ní cosúil go mbainfear é sin amach faoi láthair i bhfianaise an luais mhall atá ann faoi láthair. I am delighted to see discussions about issues facing the Irish language over the last year. More and more people are learning it. We see more demand for Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí. Irish-language courses are at an all-time high. However, we need to address the gap in educational provision. There is a small amount of provision at third level, with only 0.68% of courses currently available through the medium of Irish. Conradh na Gaeilge wants that target to be 5%, which is still a small amount, anyway. Ideally, teachers in our Gaelscoileanna agus Gaelcholáistí should be able to do their teaching courses and training through the medium of Irish. One of the targets that has been set in the Civil Service is that 20% of new civil servants will be proficient in Irish by 2030. I am not sure that is achievable at this stage, given we are nowhere near that. Is mian liom gach rath a ghuí ar ár n-iarrthóir i bhfothoghchán na Gaillimhe Thiar ina feachtas. Rugadh Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich i gConamara agus is í an Ghaeilge a céad teanga. Tá sí eolach ar na saincheisteanna a bhíonn roimh dhuine i gceantar Gaeltachta agus, ar ndóigh, ar fud na Gaillimhe Thiar. I wish our candidate in the upcoming by-election in Galway West all the best. Míde grew up in the Gaeltacht. She knows all the issues facing the Gaeltacht areas as well as other issues in the area.

Sentiment score: 0.05