Byrne 'horrified’ at Fine Gael plans for Irish

Fine Gael's plans for the teaching of Irish will lead to the extinction of the language, Deputy Thomas Byrne has warned. “I was horrified to hear Enda Kenny say that he would abolish the teaching of the Irish language as a core subject for the Leaving Certificate. This would be hugely damaging to the language and lead to the extinction of the language,†he said. “I would be the first to admit that we need to continue to reform the way in which the language is taught, but Gaelscoileana are growing up all over the country and, here in Meath East, where we have our Gaeltacht in Baile Ghib, the pride that people have in their language is evident. “As an enthusiastic Gaelgoir myself, I have seen first-hand the sense of community that can built in Gaeltacht areas where families come together with a shared sense of purpose and pride in their heritage and culture.†He added: “For our national language to flourish and grow, we must give it every encouragement. Downgrading the language by making it optional at Leaving Certificate is a retrograde step.†Deputy Byrne said expert opinion points to the importance of a language being compulsory if it is to survive in the long term. He said that Fianna Fáil had a plan for the Irish language and the party's 20-Year Strategy is a comprehensive and detailed roadmap for the development of the language. “The strategy has a range of new measures, including how Irish is taught, and hopes to increase the number of daily Irish speakers to 250,000 by 2030. Gaeltacht areas like Baile Ghib should be given every encouragement to grow and Fianna Fáil have the plan to ensure this happens,†he said.