Academic test to ensure Údarás members proficient in Irish may prove a deterrent, committee hears

A proposal that elected members of Údarás na Gaeltachta must pass an exam to prove their proficiency in Irish could dissuade some native speakers from standing for election, academics and language campaigners have suggested.

Draft legislation which would pave the way for the reintroduction of elections to the authority, which promotes language, economics and cultural activity in the Gaeltacht regions, includes a requirement that elected members would have achieved a Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (European certificate in Irish) at a B2 level.

However, historian Prof Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh told an Oireachtas committee that he was concerned about requiring those who seek election to obtain an academic qualification and certificate.

‘Worthy Gaeltacht candidates’

“It would detract very worthy [Gaeltacht] candidates from standing for election if something academic like that was involved,” he said.

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He said some people who could be good representatives and “would have no difficulty obtaining the qualification” might “turn their backs on the election” should such a requirement be involved.

Prof Ó Tuathaigh told the Oireachtas sub-committee on Irish and the Gaeltacht regions, chaired by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh, it was very important that elected members of the authority were proficient Irish speakers but that the provisions in the draft Bill for an “academic” qualification were too precise and rigid.

Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív said he was undecided on the matter. It was important hat people had good Irish but the requirement in question was an academic qualification.

“I would be afraid that many native speakers and community workers in the Gaeltacht would not pass the B2. The question is how can you make sure that a person has good Irish,” he said.

The effectiveness of State policy in the Gaeltacht in recent years came under intense scrutiny during a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking community on Wednesday.

Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, professor of Gaelic research and director of the University of the Highlands Institute of Language Sciences, questioned the viability of the Gaeltacht under the current circumstances.

He said the official approach to the conservation of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht has been ineffective for many years and requires radical change.

Prof Ó Giollagáin said second language learners of Irish living in Gaeltacht areas have become the priority of Government to the detriment of native Irish speakers.

He said there is a “widespread reluctance” within the State system to acknowledge “the stark truth” of the decline of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht, where only an estimated 20,000 native speakers remain. He said a system that was ineffective at preventing the decline of the Gaeltacht was to be expected as a result.

Irish-speaking community

He stated that progress in certain official areas is being used to “hide the truth” about a key area that is crucial for the survival of a minority language, namely the stability of the native Irish-speaking community.

Prof Ó Giollagáin said the State has “consistently ignored” the results of research and studies. He warned that as long as this approach remains unchanged, the support offered by bodies such as Údarás na Gaeltachta will not meet the needs of the Gaeltacht.

“Fundamental reform” of the State’s approach to the Gaeltacht is required, instead of “a limited discussion” on policies that will do little to change the “status quo”, he said.

Under the new Bill, 10 of the 16 places on the Údarás board will be directly elected by the public living in Gaeltacht areas, while the remaining six will be appointed.

Prof Ó Tuathaigh said the question of who will have a vote in an election “is a sensitive question” as areas officially within the Gaeltacht, particularly those on the outskirts of Galway city, are majority English-speaking communities.

Language activist Donncha Ó hÉallaithe cited concerns that the islands will not have an elected representative under the current proposition. “I don’t think it gives recognition to the islands. They have their own problems that do not apply to other places, and there are only five islands in total,” he said.