An Droichead in éadan ciorruithe an ÚO ar mhaoiniú óige Gaeilge | An Droichead speaks out against the EA cuts in Irish medium youth funding
Tá An Droichead iontach buartha fán chinneadh atá déanta ag an Údaras Oideachais (ÚO) le déanaí deireadh iomlán a chur le maoiniú don earnáil óige Gaeilge.
Cosúil le roinnt grúpaí eile, tugadh le fios dúinn go mbeadh seirbhísí óige Gaeilge clúdaithe i sonraíochtaí úra an ÚO do 2022/23. D’aontaigh na grúpaí chomhairleach áitiúla seo, le comhairlúcháin leathan pobail agus ghlac bainistíocht an ÚO leis. Ina dhiaidh sin, tugadh le fios do ghrúpaí cúpla seachtain roimh an spriocdháta do mholtaí go ndeachaigh bainistíocht an ÚO siar ar an rud a bhí aontaithe agus nach mbeadh sonraíocht ar bith ann do sholáthar óige Gaeilge amach anseo.
Fágann seo grúpaí timpeall an tuaiscirt gan dóchas maoiniú a fháil do sheirbhísí Gaeilge riachtanacha sa phobal. I gcás An Droichead, cuirfidh seo deireadh le soláthar óige do cheantracha an Ormeau Íochtarach, An Margadh agus an Trá Ghearr – soláthar a bhíonn ag freastal ar 40+ Gaeil óga sna cheantair seo atá faoi fhíor mhíbhuntáiste. Chomh maith le cailliúint na seirbhísí seo, agus cailliúint trí phoist páirtaimseartha a chothaíonn na seirbhísí, imeoidh na buntáistí gaolmhara sóisialta, oideachais, eacnamaíochta agus fostaíochta.
Déanfar an scéal níos measa arís mar deir an ÚO ní amháin go bhfuil na ciorruithe seo ag tarlú, ach go bhfuil siad ag séanadh go hoscailte a gcuid freagrachtaí le maoiniú a chur ar fáil do sheirbhísí óige Gaeilge sa todhchaí, ach amháin nuair is cuid de thosaíocht eile iad. Is buile shuntasach é seo d’earnáil óige an tuaiscirt ina iomláine, a bhí in ann forbairt thar 12 bliain a bhuíochas leis an sruth maoinithe thar a bheith beag seo ón ÚO. Tá an-dul chun cinn déanta ag seirbhisí óige san am seo fud fad ár bpobail faoi bhagairt agus d’fhéadfadh seo an infheistíocht seo ar fad a chur amú.
Tá tuilleadh imní ar An Droichead de bharr an chinnidh scannalach £80,000 de mhaoiniú agus roinnt poist a ghearradh ó Ghlór na Móna. Is iad Glór na Móna an phríomhsholáthar de sheirbhísí óige i mBéal Feirste. Tá a soláthar, agus a ceannaireacht, riachtanach le haghaidh dul chun cinn leanúnach don earnáil óige Gaeilge anseo.
Ach tá ceist níos leithne i gceist anseo. Téann cinneadh an ÚO chun maoiniú óige Gaeilge uilig a bhaint agus an seasamh úr nach bhfuil bhfuil dualgas ar bith orthu muid a mhaoiniú, téann siad go hiomlán in éadan spiorad Chomhaontú Aoine an Chéasta agus comhaontuithe eile a tháinig le blianta beaga anuas. Níl sé inghlacth le rá, anois, nach bhfuil aon fhreagracht ghinearálta stáit chun tacú le seirbísí óige Gaeilge. Agus tá sé uafásach é sin a dhéanamh ar an earnáil chomh mall seo. Léiríonn an meoin seo easpa airde ar fhadhbanna meabharshláinte an ghrúpa imeallaithe seo agus an ról a imríonn na seirbhísí óige dhírithe seo dul i ngleic leis na fadhbanna seo.
Tá An Droichead ar lorg cruinniú eigeandála le ionadaithe áitiúla chun an bhagairt seo ar ár earnáil a phlé. Impíonn muid ar Fhóram na n-Óg agus eagraíochtaí tacaíochta earnála tabhairt faoin cheist seo go réamhghníomhach.
An Droichead is dismayed at the recent decision by the Education Authority (EA) to do scrap Irish medium youth funding.
Like a number of groups, An Droichead was led to believe that Irish medium youth services would be covered in the EA’s new funding specifications for 2022/23. This was agreed by the local advisory groups (LAG), with wide community consultation, and accepted by EA management. Groups were subsequently informed a couple of weeks before the deadline for proposals that EA management had gone back on what they agreed and that there would be no specification for Irish medium youth provision going forward.
This leaves groups around the north with no hope of revenue funding for essential Irish language services in the community. In An Droichead’s case, this will almost certainly mean the end of our youth provision for the lower Ormeau, Market and Short Strand areas – provision that meets the needs of 40+ Irish speaking teenagers in this greatly disadvantaged area. Along with the loss of these services, as well as the three part-time jobs that sustain them, will go all of the the associated educational, social and economic/employment benefits.
Making matters even worse, the EA have said that not only will these cuts be made, but they are openly refuting their responsibility to fund Irish medium youth services in the future except where those services can fit within other priorities. This is a huge blow for the entire Irish medium youth sector in the north of Ireland, who have been able to develop over the past 12 years only because of this extremely small funding stream from the EA. It threatens to bring to a halt the progress made by youth services across our communities in that time and could mean a total waste of those funds.
Eoghan Ó Garmaile ag labhairt ag an chruinniú poiblí ag Glór na Móna ar an Déardaoin.
An Droichead is further concerned by the scandalous decision to cut £80,000 of funding and several jobs from Glór na Móna. Glór na Móna is the main provider of Irish medium youth services in Belfast. Their provision, and their leadership, is essential to the continued development of the Irish medium youth sector here.
However, there is a wider issue at stake here. The EA’s decision to remove all Irish medium youth funding and their new position that they have no responsibility to fund it goes against the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements made in recent years. To say, now, that there is no general statutory responsibility to support essential Irish medium youth services is not acceptable. To do it in this way, at this late stage, is devastating to the sector. Such thinking also shows a total lack of concern for mental health problems among this marginalised group, and for how targeted youth services play an essential role in tackling that.
An Droichead is seeking an urgent meeting with local representatives to discuss this threat to our sector. We encourage Fóram na n-Óg and other sectoral support bodies to actively tackle this issue head-on.