This article is from page 12 of the 2011-09-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THERE is “substantial” support for the development of a new standalone all-Irish secondary school in Ennis, a meeting has heard.
The draft results of a survey carried out by researchers on behalf of Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC) show that 69 per cent of respondents favour the development of a new all-Irish secondary school. Gaelcholáiste an Chláir, Ennis’ only second-level Irish school, is currently located on the grounds of Ennis Community College. Clare VEC undertook the survey to determine the views of people towards education through Irish at second level.
A sub-committee — Flan Garvey, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG), Cllr Cathal Crowe (FF), Maolíosa Ni Chleirigh — was established to examine the issue. Details of the survey process are contained in a report by Dr Sean Conlan, Education Officer with Clare VEC.
The report states, “The draft report has been received from the researcher, Dr Flan Giaquinto, and will be reviewed by the project steering committee and will be presented to the VEC at the October meeting. Enrolment at the school in 2010/11 was 137. Mr Conlan states that numbers at the school are expected to rise over the next eight years. He explains, “Department of Education and Science regulations now require stand alone Gaelcholaistí to achieve enrolment of 400. Over 800 questionnaires were returned. Initial indications are that there is considerable interest among the public in education through the Irish language at second level. There is evidence also that the numbers of at the school will rise year on year for the next eight years.”
The matter was raised at the September meeting of Clare VEC by Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG), who requested an update on the research process.
In response to Cllr Keating’s questions, George O’Callaghan, Chief Executive Officer of Clare VEC, said no deadline had been set for submissions. He said the survey results are currently being processed and would be presented at the committee’s October meeting.
Dr Sean Conlan told the meeting that 850 survey questionnaires had been returned, describing the level of interest from the public as “quite a good response”.
Mr Conlan said the draft findings of the survey indicate that 69 per cent of respondents are in favour of a standalone Gaelcholáiste, with around 27 per cent of respondents recommending that the school remain where it is. “There was a substantial majority in favour of a standalone Gaelcholáiste,” Mr Conlan said.
Welcoming the report’s findings, Cllr Keating said great efforts are being made in west Clare to promote the Irish language.