Majority of Newly Elected Irish Parliament Support The Irish Language - Conradh na Gaeligh Welcomes a New Day for the Tongue

After long years of indifference on the part of the Irish Government toward the health of the Irish language, things just might be changing. Soon the Celtic tongue will begin to get the respect it deserves.  At least that is what defenders of the Irish language can be permitted to believe. The Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaelige) have haled the results of the February 26 elections and its hoped for impact on the tongue.  Following the results of the February 26th Parliamentary election, the Gaelic League have released the following statement:

News From The Gaelic League: 

With 84 TDs (members of the lower house) elected to the 32nd Dáil officially supporting three main Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments, over 80 community groups welcomed the news that a majority of newly elected TDs support their commitments, including an investment plan and various representative measures for the language.

Over 53% of TDs now support the Irish-language and Gaeltacht commitments, and Conradh na Gaeilge is calling on the newly elected members of Dáil Éireann to urgently prioritise the following main commitments in current ongoing talks regarding a programme for government or restructuring of the Dáil:

1. An additional investment of €18 million in an Irish-language and Gaeltacht plan to expand the use of Irish and to create 1,175+ new jobs;
2. The appointment of a senior Minister for Irish and for the Gaeltacht, who has Irish, so that there is Irish language input at the Government table; and
3. The establishment of a joint Oireachtas committee for the Irish language and Gaeltacht affairs of the same standing as other joint Oireachtas committees.

Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill, President of Conradh na Gaeilge says: “This is a huge step forward for the Irish-language and Gaeltacht community as we can now legitimately argue that a majority of TDs support our commitments and therefore that the three main commitments should be implemented, regardless of how the final Government is formed. Conradh na Gaeilge is calling on every TD to implement the guarantees and promises they made in regard to the language and the Gaeltacht community with the electorate in the current talks about a programme for government or restructuring of the Dáil.”

See the full text of the Gaelic League's analysis of the 2016 election results on the link posted below.

https://cnag.ie/en/news/799-53-of-new-dáil-supports-irish-language-gaeltacht-commitments,-conradh-na-gaeilge-calls-for-immediate-action.html

transceltic.com/blog/fighting-gaelic-ballot-box-irelands-voters-are-called-action​