Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 6 Nov 1997

Vol. 482 No. 5

Adjournment Debate. - Irish Language Qualifications.

Mr. Gilmore

This matter concerns an Irish emigrant who lived and worked in Australia for 33 years. He taught in a high school there and has fluent Irish which he taught to other emigrants. His ambition was to return to Ireland to teach Irish in the school system. At his own expense, he returned and successfully pursued the Ceard Teastas i nGaeilge. In April 1997 he replied to a public advertisement to be admitted to the Teastas i dTeanga na Gaeilge course, which would enable him to teach Irish in the school system here. On 6 June 1997 he was informed in writing by the Department of Education that he had been accepted on the course and he should attend at Galway Regional Technical College on 1 July for its commencement.

He returned from Australia and on the first day of the course, after he had attended the introductory lecture and while he was attending the first part, he was called out by a Department of Education official, informed that a mistake had been made and that he should not have been admitted to the course because he did not have Irish or a subject studied through Irish in his primary degree. I appreciate an oversight can occur in any situation, but it is difficult to accept this was a mere oversight by the Department of Education and Science.

It was clear from the man's application form that he did not have Irish in his primary degree. In addition, when submitting the application, he wrote a covering letter drawing attention to this fact and pointing out that it was the reason he was applying to do the TTG in the first place. A paragraph in the letter stated:

Táim cáilithe mar mhúinteoir cheanna féin agus tá BA bainte amach agam. Ach ni féidir Gaeilge a bheith mar ábhar céime san Austráil. Sin í an fhaidhb agus is é sin freisin an fáth gur dheineas an Cheárd Teastas.

It was clear the man was drawing attention to the fact he did not have Irish because he could not do a degree in Irish in Australia and that was why he was applying to do the TTG.

Despite protests from the man the Department held firm and it was not until after I raised the matter in a Dáil question on 14 October that a written explanation was given to him as to why he was taken off the course. The Minister's reply to my question — I accept it was unintentional — was inaccurate. The Minister stated the man in question was informed of the position immediately prior to the commencement of the course. That was not the case. As I already explained, he had started the course when he was told.

This man has suffered considerable financial loss by returning from Australia to attend this course. He has also made career decisions based on the fact that he was accepted on the course and had expected to teach Irish in a school here. These decisions are now in shreds and he has been considerably financially disadvantaged as a result. He is now teaching as an unqualified teacher in a school here at considerable financial loss. He has been greatly penalised by the decision made by the Department of Education and Science over which he had no control.

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, to take a personal interest in this case. I want him to make a decision to allow the man to be admitted to the TTG course in 1998. I also ask him to have his officials meet the man and make whatever arrangements are necessary to put his teaching career back on track and to recompense him for the financial losses he has incurred.

The treatment of this man has been scandalous. He was an emigrant who kept alive his knowledge and fluency of the Irish language, who passed it on to other emigrants through teaching and who wanted to come back here in the latter years of his life to teach in a school. Not only was he confronted by the petty regulations which state that he could not do the course because he did not have Irish in his primary degree, but when he was accepted on the course and came back here at his own expense he was then taken off it.

I want the Minister to take a personal interest in this case and to give whatever direction is necessary to his officials to put this man back on the course for 1998.

Mr. Treacy

I am surprised this situation has occurred. I thank Deputy Gilmore for raising this matter and I will explain the position. I do not have personal knowledge of the case but from what Deputy Gilmore has said I may know the person, particularly if he is from the west.

I will briefly explain the purpose of the Teastas i dTeagasc na Gaeilge — TTG. The TTG is intended for those wishing to teach the subject Irish in second level schools. It is regarded as desirable for all teachers of Irish in second level schools and is compulsory for teachers of Irish who are employed by vocational education committees and who do not hold the Higher Diploma in Education. The TTG course is also open to primary teachers who hold the B.Ed. degree with Irish as a subject of the degree.

The examination is taken at the end of a course of study of about four weeks duration. Applicants who wish to teach Irish in second level schools will be admitted to the course only if they have obtained a full BA degree with Irish as one of the subjects in the final year, or if they expect to be awarded such a degree in the current year.

There is a further provision which is designed to admit existing holders of a full BA degree who do not have Irish in their final year. Such applicants will be admitted to the TTG course if they have passed a qualifying examination in Irish conducted by a recognised university for purposes of adding Irish to their existing subjects of BA degree level or for purposes of entry to an MA degree programme in Irish.

Prior to 1979 teachers of practical subjects, such as woodwork and metalwork, who did not hold a BA degree were eligible for admission to the TTG. A teacher who was admitted to the TTG prior to 1979 is still eligible for admission if wishing to update his or her knowledge of Irish.

Application to attend the TTG course is made to the Department on a standard application form which outlines the conditions governing acceptance to the course. The TTG course in 1997 was held between 1 and 25 July in Galway Regional Technical College, and the Department of Education vetted applications for admission to the course.

In the case at hand, approval to attend the course was given through error on the Department's part. The applicant was, in fact, written to on 6 June 1997 — a very important date for Members of this House — advising that he had been accepted for the TTG course.

The error was not detected until the inspector in charge of the course carried out a further scrutiny of eligibility on the first day of the course. The practice of further scrutiny on the first day of the course is of long standing. On occasion, it has led to a small number of applicants being rejected at that stage. However, this has not caused any difficulty until now as all such candidates had been based in Ireland. In this case, while the applicant gave an Irish address on his application form, the Department did not advert to the fact that he was living in Australia, although this was also evident from previous correspondence.

On the first day of the course the inspector in charge informed the applicant that he was ineligible to attend the course as he did not have the requisite qualification. On the following day another inspector confirmed to him that he was ineligible and again explained the reason for his ineligibility. Because of the particular nature of the course it was not possible to make an exception and allow the applicant to attend the course.

This case was the subject of a written parliamentary question by Deputy Gilmore on 14 October 1997. Following the parliamentary reply the Department wrote to the applicant at his Australian address on 15 October 1997. Furthermore, on receipt of a communication from another source, a copy of the letter was sent to the applicant at his Irish address on 16 October 1997. In correspondence with the applicant the Department has fully acknowledged its error and has apologised for the error and the inconvenience caused. The applicant has also been invited to contact the Department if he needs further clarification or if the Department can be of assistance in any other respect.

I wish to take this opportunity to apologise again, on behalf of the Department, for the error and the inconvenience which it has caused, and to extend once again our invitation to the applicant to contact the Department to see if it can be of assistance in any other respect.

Finally, I want to confirm that the arrangements for vetting qualifications for entry to the TTG are being reviewed within the Department with a view to eliminating the possibility of such an unfortunate happening in the future.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta Mac Giollamóir toisc gur chuir sé an cheist seo os comhair an Tí um thráthnóna. Ba mhaith liom, arís, leithscéal a ghabháil leis an iarrthóir seo toisc an bhotúin a rinneadh sa Roinn agus sínim geallúint don Teachta Mac Giollamóir agus don Teach seo go ndéanfaidh mé socrú láithreach chun cruinniú a eagrú idir an iarrthóir seo agus oifigí i mo Roinnse. Geallaim, freisin, go mbeidh spéis phearsanta agam san iarratas seo. Tá dualgas orainn uilig, mar bhaill den Rialtas agus, go háirithe ar an Roinn Oideachais, ár ndícheall a dhéanamh i gcónaí múineadh na Gaeilge agus seans snas a chur ar a chuid Gaeilge a chur ar fáil do gach Éireannach is cuma an bhfuil sé sa tír seo nó thar lear.

Mr. Gilmore

Go raibh maith agat.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.25 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 12 November 1997.