THE Irish language is in serious decline with Gaeilge unlikely to be the primary language in the Gaeltacht in 10 years’ time. This is according to a report by Údarás na Gaeltachta, the body which oversees economic development in Irish-speaking areas. An tÚdarás has found that Irish being eroded as a community language in the Gaeltacht has not abated since the organisation’s first research in 2007. Even in the Gaeltacht, Irish is becoming confined to academic settings, the report says. Of the 155 electoral divisions in the Gaeltacht — spread across parts of counties Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Meath and Waterford — only 21 are communities where Irish is spoken on a daily basis by 67 per cent or more of the population. A total of 67 per cent is regarded as a tipping point for language survival. The chairperson of Údarás na Gaeltachta , Anna Ní Ghallachair said that the report details how the Irish language has contracted as a community language in the Gaeltacht, especially in the strongest Gaeltacht areas. Further, the decline in usage of Irish is now taking place at a faster rate than was predicted in the original study in 2007 and demands urgent intervention, the report says. Údarás na Gaeltachta, Chief Executive, Steve Ó Cúláin, confirmed that the research statistics show there has been no increase in the number of active Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht, but believed that efforts could still help to save the language. “The fact is that there are still many people in the Gaeltacht whose first and everyday language is Irish,” he said. “Language planning is a complex process, and will only be successful with the community, the public sector and the private sector, all working together to support the promotion and usage of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht.”
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