WEST Belfast boxer Pádraig McCrory has a new fight on his hands.
The former IBO light-heavyweight champion is backing a new group of parents who are concerned that their children may miss out on Irish Medium Education (IME).
Due to growing demand on the sector, with more and more parents wishing to see their children avail of the benefits that Irish Medium Education brings, Guth na dTuistí (Voice of the Parents) are pressing the Department of Education to make more places available in local Gaelscoileanna. It is particularly concerning, says Pádraig, for parents like himself who already have children at Irish medium schools but face the prospect that their pre-school children may not receive a place in an Irish medium nursery.
“The benefits of bilingualism are immense and well-rehearsed and we are so proud that Irish medium schools are flourishing, however, this creates a huge problem for parents that want to get a place in the schools,” said Pádraig.
“Simply put, increased interest means increased applications, but since the funding has remained the same, the amount of places available has not increased at the same trajectory.
“We believe that it is imperative that all children across the community have access to an Irish Medium Education.
“Although this is a huge issue at the minute, it is clear to us at Guth na dTuistí that the problems surrounding the issue of Irish Medium Education will increase for many families wishing to obtain a place in Irish Medium Education in the future. Many families are being denied places and are having to send their children to second, third, fourth and fifth choice of school. Parents are having to split their families by sending their children to different schools to their siblings due to high demand and a lot of families are having to turn to English medium schools.”
He added: “This problem, unless dealt with soon with forward planning will continue to worsen for our children and others across the community.”
