Irish language school programme Leargas loses funding

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin runs the Leargas programme, which sees tutors teaching the Irish language in English-medium schools in Derry and Strabane.

A centre that provides Irish language lessons in north west primary schools has been told their funding will end.

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin runs the Leargas programme, which sees tutors teaching the Irish language in English-medium schools in Londonderry and Strabane.

The Department for Education (DE) said the funding it provides for the programme will cease by the end of May.

The centre has warned that without the funding it will not be able to maintain the same level of lessons.

The Leargas programme, which first started as a pilot in 2011, has been running fully in the north west for more than a decade.

About 1,600 pupils aged between 9 and 11 take up to 75 lessons a week in 14 primary schools in Derry and one in Strabane.

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Education co-ordinator at Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, Carol Nic Conmara, said there is a huge demand for the programme locally.

"There has been a definite increase in Irish language uptake in secondary schools here over recent years since we started the Leargas programme," she told The North West Today.

She said there is a growing waiting list of local schools wanting to be included on the programme next year.

'Difficult decisions'

The Department for Education has said they are yet to receive its confirmed budget for 2023-24 and have had to make some "difficult decisions".

"The interim allocation from the Northern Ireland Office is extremely challenging and has required significant reductions across a wide range of areas," a department spokesperson said.

"In light of the considerable budgetary pressures, the department has had to cease or reduce funding across a number of programmes.

"We recognise fully how disappointing this has been to those organisations impacted."