Pay to speak Irish

dewdrop

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it is reported that nurses in Dingle are seeking additional payment for being able to speak Irish to patients. Is there any other country in the world where people seek payment to speak the first language?
 
it is reported that nurses in Dingle are seeking additional payment for being able to speak Irish to patients. Is there any other country in the world where people seek payment to speak the first language?
No, but they will probably get it.
 
I wonder if there is any chance of VHI paying out double to the patients ..... for having to listen to them. Why all this silly business? I'm sure if it was a grant form that had to be filled out in English ........ there would be little problem for the patients.
 
As an Irish speaker myself, who relishes the rare opportunities I get to speak Irish at work, this kind of thing makes me :mad::mad:

I doubt if they will get it though - to concede such a claim would open the floodgates for teachers in Gaelscoileanna, Gardaí, civil and public servants who interact with Irish speakers etc. If nothing else, it would be bad industrial relations.It would also make a mockery of the position of Irish in Bunreacht na hÉireann. Still, it means things in the health service must be improving if this is what nurses are concerned about :rolleyes:
 
Hi aonfocaleile! An enlightened piece. And for the first time I have not felt threatened by a Gaelgoir. Thank you for not trying to ram it. As regards the nurses ....... if you read The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins) you wil see why they (and indeed all of us) cary on as we do in these circumstances. Incidentally, his tome is as bearla only.
 
to concede such a claim would open the floodgates for teachers in Gaelscoileanna, Gardaí, civil and public servants who interact with Irish speakers etc.

These professions, if based in certain Gaeltacht areas, may already receive a Gaeltacht Allowance - it was set up in the 30s to encourage gardai to relocate to Gaeltacht areas and covers certain professions including teachers and nurses. Not getting into the rights and wrongs of whether the Gaeltacht Allowance should exist or not (don't have an opinion either way), but the nurses seem to be entitled to this allowance, and are looking for parity. If you think it should be abolished altogether then fair enough, but that's another question entirely.
 
These professions, if based in certain Gaeltacht areas, may already receive a Gaeltacht Allowance - it was set up in the 30s to encourage gardai to relocate to Gaeltacht areas and covers certain professions including teachers and nurses. Not getting into the rights and wrongs of whether the Gaeltacht Allowance should exist or not (don't have an opinion either way), but the nurses seem to be entitled to this allowance, and are looking for parity. If you think it should be abolished altogether then fair enough, but that's another question entirely.
What grants are there for professional plasterers or professional accountants to relocate to the Gaeltacht?
 
What grants are there for professional plasterers or professional accountants to relocate to the Gaeltacht?
Speaking as a Spread, I'm not quite sure that this should apply to us. When we do speak at work, we're just talking to the wall (or ceiling) and as yet they have not put in for special as gaeilge treatment.:)
 
Speaking as a Spread, I'm not quite sure that this should apply to us. When we do speak at work, we're just talking to the wall (or ceiling) and as yet they have not put in for special as gaeilge treatment.:)
But I'm sure you are a professional spread.;)
 
I accept the point re parity with other (public service) professions who may receive the allowance. But on a broader level, the days of encouraging people to live in Gaeltacht areas are long gone. Its hard to buy a house there now, let alone get planning permission to build one, unless previous generations of your family lived in a particular area. However, I'm sure there would be uproar about the "damage" to the language if the allowance was withdrawn.:rolleyes:

I wonder do civil/public servants in Roinn na Gaeltachta or Local Authorites in Kerry/Dongeal/Galway etc receive a language allowance? I doubt it to be honest, but am open to correction.

Also, why don't Gaeltacht natives (for want of a better phrase) who work in English speaking areas, seek a similar allowance? Or foreign nurses whose first language is not English? :confused: Oh, thats right, because no one forces them to work where they work.
 
As the first language of this counrty - all people working in the public sector should be able to conduct business with the public in Irish.

It is about time local authorities and public services showed leadership in this area.

People should be demanding services in Irish.
 
I think those working in the civil service who complete the scrudu beal get extra payment.

It would be better - if those who could not be bothered to learn the language to docked.

Hit them in the pocket and they'll pick up the language.

When you see the progress Des Bishop made - what excuse do our public servants have?
 
When you see the progress Des Bishop made - what reasons do our public servants have?
Des didn't learn it for the good of his health. He made a TV show which presumably earned him lost of money.

But seeing as you take the knee-jerk reaction of asking why our public servants don't learn Irish, here's a few;

1) They are kind-of busy with the day job. What loss in productivity of public services would you be prepared to live with to give people the time to learn a new language?
2) Taking money off people would be a breach of existing terms and conditions and would be illegal. It's generally not a good idea for the Govt to take illegal actions.
3) The vast majority of the Irish population are very likely to continue to want to interact with the public service in English, therefore the value-for-money return in spending time and cost on all public servants learning Irish is highly questionable.
4) Forcing people to learn a language is generally not very effective. They've tried it that way with Irish in schools, and it hasn't worked. Why would you want to continue to go down this road?

Maybe if you sit back and think about this for more than a few seconds, you'll come up with some constructive suggestions.
 
I think those working in the civil service who complete the scrudu beal get extra payment.


Utter balderdash.

I can see this thread developing in the way as many others which discuss Public Servants do ...tar every public servant with the same brush. A comment about gardai getting Gaeltacht Allowances adn suddenly, it is a "fact" that "all" public servants get an allowance for working in the Gaeltacht.

This is a fact: no civil servant gets an allowance for working in a gaeltacht area but is expected to be able to deliver a service through Irish if a member of of the public demands it, in a gaeltacht area or outside..
 
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I can see this thread developing in the way as many others which discuss Public Servants do ...tar every public servant with the same brush.
This thread is even better because the topic of 'public sector' has been cleverly merged with 'Irish language'. Can anyone squeeze in drink/drugs, speeding fines or the Catholic Church?
 
The Irish Language is the first official language of this state and public services should be available in Irish.

This county should expect a bi-lingual public service.

It has nothing to do with slagging off the public service.
 
This county should expect a bi-lingual public service.

What advantages are there to this?
How many Irish speakers do not understand English?
 
As the first language of this counrty - all people working in the public sector should be able to conduct business with the public in Irish.

ALL is a bit high as a proportion.

That would amount to discrimination against the majority that speak English.

Cushy public sector jobs shouldn't only be open to people that can speak Irish.
 
Don't Gardai in Gaeltacht areas get an extra allowance ?

Yes think its as much as 15%. So if you work in Galway city you get it as areas along the Tuam Road use to be classifed as the Gealteach - not sure if this is still the case.

My garda friend used to be enraged by this as he felt that Galway guards has it easy in comparison to the other cities like Limerick, Dublin and Cork.

It won't happen as the physios, medics etc will then expect it and rightly so as there is no good reason to give it to the nurses over the other professional grades.
 
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