Irish translation ‘a shocking waste of money’
THE translation of bilingual government documents into Irish has cost almost £200,000 since 2006, it has emerged.
The department of education has racked up the highest cost in the Stormont executive with translation costs of £103,302.
Comparatively, the department for regional development has spent £8,241 and the department of agriculture spent £8,719 over the period.
DUP MLA Trevor Clarke slammed education minister Caitriona Ruane for the costs and accused her of squandering money in pursuit of her “ideology”.
“These figures are astounding, especially as our government faces major cuts in public expenditure after the comprehensive spending review,” he said,
“The figures for the department for education are particularly shocking. Ruane is wasting money in aid of her ideology whilst schools are falling around their pupils and teachers.
“It is vital that we, in this current economic climate, cut excessive and unnecessary spending. Just think of how many schools this money could have repaired, how many potholes could have been filled or how many farmers could have been assisted as we see our province struggle in these difficult economic times.
“The days of wasting money on a dying language are over. We must cut this waste of public expenditure and put it into the things that matter, like schools and hospitals.”
Responding to the criticism, the department of education said government departments “have duties” stemming from the European Charter for regional or minority languages, the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement to “recognise the rights” of Irish speakers, and to “support and facilitate” their use of the language.
“In addition, the department of education has a duty to encourage and facilitate Irish-medium education. We are seeing a growing demand for Irish-medium education, which obviously requires the provision of documentation in the Irish language,” a spokesman for the department added.
Meanwhile, the education minister has defended changes to the advice and guidance on post-primary admissions.
In response to an assembly question, Ms Ruane said she was aware that many “principals are unhappy about being placed in a difficult position by the actions of grammar schools operating breakaway tests”.
At present, some primary school principals are offering advice to pupils on the post-primary transfer process.
Ms Ruane said: “There is a considerable investment required to enable these interviews to take place, estimated to amount to some £0.5m, in the form of funding for teacher substitute cover… in the light of pressures on the education budget this funding may not be available next year.
“I am determined to continue reforming our education system, ending academic selection and rejection of our children, and putting equality at the core of my department’s policies.”
