Two significant developments in language‑education policy that caught my eye — both reflecting national efforts to reshape how minority languages are integrated into schooling.
🇮🇪 Ireland — Strengthening Irish‑Medium Education
In Ireland, the Department of Education and Youth (DEY) has launched two coordinated initiatives:
A new Policy for Irish‑Medium Education Outside the Gaeltacht, published on 4 November 2025, which sets out a vision for making high‑quality Irish‑medium schooling more widely accessible, inclusive and supported. Simultaneously, an Action Plan for Irish in English‑Medium Schools to begin in the 2025‑26 and 2026‑27 school years. The plan emphasises strengthening students’ oral Irish and bolstering supports for teachers.
Key highlights:
A Taskforce will be established to review, design and co‑operate on effective models of Irish‑medium provision. Phased roll‑out: language‑support hours for Irish‑medium schools outside the Gaeltacht will begin with particular school types in 2025‑26. For English‑medium schools: the goal is to shift emphasis to oral Irish, integrating stronger immersive and supporting resources.
Why this matters & what to watch:
The move shows a deeper institutional commitment to the Irish language beyond cultural symbolism — it’s now explicitly educational policy. Teacher supply, resource development and inclusive Irish‑medium provision (including special educational needs) are identified as core pillars. Implementation in the next two years will be telling: how schools manage immersion settings, what choices parents have, and how students’ oral Irish competence is tracked. Potential tension: balancing ambition (expanding Irish‑medium education) with resource realities (teacher numbers, immersion quality, inclusivity) — numerous studies point to these as challenges.
🏴 Wales — Language Impact and Democratic Reform
In Wales, the Welsh Government has published a Welsh‑Language Impact Assessment (WLIA) on the Senedd Cymru (Member Accountability and Elections) Bill on 3 November 2025.
What the Bill proposes (briefly):
A new recall mechanism for members of the Senedd Cymru (MSs) — the electorate gains a final say under certain trigger events. Other changes: more flexible powers for the Commissioner for Standards, possible lay member involvement in standards oversight, etc.
What the WLIA says about Welsh‑language implications:
While the Bill is not primarily about the Welsh language, the assessment states that “[e]lectoral services are therefore delivered in Welsh, as far as reasonable and proportionate, so as to treat the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language.” It specifically highlights that recall ballots must be bilingual (Welsh and English) and that polling‑station staff and communications will integrate Welsh usage.
Why this matters & what to watch:
It exemplifies how major governance reforms are now routinely subject to scrutiny for their language‑rights / bilingualism implications — the Welsh language isn’t just cultural but infrastructural in democratic processes. It also underscores how minority‑language policy intersects with mainstream legislative reform: if a governance bill mentions Welsh only peripherally, its language impact still merits formal assessment. Key question: How the practical delivery of bilingual electoral materials and staff training will play out at local level — often the gap is between policy and on‑ground implementation. Also: how this aligns with the broader Cymraeg 2050 strategy (the Welsh Government’s aim to reach a million Welsh speakers by 2050) and whether accountability mechanisms within democratic reforms can bolster language‑normalisation.
WE&P by: EZorrillaMc&Co.
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