Survey: 1.5m people in Ireland confident in their ability to speak Irish

Conradh na Gaeilge says recent surveys have shown there is interest in speaking Irish here, but that opportunities to do so were limited. File Picture

Over 1.5 million people in Ireland – some 28% of the country – are confident in their ability to speak Irish.

That’s according to a new survey from Kantar/Conradh na Gaeilge. 

The survey also found that more than one-third of people in Ireland (35%) were confident in their ability to understand Irish.

In Northern Ireland, 12% of people said they were confident speaking Irish. 

Speaking on Newstalk  this morning, Conradh na Gaeilge general secretary Julian de Spáinn said that while the numbers may seem surprising to some, they are broadly in line with results from similar recent surveys.

“This isn’t just a survey we’ve done this year, we’ve done it consistently over the last five years, and it’s always been between 28% and over 30% of the population saying they have the ability to use Irish – that they’re confident they’d have the ability,” he said.

The @CnaG survey was carried out by @Kantar_Media and you'll find that the answer to the numbers 'confident in speaking Irish' is pretty consistent over the last 6 years a chairde

'Bruscar' V 'Firicí'

Nuacht an-mhaith don #gaeilge pic.twitter.com/dURxd0UyJM

— Julian de Spáinn (@juleser1) January 13, 2021

Mr de Spáinn said that access and opportunity to use the language were the two main issues facing the status of Irish here and that people in Ireland were "not used to using the language" in their everyday lives.

Mr de Spáinn said that while initiatives like pop-up Gaeltachts have shown that there is interest in the language, more could be done to promote it.

“I think people have a huge interest in it.

"As the world becomes smaller, as we become globalised, I think people see the Irish language as something that identifies them in a smaller world,” he said. 

Mr de Spáinn said the Government could take simple steps to promote the language further by establishing a full-time Irish radio station directed at younger people, and increasing its use and visibility in areas like tourism and advertising.

He said there would be “huge community support” for such measures.

“I know you mightn’t believe the facts, but these are the facts.

"We’ve seen consistently that’s what people are saying: they are confident in their levels of Irish to use it and understand it.

"The challenge is to give them the opportunity to use it more,” he added.