Education Minister Paul Givan awarded himself a perfect 10 when asked how well he has served the Irish-medium sector and the language during his term, a grade greeted with scepticism by at least one Assembly member on Wednesday
Mr Givan was responding to a question in the Assembly from the SDLP’s Cara Hunter on how well he believed he was serving the schools and the language since taking up his post.
The minister replied: “10.” He said nothing more before sitting down, according to Hansard’s report on the proceedings on Tuesday.
In her question, Ms Hunter, the party’s education spokesperson, mentioned the provisions in the Good Friday Agreement related to facilitating and encouraging the growth of the language.
She asked for a grade on a scale of one to 10 how well would “you say that you are serving the Irish-medium sector and the Irish language?”
The East Derry MLA said she welcomed the engagement the minister has had with “the Irish language sector since taking up his role”.
“And his visit to an Irish language school where he spoke a few words of Irish himself was a significant gesture,” she added:
“However, I would struggle to agree with the Minister when it comes to his overall performance around the Irish language education.”
Ms Hunter said: “The Irish language education sector and our schools still face significant challenges and while I would not expect the Minister to solve them overnight, there is a clear frustration at the lack of progress since the Assembly’s return.”
The MLA also raised the failure of the minister or permanent secretary to attend a “major” Stormont event organised by Conradh na Gaeilge on the 2008 Review Irish Medium Education. She noted not one of the recommendations has been fully implemented.
In answer to a separate question on the Irish language, Mr Givan said: “Colleagues will know that I receive a huge number of invitations, and I just cannot be everywhere all at the one time.
“However, I seek to make myself available. Most Members in the Chamber, if they look at it fairly, will say that I do that and attend as many settings and take up as many invitations as I can.”