CUTS TO language support services for migrant schoolchildren could give rise to increased competition for learning supports in schools, a report has suggested.
The study, which examined perceptions of migrants and their impact in Blanchardstown, north Dublin, found public services had struggled to keep up with rapid demographic change in the area.
“Although migrant workers were attracted to the country by the Irish government, no planning analysis was carried out regarding their access to housing, education or civil and political rights,” it stated.
The report, based on focus group sessions and interviews with 100 Irish and foreign nationals, was written by Dr Bríd Ní Chonaill of the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown.
Cutbacks to language support services in schools “could well give rise to more competition in schools regarding resources for learning support versus language supports”, it suggested.
One local principal said that while parents had not questioned the allocation of resources in the school, it was the “type of thing that might raise its head if they start turning up in learning support”, which was “an inevitable consequence of a reduction in the number of language support teachers”.
Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe recently confirmed that more than 500 teachers who provide language support to foreign children will lose their jobs as a result of budget cuts. A ceiling of two language teachers will be imposed on most schools, although those with more than 121 pupils with English language needs will be allowed to appoint another two teachers.
Blanchardstown is one of the fastest-growing parts of the country, with the 2006 census showing its population had risen by 63 per cent in 10 years.
Some 22 per cent of its population is non-Irish, double the national average.
The report found that while participants presented no evidence that displacement of Irish workers was occurring, displacement among migrants was raised. Differences in pay between migrant and Irish workers were noted, and competition for jobs was mentioned as “a potential problem”, given deteriorating economic circumstances.
“While migrants perceived a change in attitude towards them in the changing economic climate, those who do not work, irrespective of the reason, were far less accepted in Irish society,” it observed.
The author suggested blaming foreigners for competition “takes the spotlight off the Government’s own inadequacies”.