Speech therapy for children from Irish-speaking families is not available through Irish in Gaeltacht regions in Co Kerry, it has emerged. This is because the training for speech therapy is in English, the Southern Health Board has said.
Ms Joan Sullivan, a mother of 11 and a native Irish speaker, said she had to speak English to her children at home to assist a child who had speech difficulties.
The family switched to English as their language in the house nine years ago, because the Southern Health Board could not provide a therapist who worked through Irish when one of her children had a speech difficulty. The health board advised Ms Sullivan to stick to the language of the therapist - English - so as not to confuse the child.
She said a second child had a similar problem with speech difficulties and the advice was the same - to use the language of the therapist, English, with the children. This meant the family language at home changed from Irish to English.
She and her husband continued to speak Irish among themselves, away from the children. However, when the little girl was of school age, the only available school in the west Kerry Gaeltacht village of Baile an Fheirtearaigh was all-Irish, adding further to her confusion.
"I got so annoyed when I was rearing my children and I was told not to speak Irish in the house," Ms Sullivan said.
The Southern Health Board said one of their speech therapists did speak Irish. However, the therapist had to use English in teaching sessions with the children, because this was the language of therapists' training
The unavailability of speech therapy services through Irish emerged during a public meeting in Baile an Fheirtearaigh.
Following the meeting, an appeal is being lodged with An Bord Pleanála by a language activist, Mr Donncha Ó hEallaithe, against Kerry County Council's decision to grant planning permission for a development of 20 houses in the village. This is because the houses have not been ring-fenced for Irish speakers.
Kerry County Council did not include a so-called language clause when it decided to grant permission for the development two weeks ago.
The council has said it would find it impossible to enforce a language clause.