There have been at least nine job losses and several further education classes cancelled across Galway and Roscommon as a result of cuts from the State agency responsible for allocating funding to the sector.
Classes for literacy, digital literacy, English as a second language, and Irish across the two counties have been discontinued since Easter as a result of a €1.4m cut to the budget of Galway and Roscommon Education Training Board (GRETB ).
It is unclear why the decision was made as there was sufficient demand to maintain the viability of the classes that have now been cancelled, and expenditure on further education and training at a national level is at an all time high.
In a response given to parliamentary questions from Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell - and seen by this publication - the stated reason for the cut was that an allocation of €20 million that had been ringfenced for the teaching of English as a second language over a four year period since 2022 had come to an end.
It is understood that this funding was issued in response to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees to Ireland following the Russian invasion of the country.
Despite this however, it is still not obvious why the cut to GRETB was necessary, as there is more public money being spent on further education and training than ever before.
The overall funding given to SOLAS - the State agency responsible for allocating public funding to GRETB and other further education bodies - has increased significantly by €183.7 million from 2023 to 2026.
‘Very disappointing’
The decision by SOLAS to cut the funding to GRETB which resulted in the job losses and the cancellation of classes was described by Sinn Féin TD Louis O'Hara as "cruel and very disappointing."
Speaking to the Advertiser, the representative from Galway East said, “I think the cuts are very cruel and very disappointing. A lot of the teachers who have been impacted now are losing their jobs.
“A lot of them are actually very close to completing their four years and receiving permanent contracts, it’s a real kick in the teeth for them. It’s really tough as well on all of the students, for many of them the classes were really important. They were a really important social outlet as well for a lot of people.”
Deputy O'Hara also said that SOLAS and the Government needed to explain why the cut to GRETB was necessary given the significant increase in funding to the sector nationally, and the timing of the temporary funding ringfenced for the teaching of English meant that permanent contracts did not have to be provided to teachers.
He said, “That’s a question that SOLAS should definitely have to answer, and indeed government as well, no doubt about it. The Government is saying there has been no cut to the overall budget, which is true, but there is a cut in this specific area.
“This so-called temporary funding has been in place for the past four years, and it is after four years that they receive permanent contracts. Certainly if you were being cynical, you would say that when you look at the timing of it, it was a way of not having to provide permanent contracts to people which is very unfair and leaves all of the teachers in a difficult position."
The cancellation of classes has also attracted criticism from various students who are now no longer able to complete their studies.
Speaking to the Advertiser, Virginia Moyles said that the cancellation of her Irish class in Athenry Further Education and Training Centre as a result of the cut had left her extremely disappointed.
She said, “Well, I grew up in England. I started learning Irish in England but didn't have much chance to practice and when I came here I think I was nervous because my Irish wasn't good enough.
“I'm retired now since last September and I finally got the opportunity- I've always wanted to be more proficient in Irish. I found this really lovely class in Athenry and now it's been snatched from under our feet.
“My hope was to be able to hold a conversation with confidence and to be able to talk completely without worrying. Doing it on the computer through Duolingo in terms of vocabulary and grammar is fine, but it doesn't give you the two-way conversation."
Ms Moyles also said that the decision to cancel the class undermined government policy regarding Irish and that many in the class had been hoping to gain a formal qualification in the language to help their professional development in the public sector.
She said, “It's government policy to increase the use of the language and to increase the people in the public service with the language. There's a lot of younger people in the class hoping it would help with their job prospects.
“The idea was that people would get a QQI qualification and they could then use that to go on to further develop their language use.”
‘Always intended to be time limited’
When approached for comment, a spokesperson for SOLAS said, "Since February 2022, ETBs have delivered additional ESOL [English for Speakers of Other Languages] programmes when demand for these programmes rose sharply in response to the war in Ukraine.
"Temporary funding was made available to SOLAS to support ETBs’ expansion of ESOL provision. This funding was essential in meeting the immediate language needs and assisting displaced Ukrainians as they began integrating into Irish communities during the initial response. This temporary allocation was always intended to be time limited.
"As this temporary allocation has now concluded, and in line with Budget 2026 parameters, ESOL funding has returned to its 2021 level. SOLAS is working closely with the ETBs to ensure that provision is targeted toward those with the greatest need and that learners are supported to progress into further education, training, and employment."
