Only 1 in 8 of candidates in last month's Irish general election could speak Gaelic language properly, survey shows
In total, 18 Sinn Fein candidates said they could do interviews in Irish, including party leader Mary Lou McDonald.
The other nationalist party that stands candidates on both sides of the border, Aontu, had just three politicians who would feel comfortable being interviewed in Irish – 7% of their 43 people out on the stump.
In the Republic’s largest party, Fianna Fail, 22% of 81 candidates described themselves as fluent.
That amounts to 18 people, including Tanaiste Michael Martin (pictured).
Tied for third place were the Greens and socialists People Before Profit, each of which had six candidates, or 14% of their rosters, fluent in Irish.
One of the country’s major parties, Fine Gael, stated that only six politicians had a good enough grasp of the language.
That’s just 7% of their 80 candidates – and Taoiseach Simon Harris wasn’t among the six.
Two of the Labour Party’s 32 candidates were fluent in Irish, while the centre-left Social Democrats and hard-right anti-immigration parties Irish Freedom and Independent Ireland had just a single politician each comfortable being interviewed in the language.
The survey was unable to confirm every single independent candidate, but some claimed to speak Irish.
Parties in the Republic demanded that Northern Ireland introduce an Irish language act after Sinn Fein collapsed Stormont in 2017, and kept it down until there was a pledge to bring in an Irish language act.
The then Fine Gael leaders Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney made clear their view that NI must have such legislation.
Parties across the spectrum in the Republic demanded that Northern Ireland have an Irish language act after SF collapsed Stormont in 2017