Lingvo de la Elitoj

…de la Irish Times:

Irish is the language of the elite in Ireland with speakers of the language enjoying higher incomes than the rest of the population, according to a controversial new report.

The report, compiled by researchers at the University of Ulster and the University of Limerick (UL), concludes Irish speakers are educated to a higher level and are less likely to be unemployed than people who have no Irish.

The main findings of the research published in the Economic and Social Review include;

- Non-speakers of Irish are twice as likely to be unemployed as their Irish-speaking counterparts;

- 42 per cent of Irish speakers worked in senior professional, managerial or technical jobs, compared to 27 per cent of non-speakers;

- Just 12 per cent of Irish speakers are in semi or unskilled jobs, compared to 20 per cent of non-speakers.

- Irish speakers were also seen to enjoy the advantage of a network of social contacts and all of the perks that go with such a network.