asked the Minister for Finance to state the names of the local newspapers which receive grants for publishing current news in Irish and the conditions attaching to the making of such grants.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Grants to Newspapers.
To be eligible for grants of the kind referred to in the question, a newspaper must be published in the Gaeltacht or in an area adjoining it, and must circulate largely in the Gaeltacht. It must print an average of not less than three columns per week of news matter or articles of topical interest in Irish. This material must be printed in the same type as the rest of the paper, and must not be segregated, but distributed through the news columns as if the various items were printed in English. It must not deal to any great extent with the Irish language itself or the language movement. Grants at the rate of 30/- per column will be paid on a limited quantity of suitable matter in excess of a column and a half.
I may add that the policy of making grants of this nature, which has for its object the gradual strengthening of the language position in the Gaeltacht, is still in an experimental stage. So far grants have been given only to "The Connacht Tribune" and "Connacht Sentinel," which for the purposes of the scheme are regarded as virtually one paper.