Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 November 2004
354 Mr. English asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the safeguards that are in place to protect the Irish language in the Gaeltacht areas of County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29265/04]
View answerMy Department administers, on an ongoing basis, a range of schemes and initiatives aimed at supporting the language in all of the Gaeltacht areas, including the Gaeltacht areas of County Meath. Specific measures that have recently been initiated by my Department and by Údarás na Gaeltachta to strengthen the language in the Gaeltacht areas of County Meath include the approval of a grant of €330,000 over three years to Comharchumann Ráth Cairn under a new language planning initiative being implemented by my Department in co-operation with Údarás na Gaeltachta, which will facilitate the implementation of specific measures aimed at strengthening the usage of the language at community and household level. Údarás na Gaeltachta will provide grant aid to Comhlacht Forbartha Baile Ghib to facilitate the appointment of a development officer for the area.
Other measures being implemented that will have a positive bearing on the language in Gaeltacht areas include the initiation of a socio-linguistic study on the usage of Irish in the Gaeltacht as a basis for the further strengthening of the linguistic development of the Gaeltacht and for a review of the official Gaeltacht boundaries; the implementation of a language awareness campaign, ár dteanga nádúrtha féin, which seeks to persuade parents in Gaeltacht areas of the advantages of choosing Irish as the predominant household language; the provision of €1.56 million over three years to implement a new language planning initiative in Gaeltacht areas on a pilot basis; the provision of an additional €890,000 in 2004 for the implementation of language-centred initiatives in Gaeltacht areas; the provision of an additional €1 million to Údarás na Gaeltachta in the current year in order to enable it to further assist in the area of pre-schooling, youth services, as well as other support measures for the language in the Gaeltacht; the implementation of the Official Languages Act 2003; the appointment of An Coimisinéir Teanga; and the decision by Government to initiate discussions with other EU member states and with the Commission to seek official working language status for Irish.
I am satisfied that significant progress has been made to the safeguarding and strengthening of the language in the Gaeltacht. I remain amenable to any new recommendations or suggestions as to how this objective can be achieved.
