As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has provided substantial supports and additional funding to Údarás na Gaeltachta over the past year in order to support the work of the organisation itself and to support the thousands of jobs in its client companies.
Officials from my Department continue to work closely with Údarás na Gaeltachta to ensure that the range of supports being provided by Údarás, including financial and technical support and advice, align with the needs of client companies, particularly in dealing with the implications of both COVID-19 and Brexit, and in order to deliver on the commitments to the Gaeltacht and the Irish language in the Programme for Government.
To that end, the 2020 July Jobs Stimulus programme included a capital allocation of €8m to Údarás na Gaeltachta for essential upgrades to existing building stock and water treatment facilities in order to facilitate the marketing of currently dormant factory spaces for modern job creation projects. This is expected to create 40-50 new construction jobs across Gaeltacht communities in the short term and the re-developed building stock will support the longer-term creation of 320 new jobs in the Gaeltacht, in Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies.
The Deputy should be aware that the Irish Government's Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES), in consultation with my Department, also completed a spending review and assessment of the impact of Brexit on Údarás na Gaeltachta and its client companies last year. My Department engaged with both Údarás na Gaeltachta and a selection of its client companies in order to complete the assessment. The findings and recommendations were considered as part of the Estimates process and resulted in significant additional exchequer funding of €8.1m being provided by Government to Údarás na Gaeltachta in Budget 2021 - bringing its total allocation to €31.8m for this year.
The Deputy will be aware of the impact of COVID-19 on our society and economy over the past 12 months. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 427 new jobs were created in Gaeltacht companies during 2020. There were 7,363 full-time and 437 part-time jobs in companies supported by Údarás na Gaeltachta at the end of 2020.
The majority of the decline to which the Deputy is referring has been in the tourism and related sectors. However, employment remained stable in 68% of client companies while increasing in 10.5% of same. During 2020, the medical device sector saw a 4% increase in employment, with over 700 people now employed in the sector in the Gaeltacht.
Údarás na Gaeltachta continues to work in conjunction with my Department and other state agencies such as Enterprise Ireland to ensure that Gaeltacht enterprises also have access to the broad range of targeted national and sectoral measures put in place by Government since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta has approved over €7.4m of COVID-19 supports to date for over 435 Gaeltacht companies to address financial and supply difficulties, ensure cash flow and enhance their ability to access global online sales markets. In addition, many Gaeltacht companies operating in the tourism and hospitality sectors will have accessed the range of supports for those sectors and for businesses in general which have been introduced by Government since the onset of the pandemic.
Looking to the future, Údarás na Gaeltachta is currently finalising a new Strategic Plan for the period 2021–2025. The Strategy will include the Údarás na Gaeltachta vision that Gaeltacht areas should be sustainable communities, with a strong economy where Irish is the primary community language. The organisation has confirmed that it will continue to ensure that effective and practical supports are available to businesses to protect them from the effects of COVID-19 and Brexit. It has conducted various surveys with its clients in recent months to identify the supports required by Gaeltacht companies and will continue to work closely with my Department and other Government agencies to ensure that Gaeltacht businesses and communities are supported, with a particular focus placed on supporting the recovery of the tourism sector.
