Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1451. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated cost of doubling funding for Irish medium third level education and of doubling funding for Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge. [40497/22]
View answerRecurrent grant funding is allocated to higher education institutions under the remit of this Department via (a) a grant to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the Higher Education Institutions and (b) recurrent grant funding provided to institutions directly funded by this Department.
As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of grant funding, including how much is allocated to individual areas including Irish language courses, is the responsibility of each individual institution. The specific amount spent on courses delivered through the medium of Irish in the higher education sector is not readily available.
In addition to recurrent grant funding, ring-fenced allocations for specific or important strategic objectives are reserved by the Department or the HEA from time to time. Two Irish language priority provisions are ring-fenced and funded by the Department through the HEA;
1) € 1,766,000 per annum for NUI Galway for Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge; and
2) € 900,000 per annum for universities and colleges to support increased use of Irish among students and staff.
In the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are responsible for structuring their provision according to the demands and needs of learners and according to local and national skills priorities. This is being carried out in conjunction with Strategic Performance Agreements in place between SOLAS and each of the ETBs.
Courses are offered on a demand basis and include courses provided through Irish. As in the Higher Education sector, the full provision for Irish language courses in the further education sector is not readily available. Table A details the 2021 estimated cost of providing Irish Language courses through ETBs.
Education and Training Board Irish language courses provided in 2021, with estimated cost.
|
Education & Training Board |
2021 Expenditure€’000 |
2021 Courses Provided |
|
|
Education & Training Board |
2021 Expenditure€’000 |
2021 Courses Provided |
|
|
1 |
Cavan & Monaghan |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2 |
Cork |
€38 |
10 |
|
3 |
City of Dublin[1] |
€135 |
22 |
|
4 |
Donegal |
€15 |
18 |
|
5 |
Dublin & Dun Laoghaire |
€122 |
26 |
|
6 |
Galway & Roscommon[2] |
€1,350 |
73 |
|
7 |
Kerry |
€76 |
14 |
|
8 |
Kildare & Wicklow |
Nil |
Nil |
|
9 |
Kilkenny & Carlow[3] |
€11 |
2 |
|
10 |
Laois & Offaly |
€9 |
7 |
|
11 |
Limerick & Clare |
€17 |
7 |
|
12 |
Longford & Westmeath |
Nil |
Nil |
|
13 |
Louth & Meath |
€44 |
19 |
|
14 |
Mayo, Sligo & Leitrim[4] |
Not Available |
18 |
|
15 |
Tipperary |
€53 |
7 |
|
16 |
Waterford & Wexford |
€4 |
2 |
[1] City of Dublin ETB (CDETB) – Excluded from the table is €65k of expenditure incurred by CDETB prison service. No learner figures are available for the Irish Prison Service (IPS) as individual prisoner data is not available due to IPS GDPR restrictions.
[2] In 2021 Galway Roscommon ETB (GRETB) directly delivered 58 courses in the Gaeltacht serving 466 learners. GRETB also provided community education grants for a further 15 courses serving 100 learners.
[3] Kilkenny & Carlow ETB (KCETB) – Expenditure is estimated based on current salary costs of teachers providing services
[4] Mayo, Sligo & Leitrim ETB (MSL ETB) proactively encourages the use of the Irish language and the delivery of courses in Irish, and currently delivers part-time courses through the Irish language via the Community Education programme, as required. The total budget for Community Education in MSL ETB for 2022 is approx. €571,000 with €150,000 being made available to grants aiding community initiatives. As they continue to openly support participation in Irish speaking across all provisions and as it is a variable amount, the information to accurately quantify the amount spent on courses and/or teaching through Irish is not available.
