Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
533. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the estimated cost of increasing the Irish learners’ scheme by €1 per student, €2 per student, €5 per student and in line with inflation since the scheme was introduced [40451/22]
View answerEarlier this year, I approved an increase of 10% in the daily grant payable under my Department's Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge. This was the first increase since 2017. I also initiated a number of other measures to support the Irish summer colleges sector bringing the total additional investment in overall support of Irish summer colleges to c. €800,000.
The scheme has been in operation since 1972 when a daily rate of 50p was payable at that time, the equivalent of 63c in June 2022.
Given that the scheme is demand-led, it is estimated that the increase of 10% or €1 for 2022 (bringing the daily fee to €11) will cost up to €460,000 per year based on the number of students/households in 2019.
Based on the number of students recognised under the Department's scheme in 2019, the approximate cost of further increases would be as follows:
€1 per student = €460,000
€2 per student = €920,000
€5 per student = €2,300,000
As the Deputy is aware, increases in provision are dependent on the resources available to the Department. Any increased funding in 2023 will be determined in the forthcoming Estimates process.
