Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
1479. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science what specific funding is available for courses to be taught or run through the medium of Irish; the amount spent in each year since 2018, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36929/23]
View answerThe Department distributes recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for disbursement directly to the HEA's designated higher education institutions. The HEA distributes this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, payment of this funding, including any expenditure on Irish-language education initiatives, falls to the individual institution, and so no consolidated expenditure figures are available.
The HEA sponsors the Conradh na Gaeilge initiative, ‘Gníomhaí Gaeilge,’ which is run in conjunction with the Union of Students of Ireland to develop Irish language activities in HEIs for a 3-year period starting in 2022 to the value of €50,000 per annum. It offers Irish language clubs and societies with skills and mentorship in developing the use of the language within Higher Education.
The amount of courses in Higher Education delivering Irish language tuition or delivered through the medium of Irish is not collected by this Department, however HEIs may have this information. The HEA student returns statistics show 106 courses available in Irish with 2,510 enrolments in 2021/22, however this may not capture all provision. A list of these 106 courses is attached.
The Advanced Irish Language Skills Initiative, funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, is to ensure the availability of qualified persons with Irish language skills to meet recruitment needs in Ireland and the EU. Under this scheme the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht provides funding for a range of specialised third level Irish language courses in areas such as translation, interpretation and law. Further information on this Initiative can be found in the following link www.gov.ie/en/publication/7c05c-third-level-education/.
Under the Advanced Irish Language Strategic Initiative there are 8 courses available in 5 different institutions. HEA’s student record system (SRS) database shows there were 73 students enrolled in these courses in 2019/2020, 84 students enrolled in 2020/2021 and 70 enrolled in 2021/2022.
The Department for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will continue to be committed to the implementation of the Official Languages Act and provision of Irish-language services.
