asked the Minister for Education if he will state (a) the date from which grants commenced to be payable to the paper Inniu, and the total amount of grants paid from that date to the 31st March, 1958; (b) the cash equivalent of the free services rendered to or on behalf of Inniu by the State subsidised Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge during that period; (c) the total amount of the grants, if any, paid to the Irish language periodical Deirdre since the date of its first publication, in July, 1954, to 31st March, 1958; (d) what authority determines whether or not grants will be paid to Irish language periodicals and by what regulations decisions are governed in each case, and (e) if no governing regulations exists, on what basis substantial grants are paid to some such periodicals and payment withheld from such a periodical as Deirdre.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Grants to Irish Language Periodicals.
Mr. Lynch
State grants have been paid in respect of the paper Inniu since the financial year 1944-45 and the total amount paid from then to 31st March, 1958, is approximately £61,000. It is not possible to state in monetary terms the value of the servises rendered to Inniu in the period in question by Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge as part of the services rendered by that organisation to Irish language publications generally, including Deirdre. No direct State grants have been paid in respect of the periodical Deirdre.
With regard to the last two portions of the question, the position is that grants to Irish language periodicals are payable by the Minister for Education, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. There are no general regulations governing the grant of aid to Irish language periodicals, each case being considered separately but with due regard to the need for assistance, the type of periodical, the reading public served by it and the amount of money which it is possible to provide for this purpose annually. The State does not undertake to assist every Irish language periodical and Deirdre is not the only one which does not receive direct State grants.
Is the Minister aware that the publishers are now publishing quarterly and are anxious to make it monthly? Would it not be in the interests of the language if the Minister would assist? Here is a copy of Deirdre and there is a fine article in it——
That does not arise.
The point I am making is that we should really help the language instead of just talking about it. I would ask the Minister to reconsider this application. Would the Minister agree to do that?