Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 June 2018
4. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will report on the cuts in funding to Irish language and culture organisations which have resulted in the restriction of activities and the promotion of the Irish language and culture. [27285/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the outset, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht has actually increased over the past year.
As the Deputy will be aware, Foras na Gaeilge is charged with promotion of the Irish language on an all-island basis, and provides support, advice and financial assistance to many groups, including the six lead organisations. These groups work to promote the language, including provision of courses and activities to help people improve or learn the language.
An Foras Teanga, as a North South Implementation Body comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency, is co-funded by my Department along with the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland and its budget is subject to approval by the North South Ministerial Council. The dispersal of Foras na Gaeilge's allocated budget is an operational matter for the organisation, within the framework of the NSMC-approved business plan and budget.
An indicative provision of €14.028m is included in the 2018 Revised Estimates for An Foras Teanga to cover NSMC budgets for Foras na Gaeilge, the Ulster-Scots Agency, Clár na Leabhar Gaeilge and Colmcille. I would also like to remind the Deputy that I secured an additional allocation to Foras na Gaeilge of €450,000 for Bliain na Gaeilge 2018, which is being delivered primarily by Conradh na Gaeilge.
In order to further underpin the implementation of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 and particularly the language planning process as set out in Acht na Gaeltachta 2012, a specific allocation of €2.65m has been provided to my Department in the current year. This represents a significant increase from the €500,000 allocated for this purpose in 2014. This will further enable my Department, acting in concert with Údarás na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeilge and other relevant stakeholders at community level, to implement a range of specific and practical measures aimed at both supporting the implementation of the Strategy and the language planning process.
Under my Department's Irish Language Support Schemes, financial assistance is provided to a range of organisations and activities that support the promotion of the Irish language outside the Gaeltacht. Under this programme, funding is provided for Irish language courses in third-level institutions in Ireland and overseas, for the promotion of the language in the business sector and for terminology initiatives which support the status of Irish as an official and working language of the European Union. These schemes have contributed greatly to some of the most innovative work being done in relation to the language in recent years. In 2018 the allocation for this programme was increased by €787,000.
These increases in funding by my Department to Irish language organisations has resulted over the past number of years in an increased level of activities being delivered which, in turn, has a positive impact on the promotion of the Irish language and culture.
