Ms Jean O'Mahony:

Gabhaim buíochas le Cathaoirleach an choiste agus leis na comhaltaí as an gcuireadh freastal ar chruinniú an lae inniu. Tá áthas orm a bheith leo inniu chun ceist thábhachtach theagasc agus stádas na Gaeilge inár n-institiúidí tríú leibhéal a phlé.

Tá an Roinn Breisoideachais agus Ardoideachais, Taighde, Nuálaíochta agus Eolaíochta, maraon lenár gcomhpháirtithe san Údarás um Ardoideachas agus in institiúidí ardoideachais ar fud na tíre, faoi ghealltanas daingean an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn, a úsáid agus a fhorbairt san ardoideachas. We recognise the importance of the role higher education institutions play in supporting the development of Irish in our society. Firstly and most obviously, institutions offer the Irish language as an academic discipline both singularly and in combination with other disciplines. Academic departments of Irish are centres of research and scholarship into the modern and historical languages and have strong partnerships with the Gaeltacht. Higher education institutions train teachers, whose role in teaching and promoting the language among young people is invaluable. For students, Irish-language societies, clubs and mini-Gaeltachts on campus can foster a love of the language not just among Irish students, but among international students as well.

Under legislation, our higher education institutions are academically and administratively autonomous. This is a core principle of how the system operates, with institutions responding to the needs of their communities and regions and to national priorities, including those set out in legislation. This Department allocates current funding to the HEA for direct disbursement to HEIs as a block grant to support pay and non-pay costs incurred by the institutions. In line with institutional autonomy, the internal allocation of this block grant toward teaching, research and supporting activities, including funding for Irish language courses, is a matter for each institution.

The Government and the Oireachtas have been very clear on the important role the sector plays in supporting the Irish language and the sector's guiding legislation reflects this. Section 12 of the Universities Act 1997 sets out the objectives of our seven traditional universities. This includes the promotion of the official languages of the State "with special regard to the preservation, promotion and use of the Irish language and the preservation and promotion of the distinctive cultures of Ireland". Most recently, the position of the language was recognised in the Higher Education Authority Act 2022. The objectives of the HEA are set out in section 8 of the Act and include a requirement:

to support designated institutions of higher education in contributing to social, economic, cultural and environmental development and sustainability through leadership, innovation and agility and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, such support shall include the promotion and use by those institutions of the Irish language

A range of measures are in place to ensure these objectives can be achieved and I would be pleased to provide the committee with further details today. These measures include a dedicated annual allocation of €900,000 in addition to the HEA block grant, which is provided to strengthen the use of Irish among students and staff, and a specific allocation of €1.76 million to the University of Galway to support the work of Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge. The HEA also supports targeted Irish-language initiatives such as the "gníomhaí Gaeilge" mentoring and awards system supported with €150,000 for 2022-23 and 2024-25. Further funding of more than €220,000 has been approved for the following three years. The new "mo thráchtas i mbeagán focal" competition will launch later this year to promote the use of Irish among postgraduate students.

Students have access to a wide variety of programmes through Irish ranging from undergraduate to PhD level, as well as a growing number of microcredential courses in a range of disciplines. The institutions themselves are embedding Irish in their strategic plans, with 11 having done so already. The Higher Education Authority Act 2022 further strengthens the mandate to promote and support the language across the higher education sector, including in Gaeltacht areas. To inform and guide future provision, the HEA is engaging with the University of Galway on a proposal to assess the demand for Irish courses at third level, including courses through the medium of Irish.

The Department also supports initiatives with a North-South cross-Border dimension. These include the provision of €16,000 per annum for North-South programmes, such as the third level language competitions administered by Conradh na Gaeilge. This initiative, which was first piloted in 2006 and has been funded annually since 2007, continues to promote good practice in cross-Border networking among-Irish language societies.

Through pillar 3 of the human capital initiative, the Department is funding a microcredential learner fee subsidy to expand access for learners and employers and to subsidise microcredential courses in priority skills areas. These include courses in the Irish language, Irish translation and Irish for professional purposes.

Léiríonn na bearta seo tiomantas láidir leanúnach don Ghaeilge san ardoideachas le tacaíocht a thabhairt do mhic léinn agus do bhaill foirne agus le cinntiú go bhfuil ról infheicthe agus inbhuanaithe ag an nGaeilge inár n-ollscoileanna agus inár gcoláistí. Táim ag tnúth leis na nithe tábhachtacha seo a phlé leis an gcoiste agus táim ag súil le haon cheisteanna atá ag na baill a fhreagairt.