Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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240. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her views on a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42648/18]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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My Department has sanctioned annual current funding of €479,551 to the organisation to which the Deputy refers for the 2018/19 school year. In line with the Department's remit insofar as the Irish language is concerned, this overall funding package is specifically directed at supporting the organisation in implementing a range of language-centred actions and initiatives. The following provides an overview of this annual current funding:

- €224,824 has been granted to assist in the provision of their family-centred Irish-language activities. This funding includes funding for the employment of a the full-time director of the organisation, a full-time director of the organisation's home-visits scheme, the part-time employment of 4 employees of the organisation's home-visits scheme, funding for resources for the same scheme and funding for various administration costs. This funding package for 2018 represents €155,430 towards pay (€143,815 in 2017); travel and subsistence €10,000 (€12,000 in 2017); administrative costs, including resources, marketing, rent, maintenance, etc. €59,394 (€81,009 in 2017).

- €239,727 to the organisation for the Language Assistants Scheme in respect of the current school year.

- €15,000 for the Pre-school and After-school Scheme

It should be noted that this organisation is a subsidiary company of the local co-operative which is also in receipt of annual funding from Údarás na Gaeltachta, and which also has a healthy income stream available to it from the Irish summer colleges sector in this particular Gaeltacht region, in which the co-operative is the primary stakeholder.

It should also be noted that on foot of the language plan for the organisation's Language Planning Area being recently sanctioned under the language planning process, annual funding of up to €150,000 will be provided to the organisation to assist in the implementation of the agreed language plan.

In line with the key principles underpinning the language planning process and in line with my Department's priorities in support of the language and all Gaeltacht regions, the Deputy may be assured that my Department remains committed to deploying all of the available resources under both the Community and Language Supports Programme and the language planning process to support language-focused actions in the organisation's operational area as well as the other 25 Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas as defined under the Act.